Many actors have came out of nowhere to land a career defining role. And a few of them had no intention of ever setting foot in front of a camera in the first place. These tales often become legendary, giving hope to every actor with dreams of stardom somewhere in the world. Guillaume Marbeck, who plays Jean-Luc Godard in Richard Linklater‘s breezy palate cleanser “Nouvelle Vague,” may become one of those infamous talents with a lucky break that is talked about for years. And after speaking to the French actor for a few minutes, you completely understand how it happened.
READ MORE: Zoey Deutch Waited Almost A Decade For The Role Of A Lifetime In “Nouvelle Vague”
Marbeck has a playful but somehow also very French, nonchalant charisma. He’s disarming, but blunt in a way that, in retrospect, made his casting as Godard a no-brainer. It’s just one of many reasons “Nouvelle” casting director Stéphane Batut deservers serious consideration for an inaugral Casting Oscar nomination. But Marbeck’s story doesn’t begin with the struggling actor looking for his big break narrative. Truth be told, he wasn’t even trying to be a movie star. He just thought to be a better film director he should try every gig he could in the business, including acting. But maybe it’s better if we have him explain his unexpected journey from extra to walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival to traveling the world promoting his celebrated, first scren role.
Note: It may not seem like it at first, but this interview has actually been edited for length and clarity.
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The Playlist: From what I’ve read, you were just sort of starting as an actor when you got this major role. How did it even come your way?
Guillaume Marbeck: So, basically, it’s been 10 years. I’ve been doing every job that I could find on movie sets, in distribution. I bought movies at AFM* for distribution companies in France. I’ve also done internships in a projection company for kids’ entertainment in LA for two months in 2016. I’ve done kind of a whole big picture about what it is to work in this industry because I wanted to be a director, and I wanted to talk to every person that I would have to work with to make the best movie. And I ended up making a movie, playing a director making a movie with Richard Linklater. So, that’s very funny. But acting was really the last job I hadn’t done. And I felt that I missed the skill of directing people, and I felt like I had to try acting to understand how do I talk to actors because it’s a very different language. And so I did two years of school, and after this there was COVID. I opened a photography studio in Paris because a lot of my actors’ friends needed headshots, so I had to pay my bills. And once I got [some] balance in my life, I told myself, “O.K., now what is it about acting? Do you want to make it? You want to participate in this?” And the answer was yes. And so I posted some pictures and videos online. I wanted to have a video presentation that, if there were a biopic about myself, they would hire me. Three months later, I got an email from a casting director, Stéphane Batut, who cast all the crew in the movie. And because Richard Linklater wanted people who looked alike from the people of the past, he had to find personalities that felt the same or looked the same. And he sent me an email, and he said, “So I’m looking for Jean-Luc Godard while making ‘Breathless,’ snd it’s going to be directed by Richard Linklater and it’s in French.’ I was just an extra at this time. There was no way somebody who knew me would offer me this opportunity. So, I thought it was a scam, but it wasn’t. It turned out it was real.
In the video you created to promote yourself as an actor, was there footage where you looked like Godard? Was there anything that you look back now and realize that’s where the casting director saw a good fit?
I think it’s not about the look or the voice, maybe the way I speak, but it’s more about the logic. I like crazy ideas. I like to see the world upside down or to try to challenge reality or challenge what you think. For example, I think the world is like a Rubik’s Cube with seven million yards of faces. And each face is one person. And if you really want to understand life, you have to have a coffee with every person on the planet. But obviously it’s not possible unless you kill everyone, and there’s only one person left, and you have a coffee, and then you understand life. But then maybe the cats are going to say, “No. I think the word is more meow.” So, this is what I think, and this way of thinking, I think it made Stéphane think that I had this sense of humor that Godard had and that he wanted to portray in this movie.
Your credits say you’re also in Alice Winocour’s “Couture.” I saw it at the Toronto Internatational Film Festival in September, but I don’t remember who you played in it?
So, this is a fun story. In France, to be able to get money from the government as an artist, every month you have to do a certain number of jobs. I had to be an extra on “Couture.” So, I went on the set and there was the the head hairdresser of “Couture,” that bolded me for one month on “Nouvelle” because Godard was losing hair. So, he was doing me the meanest thing that you can do to a man during one month. And then I met him on the set, and he told me, “Oh, do you want to meet the director? Why are you doing extra? You’ve been in ‘Vague’ and stuff?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, but I’m unknown, so I have to do what I have to do.’ And then 30 minutes later, he comes back with the director, and she said, ‘Oh, how are you? I love Godard.’ And I thought, ‘What did he say to her, because I don’t want to waste her time. She has a movie to do. I’m just an extra. And she says, ‘Actually, on Monday I need an actor for a role because I rewrote a scene, and I need this character, it’s a makeup artist, and he’s very bitchy with my main character.’ And she said, ‘Maybe you could fit in if you want. I needed extra jobs to make my government money so I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ And then she called me during the weekend because it was on Friday, the extra job. And then on Monday was the acting job. And she said, ‘How did you work it?’ And I said, ‘Oh, I rewrite stuff so I know what’s under the lines and stuff.’ And she said, ‘What did you write?’ And I told her. And then to my surprise on Sunday, I received the new text for Monday, and half of the lines were what I wrote. So, I was really happy.
Wild. So, back to ‘Nouvelle.’ What was the audition process like with Richard?
So, the first audition I did was only with Stéphane. And the first thing he said was ‘Obviously, you know, we are casting for the main character.’ And I did not. And then the audition went well, and then six months later, I had had no news, and I just got a call from him, and he said, ‘O.K., so Richard is going to be here in three days. If you still want to meet him, he wants to meet you.’ And I said, ‘Of course!’ I canceled a lot of shootings I had with my photography studio – I lost a lot of money there – but I don’t care. Then he said, ‘Here’s 25 pages of text to learn [over the next] three days.’ I learned the pages and then I went to the audition, but I didn’t have the [trademark Godard] glasses because I lost them from the earlier audition. And my Optician friend opens his store to give me glasses in the morning, but he arrives late because of a [personal issue]. So, then I arrive late at this meeting, and I jump off the elevator, and everybody is around and says, ‘So you are late?’ And I thought, ‘O.K., the first impression is key in an audition. What would Godard do? He wouldn’t apologize.’ So, I said, ‘Of course I’m late.’ And she said, ‘Why?’ ‘Because of the glasses.’ And I told the story and everything, and they started laughing. And the audition went for eight hours. And this is when I realized, ‘O.K., so they organized the [entire] day for me, so this might be a big deal.’ And I get back and I texted Aubrey [Duffin] that auditioned for Jean-Paul Belmondo, adnd he was not in his best day this first day. And he told me, ‘Oh, I’m coming back tomorrow and the best thing is I’m playing with another Godard.’ Then I thought like, ‘What’s happening? I don’t understand. They gave me the script, but there’s another Godard.’ So, I said, ‘O.K. f**k it. I’m just going to wait.’ And I waited for two weeks and I read every page of the script, and Godard was on every page. And I felt like, do I really want to do this because this is going to be a real amount of work. And two weeks later, I got the phone call from Stefan, and she said, ‘O.K., so they finally chose you. It’s going to be you. Bye-bye.’
That was it. Just one eight-hour day, no follow-up auditions. No screen tests.
Yes.
Having not gone through this experience before, did that make you more nervous or more confident when you finally showed up for rehearsals?
Well, it was like getting a prize for me. I had the opportunity to audition for an American director. That should not happen in a French acting life, especially if you are an extra. So, just doing that was like getting an award for me. I didn’t even think about it. I just wanted to, after this, buy the glasses from my friend’s optician to have as a trophy in my house and think like, ‘O.K., you made it to this point. Maybe you have a place or something to do in this business, even though you don’t make it because they’re going to choose a star or somebody bankable, of course, for this movie.’ But it turns out they chose me.
Your long-term goal had been to direct?
Yes.
Now that you’ve starred this film and been on this global tour, do you want to act more? Have your long term goals changed?
Well, what I usually say is writing a movie and directing, it feels like building a car and trying to make it work. Acting in a movie is jumping into that car and driving as fast as you can without crashing it. So, driving is really easier to do and faster to do than building a car. So, I really feel the urge to act more. And on the side, I’m building projects to direct. Yeah.
“Nouvelle Vague” drops on Netflix on Nov. 14
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