‘The Actor from La Haine Shares Why His Castmates Feared Him on Set’

When the actor plays a role in reality

If you like French cinema, you have certainly already seen Hate. Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and released in 1995, this black and white film took place after a night of riots and clashes between city youth and the Parisian suburban police. The feature film then featured a trio of actors whose first names were used for their characters composed of Vincent Cassel, Said Taghmaoui And Hubert Koundé. Inspired by the Makomé M'Bowolé affair, the scenario remains very relevant in 2024 and has made this film a true classic of French cinema. At the time, Vincent Cassel was only 29 years old and his acting career had just begun. On the occasion of the Cannes Film Festival, the now 57-year-old actor returned to this shoot:

If he speaks about it today with a lot of lightness and a little self-mockery, Vincent Cassel therefore chose to do a little method acting to slip into the skin of his character during the filming of La Haine. In order to make his interpretation more credible, he obtained a dummy weapon with whom he walked down the street, and even managed to convince the film crew that it was indeed authentic. Enough to make everyone believe that Vincent Cassel had indeed gone crazy, and above all enough to fear him throughout the filming period.

Method acting: a controversial technique

Obviously, the method acting is far from being a new technique among actors. If you're not familiar with the term, this method involves letting an actor behave like their character, but in real life. The goal is to become one with the personality of the latter so that the interpretation is as authentic as possible. Whether in France or abroad, it is ultimately quite common to see actors using this controversial technique.

Because if it can be relatively harmless when it comes to embodying normal characters, it immediately becomes more troublesome when it is used to reproduce a personality involving psychological disorders. Of course, it has sometimes given convincing results as for Heath Ledger's Joker, but many actors make a point of reminding us that this kind of feat can quite be achieved with classic and safe work. . Furthermore, method acting is far from being synonymous with assured results (Jared Leto also chose this technique for his Joker in Suicide Squad…).

In the end, as Vincent Cassel himself said so well, this method is often used by young actors who want to do everything to prove that they have their place in the very competitive world of cinema. Some actors have also bitten their fingers after having resorted to it, such as Austin Butler who kept his accent modeled on that of Elvis for several months after the release of the eponymous film (released in 2022).