Every day, a personality invites himself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Today the French-Canadian actor Niels Schneider. This Wednesday, March 29, 2023, he can be seen in the film “Apaches” by Romain Quirot.
Niels Schneider is a French-Canadian actor. He followed in his father’s footsteps by accompanying him to shows he directed. The theater also welcomed him on his first steps with roles in plays by Feydeau and Kafka. The big screen quickly took an interest in him and in 2010 he recorded his role imaginary lovers by Xavier Dolan with Monia Chokri will propel him forward onto the stage. In 2016 it is the consecration with the film Black Diamond by Arthur Harari, for which he received the César as the best male hope.
This Wednesday, March 29, 2023, he is showing the film Apache by Romain Quirot with Alice Isaaz.
franceinfo: In Apache, the year is 1900. Paris is in the hands of ultra-violent gangs who rule terror from Belleville to Montmartre. They are called the Apaches and you are one of them, Jesus. It feels good to play Peaky Blinders modern times?
Nils Schneider: We are not used to this cinema in France. I love French cinema very much, a cinema that is more reserved, more reserved. But I also like the excessive cinema, colourful, where we have fun, where there is no seriousness. And it’s true that I really wanted to follow Romain Quirot because he had an extraordinary cinematic ambition and he tries to shift the codes a little and push the boundaries of French cinema.
It’s 1900, it’s during the Belle Époque and that’s when the French will discover the Apaches with the Buffalo Bill shows. There’s a real connection, a real fascination at the end, even for violence. Is that also this film, is it a look at this society?
The Apaches were young people who fascinated everyone. They didn’t want their parents’ lives, they didn’t want to end up in the factory like them, and they hated the bourgeoisie, hated the cops, hated the job.
Nils Schneiderat franceinfo
The newspapers were horrified, but they created the Apache legend. They had their own haircut, a certain language, they spoke their slang, they had also made weapons. They were known to be outlaws and they partied a lot, just thinking about having fun.
After all, there is a lot of sensitivity in what they have hidden through what they have consumed, that absinthe. There is also a look at the children from back then. how were you as a kid
I really was in my world. I think I was a very dreamy and overly sensitive kid. And then, as a teenager, I always loved being on the streets of my neighborhood, in Montreal. Otherwise, I dreamed a lot in class.
Was it obvious to choose the acting profession?
No way. It came later. It really came when I was 16. When I first went on stage it seemed really obvious to me. I told myself at that moment that all the moments that were backstage were just moments of waiting.
The starting point in this film is the death of a brother. You have experienced this loss yourself. Will it become a strength in the end? Doesn’t it come as a guide?
For me it was and is true that my brother’s death is a tragedy. This is something that absolutely destroyed me.
I think we also build our happiness on a lot of despair and unhappiness.
Nils Schneiderat franceinfo
I built on that a lot and through the desire to get closer to this brother I finally found my way.
You started with the theatre. The cinema followed very quickly Everything is perfect by Yves Christian Fournier (2008). You have also become one of Xavier Dolan’s favorite actors. Was it obviously the cinema?
My father didn’t do any films at all. It wasn’t my world at all. I lived in Montreal. It was an environment that seemed inaccessible, so I didn’t allow myself to dream of making films at all. It came later when I first met Quebec director Yves Christian Fournier. And then with Dolan. Nothing seemed impossible to him. He really got his chance doing the first two films I did with him. I killed my mother etc imaginary lovers. He made them with very little money. We did it with friends and suddenly the field of possibilities really opened up and expanded.
It’s also strong when you look at all the films you’ve shot for. There is always a family story behind it. Family is the base, is it your pillar?
It’s true that family is very important to me and then the roles that we give you, that we offer you. You never know if it’s the actors that attract the roles or if it’s the roles that attract the actors. I don’t know how to answer this question.
What brings you this profession of acting?
It brings me a lot of things. It allows me to get to know myself a little bit better, to realize that I’m a little bigger, a little more than what I thought I was. It allows me to maintain a connection to childhood. Meetings, travelling, it enables me to do a lot. I feel very privileged to do this job.
