"I'm sorry. You wouldn't think so from appearance looking at me, but I'm not unsociable."

Fanny Ardant said it as if she was apologizing. This time, taking a photograph, there were only two photographers whom Fanny allowed.

It may normally be misunderstood as the arrogance of an actress, but as far as I can see, she seems very thoughtful about other people, as well as modest.

"I have a personality that doesn't get to know someone easily. So if I am supposed to work together with a photographer whom I have never worked with before, there is a need for me to spend several days with the photographer to get know each other better. Our work will be begin after that. As for this two photographers, they are reliable men and I don't get tense facing the camera (when I work with them)."

She was very busy with her new film, but finally agreed to the photo session in Rome when she had time to spare from the shooting of her new film. The photos were taken by Francesco Escalar whom she has been friends with. He is one of the photographers who enjoys the full confidence of Italian actresses such as Monica Bellucci.

"On both of them, shooting a film and taking a photograph, I think that a reliable relationship is very important for the work." "In the case of a film, let's assume that I accept playing a role which is considered risky. It's up to the director, whether I can put my heart 100% into the film with the director or not, if I think I can do it even though there is some risk on the surface, I will take the role. Trusting one another is something that should happen more often. That's the movies!"    

Of course, she learned the basic principle from the late director François Truffaut.

"Frankly speaking, when I was young I had this idea in my head that I was ugly. I'm not a beautiful woman at all. I really think like that, and it's neither modesty nor anything like it. My face is kind of a funny face. That was the reason which made me choose to be a stage actress without hesitation when I made up my mind to be an actress. I thought that it would be more suitable for me because beauty or ugliness on the stage is less of an issue than it would be in cinema. When I first appeared in films, I had often been told that I was an actress whose face was funny. However, I was haunted by a curiosity that I wanted to jump into the world of cinema when I met François Truffaut. I was attracted to him as a filmmaker, I fully trusted him, and then I got to point when I didn't care about my face as I devoted myself to the cinema world."

Who can believe that Fanny Ardant had complex feelings about her looks!

"Of course, being praised for my looks, that you're beautiful, makes me happy. And it makes me even happier to be told that after seeing my performance, that is to say, I become happier when I hear you're beautiful especially as an actress. The presence of an actress is mysterious. There is the sort of actress who begins to shine and attracts people even though she doesn't have regular features. That's the true worth of this job."

However, growing old happens to an actress as well. French actresses have the manners and customs which accept getting older as a virtue, and they are the envy of Hollywood actresses whose commercial value as actresses is very much affected  by youth and beauty.

"I think that there is no need to show oneself as being your 30's by having plastic surgery in your 50`s...as an actress as well as a woman. What I can say as an actress is that...for instance, if there is a scene where I have to appear with no make-up, I ought to have the confidence and be ready to reveal myself. And of course, it is necessary that the staff as well as the project are able to make me have the passion for it. In particular, in the case of a film, if I don't have the strength to resist the eye of the camera, I will not be able to manage it, because sometimes the eye of the camera is very cruel. One doesn't need to be afraid of aging being an actress, depending on how you think of it, because an actress is different from a model or a dancer. There is definitely something which permeates with aging and having experiences. And even if an actress is very beautiful, if she is young she wouldn't be able to express such things. On the contrary, there is the kind of actress who could attract people with an attraction like no one else could even though her face is very lined. It depends on how you think of beauty."

Fanny has clear-cut and well-defined features, and I couldn't find any wrinkles or freckles in her face,  even though I looked at her close up, but as a woman, she said that aging wasn't something she would welcome.

"When I was a little girl I lived in Monaco. In the summer, I saw the sight of rich madams who wore swimsuits, revealing themselves, which never looked beautiful. Seeing them I thought that it was unpleasant, I didn't want to be like them and there was a need to prepare for getting older. But there were many marvelous women around me who made me think that I was able to say that they were my role-models."

We were given concrete examples which she thought would prepare her for growing old.

"When you are over 40 years old, you shouldn't wear mini-skirts or low-cut dresses. You should try to avoid choosing clothes which emphasize your body as you get older. You can express elegance with the way you talk and with your facial expression, which you were unable to do when you were young. And you should not become too thin. My father often told me that women should be cows, not goats (laughs)."

But according to her, the secret to preserving youth and beauty depends on how you think of it rather than technique on appearance." If you try to defend it it will be the end of you. In the case of love, you should plunge yourself into it, not be afraid of it even though you know that it is reckless."  They are words with weight coming from her because she has had many experiences in love.

"Nobody can ever plan his/her own life. In my case, I'm overwhelmed by passion even though love involves taking risks...even though it may hurt my reputation in my career as an actress, and because I have confidence to get over it once again. And it is natural that love does not continue for a long time. Of course, if it is finished it will hurt and cause me pain, but when I go through it, I will mature."

"When François passed away and left me forever, I hadn't spoken with anyone and couldn't work for 2 years. But I have gotten over it now. Between roses and weeds after rain, nobody knows which of them will be covered. I was born into an aristocratic family, but as you look at me now, I have a very different life. Life is built by the conduct of how one spends everyday. When I gave birth the first time, I kept it a secret because I was told from people around me that it would have a negative impact on my career as an actress. But a child is a gift when it's time to have a baby. Now my children are the most precious treasures in my life."

© FANNY ARDANT Online

Translated by HIDE

Edited by George Sand

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