Quotes

For as long as I can remember, I've always acted. As a child, I'd invent stories, write them down, distribute the roles to my school friends or, at home, to my two little sisters. I'd build sets from whatever I could get my hands on, and make costumes from scraps of fabric. I spent my life putting on shows. I charged the audience, in other words, my family. I've always felt like a sheep that's escaped from the herd, and at the same time I love coming together with people. I've always wanted to put life on stage; I find it more interesting that way. Acting isn't necessarily being an actor, it's a way of being in the world, of wanting to surprise others. It could be, for example, hiding behind a tree to surprise someone and make them jump.

[on cinema] It's my whole life! My place, meeting people, doing the job with people like André Dussollier, Thierry Lhermitte....I also like the cinema because it's a day's work. I enjoy getting up early, I'm a morning person. And shoots make us travel, meet people I'd otherwise never have known. I love travelling, discovering. Cinema enables this.

I like to take my time. I've never been able to go from one interview to another, from one meeting to another, from one film to another....it has to be a pleasure, not a chore. It's my character. There are actors who can shoot one film in the morning, another in the afternoon: I just can't do that! If two projects are offered at the same time, I'll only take one of them. Because I wouldn't be at my best, I'd start to fret and rush and I wouldn't be able to give what's needed for the part.

Everyone has their own style as an actor, it's not a question of talent but of personality. My own personality in the cinema or in the theatre, as in life, is to go elsewhere, to surprise. I play a certain type of role and bam, I want to show something else, a style nobody expects. In Life Is a Bed of Roses (1983) I play a young, innocent, shy girl, a sort of angel, and after that there was A Sunday in the Country (1984). Tavernier had seen me in Alain Resnais's film, he gave me the script, I read it and I knew that it was made for me. Sometimes there are roles one hesitates about. But I was sure about that one. And I thought I was going to be hired, but no! He took an endless amount of time to offer me the part. He asked me, "Will you have the liveliness? You know, I need an actress like Danielle Darrieux!" I felt exasperated, I said to myself that if he couldn't see that I was Irène, then I wasn't going to do the dance of the seven veils. Finally, I went to see him and said, "I'm not going to do the film because I'm not Danelle Darrieux and I never will be. I am Sabine Azéma. It's over. It's not me that you want, goodbye." Well, I signed my contract that same day. He said, "That's it, the character! It's Irène!" I have to say I was vehement. I was angry for real, I wasn't putting on an act.

[2022 interview] The other evening, I was watching the last scenes of Mélo (1986) at the Cinémathèque for the Alain Resnais retrospective, just before going back into the theatre for the discussion. I saw myself on the giant screen with my two pals, Pierre Arditi and André Dussollier, and I said to myself: "We made that. One day, we're going to die, but this film is going to stay for 100, 200, 500 years?" That makes me happy. It's a job which is great when we have admiration for people, for directors, for collaborators.

[on Alain Resnais] He called me one day and said "Hello, I'm Alain Resnais, I'm a film director." I was very surprised, but at the same time, I knew right away that something important was going to happen in my life. I went to the meeting in his Neuilly office; he offered me a film with Pierre Arditi and Vittorio Gassman, Life Is a Bed of Roses (1983) without even asking me to audition. I knew I couldn't pass it up, and the shoot was magnificent. We fell in love during the second film, Love Unto Death (1984) which is a tragedy and in which I had to cry all the time. With Resnais, I entered a poetic and artistic universe that shaped me, not only as an actress, but also as a woman. He had an ambition that appealed to me, and we were always working and having fun. Physically, he commanded respect: on set, no one dared to address him informally. And yet he was an extremely funny, jokey person. We shared a taste for acting and for dramatizing life. Together, we felt like we were 17 years old. I also loved the atmosphere on set with him. We made a lot of different films, but each one was a lot of fun. He'd leave us to our own devices, saying very little and giving very little direction, and I loved being able to participate in the creation of my role. He'd always say, "Let's shoot it and see how it turns out."

[César acceptance speech for A Sunday in the Country (1984)] I really wasn't expecting this! I don't have a script because I'm not a talented writer. I have just one modest little word to say to you: thank you. And thanks especially to my director, Bertrand Tavernier, and to Alain Resnais also. Thank you.

[César acceptance speech for Mélo (1986)] Well then! I don't know if I'm here because I'm very lucky or had a good star today or a little bit of talent, but nevertheless I know that you're rewarding someone who passionately loves her job, who loves it madly. And I obviously thank my director, Alain Resnais, Pierre Arditi, Dussollier, Fanny Ardant. I think we do this job to offer our hand to others and I thank you for taking hold of mine. And I embrace all the others: Binoche, Dalle, Miou-Miou and Birkin. Thank you.

I see a lot of films, especially at festivals. I often have the opportunity to be a jury member. It's very pleasant, you're in a small group and you can exchange views. I like to watch films which have style, which I can admire; that's what matters to me, much more than the story. The director's style is fundamental for me. In books too, I don't like that they would just tell a story, they need to have style.

I always arrive a little early on set. Getting my bearings is a pleasure - I like to know where I am. I like to browse about the town or the area surrounding the hotel where the crew is based. I love discovering new places. We shot Secret Name (2021) in Alsace, near Obernai, around 35km from Strasbourg. It's the film which takes me there, perhaps I'd never have gone otherwise. I walk, I observe, I get interested in the place and its history. Why, in Obernai, are the houses so colourful? There are yellow ones, red ones, blue ones: that depended on the job you did, whether you were a baker, a locksmith, carpenter......I pull a thread, I investigate and then afterwards I read up on the history. I like to understand. I've always done that, on all my films. I almost even prefer this - what happens before!