In 2008,  Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Academy Award for her remarkable performance as Edith Piaf in LA VIE EN ROSE, the first time in nearly fifty years that an actress has won for a non English-language film (back in 1961 that actress was Sophia Loren--now Cotillard's co-star in NINE).   Her role in LA VIE EN ROSE also brought her the BAFTA, Golden Globe, two César Awards and the Czech Lion.
Cotillard was born into an artistic household--her father, Jean-Claude Cotillard, is an award winning Director, actor, teacher and former mime artist.   Her mother, Niseema Theillaud, is an actress and drama teacher.   Cotillard has twin brothers, Quentin, a sculptor and painter, and Guillaume, a writer.
After a brief flirtation with television, Cotillard's film career began in the mid 1990s in French cinema--Pierre Grimblat's LISA with Jeanne Moreau, Coline Serreau's comedy LA BELLE VERTE, Alexandre Aja's anticipation fantasy, FURIA.  By the late 1990s she was being cast in Luc Besson's TAXI, and revived her role in two sequels.   She continued to attract attention playing twins who exchange their lives after one of them dies in LES JOLIES CHOSES, adapted from the work of feminist author Virginie Despentes. 
She made her English speaking debut in Tim Burton's BIG FISH and played a complex romantic lead in Yann Sammuell's JEUX D'ENFANTS, followed by two critical successes--A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT as murderous Tina Lombardi, winning the César for best supporting actress, and the mystery INNOCENCE.
Abel Ferrara cast her opposite Forest Whitaker in MARY, and she starred in BURNT OUT, followed by Ridley Scott's A GOOD YEAR with Russell Crowe.   She appeared in a Belgian comedy DIKKENEK and learned to play the cello for her role in a satirical coming of age movie, YOU AND ME.
It was Director Olivier Dahan who chose her to play Edith Piaf in LA VIE EN ROSE. He decided, well before he met her, because he said her eyes were similar to Piaf's.   Producer Alain Goldman defended the choice, even though his budget was cut on the grounds that Cotillard was not bankable!
The film became one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year--and Cotillard won universal praise for the way she inhabited the soul of the unhappy, iconic Piaf.   When the awards season came around it was easy to see that Cotillard was about to break all the records--Oscar®, BAFTA, Golden Globe, César, Czech Lion.
She was recently seen in Michael Mann's PUBLIC ENEMIES with Johnny Depp.

Q: Talk about having the opportunity to be part of the cast of "Nine."
MC: It's one of the most amazing thing that has happened to me. I've always dreamt to be in a musical, an American musical. When I was a kid I, I loved to watch musical, and I would try to, you know, to do the same choreography, and I knew the songs by heart, and uh… and I never thought that it would be actually possible. And I guess my dream was so loud that it came true, you know.

Q: Talk about your two musical numbers, especially the one that Maury Yeston wrote for you.
MC: Uh, what I--when uh, when they came with "Take It All," I thought it was such an amazing idea to turn, in a way, "Be On Your Own," that was the original song of Lousia when she--when she tries to, you know, live, not to tell too much. And I thought that she, she keeps everything inside most of the time because she, she has to stand by him, she has to defend him because everybody knows what's going on with this guy, I mean about the relationships he has with other women. And then suddenly--so you have this aspect of her personality that is not weak but in her--well she keeps everything inside, as I said before, and then suddenly it's too much, and "Take It All" is a wonderful uh, fierce moment.

Q: Talk about working with Rob Marshall and the choreography, and working with all those dancers.
MC: I thought I knew how to dance, and I found out that I actually didn't, and uh… and Rob, and John DeLuca, and three dancers we worked with uh, were so confident that we could do the whole thing, dancing, and singing, and Paul Bogave that was our amazing teacher, singing teacher, it was--yeah, it was amazing to see how confident they, they were whereas most of us actors were so scared about what we had to do. But then you start to work and, and they are confident become--it doesn't become your confident because I don't think an actor will ever be confident, but it, it turns into actions, and actions are, you know, action is work. And then you forget about being scared, you just do it, and by doing it over, and over, and over again, finally you find the pleasure, and then with the pleasure, the fear goes away.

Q: Talk about Colleen Atwood's costumes.
MC: I love Colleen. It's the third movie we uh, we've done together, and uh… she has such an eye, and uh, and such a passion for each project she works in you know, and uh, and she has such good taste.

Q: Talk about Louisa and Guido's relationship.
MC: Uh…it's a relationship that was very powerful. Louisa gave, gave up her career, well has given up her career for love, and uh… but suddenly she feels so lone--lonely in this relationship, and she feels lonely because she's accepted a lot. She knows about his relationships with other women, and uh, she, she stands by her man as long as he respects her, and, and because he's lost with himself, he's lost with her too, and he doesn't look at her anymore. And even if there's love, as he's lost, love is lost too.

Q: I want to ask you about Daniel and then the tag. Talk about working with Daniel.
MC: Daniel is unique. Daniel is gifted, inspired, inspiring, uh… the intensity he has is so intense, intensity. It's uh…I think it's--he's one of the best actors on earth. He's uh…the way he shares what he does, and uh… the atmosphere that uh… the atmosphere of the set when he is there is so powerful. He's so dedicated to what he does, he's so smart, he's uh… he understands everything.


BACK

HOME