As I’ve got older, I’ve been offered more interesting roles

“It’s often said in the business that the best acting roles come after the age of 40.  I believe that for me, at any rate, it’s true,” says the 45 year old actor.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play roles as interesting as Maurice Richard and General Dallaire, and to work with directors as talented as Francis Leclerc (Mémoires affectives, Un été sans point ni coup sûr), Jeremy Peter Allen (Manners of Dying) and Kim Nguyen (Truffe).  So it’s obvious that yes, as I’ve got older I’ve been offered more interesting, more complex roles.”

 It must be said that in addition to being offered a greater variety of characters than a decade ago, Roy Dupuis has been working more than ever for some years.  For example he has just finished shooting Doigts croches, Ken Scott’s next comedy, and his sixth film in under a year!

“Let’s say that last year was rather intense,” he admits.  “In addition to the six films (including Louis Bélanger’s The Timekeeper and Némésis by André Forcier) I did a play (Blasté) that was particularly demanding.  I’m not complaining, I count myself lucky.  But now I’m taking a break from filming until the autumn at least.  I’m going to take the opportunity to sort out my pension arrangements!”

 But apart from his pension, Roy Dupuis intends, during the next few days, to devote a lot of time to the promotion of Truffe.  In fact, he believes so strongly in the film that last week he agreed to suspend his holiday to give us a short telephone interview.

 “I think it’s a little jewel of a film,” he begins.  “It’s a unique film with its own pace and style.  I loved the photography, and the handling of the imagery, the texture and the subject matter.”

All the same, the actor admits to having been a bit surprised the first time he heard about Truffe, a psychotronic comedy which takes place in a post-modern Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, where truffles grow in the sun like mushrooms.  Dupuis plays the role of Charles, owner of a diner, who shows a natural talent for hunting truffles.”

 “It’s true that that I thought it was peculiar and very way out when I read the screenplay for the first time.  But I’d already seen Le Marais (Nguyen’s first feature film), and as I like what Kim does, I felt confident.

 And then I very much liked the aspect of social commentary.  It reminded me of Brazil, which is one of my favourite films.  For me, it’s a cross between Brazil and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.  This social commentary was a big plus for me.  It’s important that the film also makes you think.  And Truffe is obviously a satire on over-consumption.  In the film there’s a big corporation that squeezes little family businesses and exploits resources to excess.  It’s a problem we find everywhere these days, be it in farming, fishing or food production.”

 Despite the absurd situations that face the characters in Truffe, the actor says that he approached this part like any other dramatic role.

 “I even drew inspiration from the atmosphere of 1984 (the adaptation of George Orwell’s novel), for its “no future” tone, where the people are indifferent and life is hard and tedious.  I used this reality to feed my character.”