USA NETWORK INTERVIEWS
1. December 2000
INTERVIEWER
The chemistry between you and Peta.
ROY DUPUIS
Mm-hmm.
INTERVIEWER
Was that something that was instant, or was that something that you feel like
that developed over time?
ROY DUPUIS
Uh, that was instant, I think. No, I pretty much know. [LAUGHS]
INTERVIEWER
Okay.
ROY DUPUIS
Yeah. That's not really something you can work on, I think
INTERVIEWER
When you were shooting "Four Light Years Farther" and everybody thought that the
series was over, what was the mood like on the set at that point?
ROY DUPUIS
Well, it's, um...it was moving. Uh, for me it was moving, um... I wouldn't say I
was sad but, it was moving, it's four years of my life. Um... It was also the
fact that I met some great people over here, and, uh, so I made friends
and...that was, uh, moving to say goodbye.
INTERVIEWER
Now, uh, rumor has it, and I don't think it's really a rumor, that you're
directing an episode, that you have directed an episode, in fact you're cutting
it now, I believe--
ROY DUPUIS
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER
So, which one?
ROY DUPUIS
It's, um, 506.
INTERVIEWER
Okay. And, uh, is this your directorial debut?
ROY DUPUIS
Yeah, it is.
INTERVIEWER
Are you excited?
ROY DUPUIS
Uh, I-it's done. [LAUGHS]
INTERVIEWER
It's done. Well, are you excited to have it air?
ROY DUPUIS
What? Excited to have it aired? Uh... Not really. It's not, uh, I don't see
it... I did it by curiosity, by, uh, 'cause I've always, since a couple of years
they've been asking me if I wanted to direct an episode. This time since I was
in-in all of them, I said, uh, why not. By curiosity, and I had a lot of fun
doing it, 'cause, uh...'cause, uh...'cause it's another point of view [LAUGHS]
on, on that. And there's a lot of thinking and, I like to solve all those little
details, things.
INTERVIEWER
Do you plan on doing more?
ROY DUPUIS
Uh, maybe, I don't know. We'll see if I miss it. I was always a bit interested
in that anyway. So, uh, I-I didn't come into it like...with the weight that any
other director, that a director would have, it was...mostly by curiosity and, I
knew all the people and...and it was fun to do also because of them.
INTERVIEWER
Okay. Um, here's a question I've seen asked a tremendous amount on the, um, on
the boards about "La Femme Nikita." Why did Michael cut himself under the eye in
that last episode of season, "Four Light Years Farther."
ROY DUPUIS
[LAUGHS]
INTERVIEWER
What is that about?
ROY DUPUIS
It's an image, first of all. It's a tear of blood. You see, and Michael doesn't
have tears anymore or whatever. It has many, many signification also.
INTERVIEWER
Do you believe Nikita never really loved Michael?
ROY DUPUIS
Well, I think, I shouldn't answer that, I think, uh, in these next eight, uh,
episodes will probably answer that for all those questions. This is, this is
what the show's all about. Trying to...um... trying to see the invisible.
INTERVIEWER
I've seen you go hand-to-hand with Peta. Um... Is that...something that's, uh,
strange to do, I mean, you guys worked together every day and maybe it's not
but, you know... Is there any part of you that's going, Mom said never hit
girls, you know, I mean is there anything, you know, what do you think about
those scenes?
ROY DUPUIS
Well, that's actually another side of the show. It's the, the other, um...uh,
all the moral issues, are kind of swept away. It's, uh... Like I like to say
it's the other side of the mirror. The other side of society. We learn in
Section-well, in life you learn to try to trust people and...try not to lie and
try not to kill [LAUGHS] and try not to...all those. In Section you learn the
opposite actually. You should try not-you learn not to trust anyone and...learn
how to kill and learn how to lie. So to hit a woman... [PAUSE] And you know,
those fights for me as an actor, it's like dancing. It's the same thing as
learning...a dance. So that's what it is for me so it's fun to do as...as a
choreography. It's like dancing, you, you have to look like...uh, the steps have
to be well-done, it's the same thing with fight-uh, with choreographed fights.
INTERVIEWER
Do you really ride motorcycles?
ROY DUPUIS
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER
What kind do you own?
ROY DUPUIS
I own a Harley.
INTERVIEWER
Okay. Just sort of another...acting, you know, there's a scene where, you know,
Nikita has plastic surgery and looks like Quinn and she comes back into Section
and Michael finally figures it out.
ROY DUPUIS
Mm-hmm.
INTERVIEWER
Was it strange to play that scene, with that actress, the woman who plays Quinn,
but you're playing it to Nikita. Was that strange?
ROY DUPUIS
Um, strange. There's a lotta strange things in that show. [LAUGHS] Um... I
wouldn't say, no, it's, um... [PAUSE] No, it was just like, um...teamwork, you
know. 'Cause I knew, maybe a little bit more, um, about Nikita than the actress
did so we worked it out together.
INTERVIEWER
Was Peta on the set when you did that scene?
ROY DUPUIS
Uh, no. It would've been fun but that, that's what I...say, it would've been fun
to do it with Peta once, and have, uh...have, uh, Cindy, uh, watch. So we could
try to...get...you know.
INTERVIEWER
But they didn't go for it--
ROY DUPUIS
But, uh, no, we couldn't get Peta on that day, so.
INTERVIEWER
There was another episode where you did-there was a-Michael had a, you know,
complete change of behavior, he had been drugged and he didn't remember anything
and--
ROY DUPUIS
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, he came back, yeah, yeah.
INTERVIEWER
Did you-how-how was that for you, I mean that's a very-that's a very different
take on the Michael character.
ROY DUPUIS
Yeah.
INTERVIEWER
Um... A tremendous amount of innocence, what was that like for you?
ROY DUPUIS
It was fun. It was fun, it's also...um... It was fun, and interesting. It was,
uh, interesting to see, to make the choice how am I going to... I decided to go
on the naive side, kind of more pure and...innocent and-- [LAUGHS]
INTERVIEWER
Is it hard to shift gears like that with a character you know so well?
ROY DUPUIS
No, as long as you're, you build, uh...you build your storyline behind it. You
just create kind of, almost another character. But by remembering it, not-not
remembering but, keeping it... [PAUSE] It's a question of gauging, you know, how
far can I go this way, without, um... To make it still believable that he could
be still Michael, you know.
INTERVIEWER
Right. Like--
ROY DUPUIS
So it's all, uh...you gotta gauge it and see, 'cause...there's thousands,
there-there could've been thousands of possibilities, to play that character.
How to play him. Just gotta make a choice and build your storyline behind that,
then jump in that one and then switch to the other one.
INTERVIEWER
How do you think the character's changed over the last five seasons?
ROY DUPUIS
Oh... Well,
that's one thing with Michael, he hasn't changed.
INTERVIEWER
[PAUSE] Okay.
ROY DUPUIS
Michael is, uh...is pretty much what he was when, when we started the show.
That's what's... That's the idea of pretty much the character, of course we
learn more about him... through the show. But the character itself, hasn't
changed that much I'd say.
2.
February 2001
The following is a
transcript of a phone interview with Roy Dupuis conducted on February 14, 2001.
The questions in this interview were submitted by fans of La Femme Nikita on the
LFN message boards.
INTERVIEWER
What first attracted you to playing the part of Michael?
ROY DUPUIS
Well of course I had seen the movie so I was already curious of what they wanted
to do with the series. Um, well there's a lot of things in Michael that are
interesting for me-the mystery of him, his awareness, his intelligence I guess,
and also his duality between logic and his more human or more animal side I
guess.
INTERVIEWER
Have you discovered anything about yourself, Roy Dupuis, while portraying
Michael that you hadn't previously realized? Did it teach you anything?
ROY DUPUIS
That I could be more patient than I thought I could. Um.
INTERVIEWER
How so?
ROY DUPUIS
How so?-well it's long days and also it was working not at home, so it was a
long time of traveling and stuff like that. And I would go back every weekend to
my farm house so.
INTERVIEWER
Did you discover anything about yourself personally as a result of playing this
character?
ROY DUPUIS
Yeah but that's personal.
INTERVIEWER
Fair enough, fair enough. How much input have you had in the development of your
character, and is there anything that you would change about Michael?
ROY DUPUIS
Well I had pretty much had a lot of input into the character of Michael. Of
course not into storylines, sometimes yes a little bit. It was a teamwork. I
mean that's how I like to work and that's how Joel Oliver and I worked together.
We got to trust each other with time. And you know it's like a team, it's an
exchange. The whole minimalist side of Michael came from me. Joel was a bit
scared of that at first but he uh ...
INTERVIEWER
And what do you mean by minimalist?
ROY DUPUIS
Minimalist?
Yeah, that's a word. Minimalist means um, well as for Michael, I didn't think of
it as playing him minimalist, it just came through my reading. It was mostly
knowing Michael and knowing the reality of the section, knowing what Michael had
to do in the last 13 years of his life, and knowing it was almost like a prison.
And knowing that section is like the opposite side of the mirror of the society,
which means that if you learn, usually you learn section the opposite of what we
try to teach you in society. Which is actually sometimes is kind of similar
anyway. Which I mean that you learn to lie, and not to trust anyone. But mostly
knowing that Michael had killed so many people and had lost so many people he
knew. It came through that uh, and also knowing, wanted that Michael be a
perfectionist, minimalist side would mean that Michael would not show any of his
feelings or thoughts in section's reality.
INTERVIEWER
What's your favorite episode or scene in the series and why?
ROY DUPUIS
Oh, I don't think I have a favorite episode, I have favorite moments. And I
think there's a couple of them in War
INTERVIEWER
Is there a particular scene you really enjoyed playing?
ROY DUPUIS
Let me think. Actually what I, what I kind of liked about Michael and playing
Michael is the fact that, just the truth to the choices I made at the beginning
to keep Michael as uh ... Michael for me was not a character that could evolve,
he was already like a shadow of himself. Of course it was fun once in a while to
show a little bit of what was inside, but it was for an actor and for me I
guess, it was um, how can I say it in English? It was not really a challenge but
it was important for me to stay true to the reality of the character even though
Michael was always like almost like a shadow. Through all those 4 years it was
important and it was tough sometimes but it was also interesting to keep him
that way. Not to show I guess the usual evolving character--no, he's like this.
In section there's not many ways to evolve. You don't really evolve once you've
been 15 years there or for Michael at least. That was the major thing I would
respect of what I've done.
INTERVIEWER
Was there a storyline or situation that you would have liked to have seen be a
part of the series?
ROY DUPUIS
Uh, can't think of any.
INTERVIEWER
Ok. Would you ever consider doing a La Femme Nikita movie for the big screen?
ROY DUPUIS
Yes, why not. If once again I like the character, I like what they write, if it
pleases me.
INTERVIEWER
What do you think of the overwhelming fan support for the show?
ROY DUPUIS
What do I think of it? Well I guess in a certain way that's why we do what we
do. To reach people. So for me to see that people like what we do it's like a
compliment, it's like my reward, it's like a gift. It's my food, and not really
my food, my food is the script itself. But it's the dessert.
INTERVIEWER
Very good. Have you ever gone online and looked at any of the numerous La Femme
Nikita fan sites?
ROY DUPUIS
Oh a couple of times with uh, yeah.
INTERVIEWER
Are there any in particular that you remember?
ROY DUPUIS
I read some interesting things.
ROY DUPUIS
Really? Anything in particular?
ROY DUPUIS
Um, but I remember I was finding it sometimes funny, sometimes interesting.
INTERVIEWER
By far in one way or another, the most asked fan question is what are your
future career plans. Everyone wants to know where they can find you, what you're
gonna do next?
ROY DUPUIS
I really don't know right now. Right now what I'm doing is taking time to, to
know what I want to do. Because it's been, I'd say it's been a big wave to ride
since I've started acting. It's been going pretty quickly. And right now I'm
just taking the winter off to mourn Michael I guess. Is that what you say?
Mourn, when someone has died?
INTERVIEWER
Yeah, yeah.
ROY DUPUIS
And see what comes out of that, what I feel like doing, what I want to do with
my life, what I like, what I don't like. And try to go that way.
INTERVIEWER
Do you think that you'll continue acting?
ROY DUPUIS
Um, yes I think, maybe, I don't know. That's exactly what I don't want to do
right now, is to say ok I will continue acting. I just want to take the time to
let everything settle down and just live for a while and see what I want to do
with my life.
INTERVIEWER
Did you enjoy directing?
ROY DUPUIS
Loved it.
INTERVIEWER
Would you like to do more directing?
ROY DUPUIS
Uh, it's the same answer-I don't know. I would say yes, but I don't want to say
yes.
INTERVIEWER
You know you have a lot of fans out there that are really, really, um, they have
a strong allegiance. Huge supporters of the show, they've really come to love
the show, and really enjoyed the characters. And they wanted to know if there's
any chance you'll be attending the final Nikita Convention this coming May?
ROY DUPUIS
I don't know.
INTERVIEWER
OK. [LAUGHTER] Fair enough. Was there one particular experience that you'll come
away with as particularly poignant, that you'll remember the whole experience of
playing Michael and being a part of La Femme Nikita?
ROY DUPUIS
Well that always comes really to the people met and our work is a teamwork.
That's what I've learned through National Theatre School, everybody is part of a
chain, and if one piece is missing it can't hold. And so we work with some very
interesting people, I meet some very interesting people and very closely.
Because we work with our spirits and emotions so we get to know each other
pretty much. So those are the, what really most of the times, what really stick
to us the people I've met there. Going from Alberta, Matthew, Eugene, Peta, and
Jamie and the directors, and Joel of course and pretty much Mark and all, the
director of photography, all that. This is mostly what stays. And of course the
answer that I gave you about my favorite experience I had playing Michael, the
previous answer goes to that also. That I stick to what I thought was the truth
of the character.
INTERVIEWER
And how did it feel when you finished, when you wrapped up your last scene when
you were done?
ROY DUPUIS
Well that was actually last year, because we had like two deaths.
INTERVIEWER
Right. [LAUGHTER]
ROY DUPUIS
And mourned twice. Actually that was one part that was interesting this year
when we came back. The first time I played Michael I had a hard time believing
in him because I spent all summer I guess mourning him.
INTERVIEWER
Right.
ROY DUPUIS
So that was funny, I was playing Michael and that first scene I did when I first
came back, and Michael was weird. I had a hard time believing in him. So how did
it felt last year, so this year it was kind of different. It was over but it was
already, had been over. Last year it was very moving of course, it was 4 years
of my life. And like you said before it was, since I don't live in Toronto, it
was saying goodbye to a lot of people, a lot of friends actually. It's often
like that in this business. You meet people, you get really close to them, and
then you probably don't see them anymore. It's always a moving moment. And of
course for the character itself, and all the other characters. So it was moving
but not sad because I think we succeeded in what we had to do in a certain way.
INTERVIEWER
Sure. Is there anything you'd like the fans to know about you, about Michael,
about La Femme Nikita as sort of you know a farewell?
ROY DUPUIS
Yeah, I'd like to thank them for seeing the invisible.
INTERVIEWER
Could you expound on that a little bit?
ROY DUPUIS
Well a lot of things that Michael would do is not really visible in a certain
way. It was but not really. You had to be really there to notice. And through
all the fan letters I saw that a lot of them were understanding. But I don't
want to explain it.
INTERVIEWER
Thank you so much for your time, the fans are gonna love this. They're gonna be
really, really excited. And I wish you the best of luck in all your future
endeavors.
ROY DUPUIS
Thanks.
INTERVIEWER
Take care now.
ROY DUPUIS
Thanks to you too.
<< From
my archives, so I must have copied it from somewhere, but it was so long ago I
can't remember the source. So, not exactly reproduced with permission,
but certainly with thanks. viv, May 2007 >>