Despite an intensely busy schedule Roy Dupuis never misses an opportunity to participate in the events organised by Éric Saint-Pierre of Foundation Mira, on account of his friendship with "this fantastic person". "I love the idea of uniting man and animal through gentleness as Éric is doing." So he was there at the 12^th Défi-Vision event last Friday at Granby Autodrome; a prelude to a well-deserved holiday.

"After this I’ll start by going back home. I’ve got work on the house to finish in July. Our home - it’s my planet, my land. The house and the grounds anchor me. From the moment I owned a piece of land I felt a little bit more responsible. Responsible for the planet at large. I often do a tour of the estate. So often in fact that I practically know every tree, even the ones that are badly damaged by the ice. "

Since Roy Dupuis discovered the peace of the countryside, the language of the earth and the pleasure of a home of his own, he is taking a new approach to life, calmer, with an emphasis on continuity. All it needs is the laughter of children ringing in the clear still sky to complete the picture. "Oh yes, I would like to have a child eventually. Not at the moment, but this is all part of the house and land. I don’t know if it’s a need for perpetuity because I’ve reached 36, but one thing’s for sure, the family is a beautiful thing. I think it’s very important. It’s the family that makes the world go round.

A trip to China

From now until that important project takes shape, Roy Dupuis will take advantage of the break to discover more new horizons. "In the month of August I will probably travel. For the last 3 years, when I’m free in the summer, I like to travel. This year I would like to take a trip to China where they are building a huge dam, one of the biggest constructions ever built by human beings. Because of this dam they are going to flood hundreds of villages, 3 to 4 thousand years old. In order to do this they have relocated millions of people whose families have been entirely self-sufficient, have lived in their villages from generation to generation and who have never left their corner of the world. I would like to see what is going to disappear.

A monk’s life

Roy Dupuis confesses that these adventures abroad are very good for him, as for the rest of the year, since the start of the popular television series Nikita, he spends 8½ months going back and forth between Montreal and Toronto. "For the time being I have no professional goals. I have just finished my marathon : 8½ months of filming - it’s always lengthy. The way we make TV series in Toronto, it’s very difficult to have a life in this business. Take my situation. We film between 10 and 18 hours a day, 5 days a week. It’s a monk’s life. At the end of a week all you want to do is rest to gather a little strength for the coming week. To achieve that I read a little, do a little sport, or just chill out. I do a little cooking because I like to have guests when I can. I’m not often there for my friends. That’s why, at the moment, I have only one wish : to live a little. After that, we’ll see …"

Indeed, after the holidays he is not saying if he will resume filming on Nikita. "I still don’t know. It all depends …. I don’t want to say any more about it at the moment. There are film projects on the table, in the US, Quebec, Canada and elsewhere." To be continued …..