Journey from extrovert to introvert

Benjamin Voisin: 'I did tend to stay in the character after the filming had finished' Photo: Curzon

Actor Benjamin Voisin was acutely aware of the burden expectation when he agreed to play the anti-hero Meursault in François Ozon’s adaptation of The Stranger (L'Étranger), one of the three most read French language books ever.

Like most of his compatriots Voisin had read Albert Camus’s existential masterpiece for the first time when he was in school at the age of 16. Through his grandfather there was also a family connection to Algeria and the colonial conflict although it was never discussed at home.

“The book made a big impression on me at the time, although I am not sure I understood it all but strangely it made me think a lot about myself and the choices you have to make in life,” he said in between puffs of a clandestine cigarette as he leans out of the window during a day of interviews at a hotel near the Champs Élysées in Paris earlier in the year.

“It’s been read all over the world, translated into umpteen languages so yes it was a bit daunting to say the least,” said the actor whose career appears to be maturing apace.

Benjamin Voisin at the Lumière Awards: 'I don’t really want to get sucked in to the round of awards, red carpets, photo calls and festivals' Photo: Academie des Lumières

He turns 30 in December and has progressed from awards as best male newcomer (for another literary adaptation Xavier Giannoli’s Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac in 2021) to fully-fledged best actor for The Stranger at the Lumière Awards in January. He has received popular exposure in the Apple+ TV series Carême as the titular flamboyant 19th century chef Antonin Carême, who rose from poverty amid the French Revolution's chaos to become the world's first celebrity gastronome.

Earlier on he made his mark delivering a breakout performance as the teenage Victor in the three-part television miniseries Fiertés, a poignant exploration of LGBTQ+ struggles and evolving social acceptance in France across three generations, from the 1980s AIDS crisis to marriage equality debates.

To come to grips with the apathetic and introverted Meursault (only ever known by his surname) he worked on the character for four months and re-read the novel several times. After this total immersion Voisin concluded that his interpretation became instinctive, and he managed to repress his natural extrovert tendencies. “I had to become calmer and more observational about what was going on around me. At the hotel in Morocco where we were shooting, I could spend five hours just looking at the ceiling and thinking. It was real research on the ‘interior being’.”

Meursault is a young settler in 1930s Algiers who is involved in a sensuous love affair before murdering a young Arab man, a complete stranger, for no apparent reason. Meursault’s indifference to social norms and apparent lack of grief at his mother’s funeral are scrutinised in minute detail during his trial.

Ozon, with whom Voisin feels a kinship through playing the charismatic older teenager for the director’s autobiographical Summer Of 85 in 2021 (earning a shared César newcomer gong with his co-star Félix Lefebvre), proved to be more remote this time around.

“The preparation was complicated, but it was fine once it was under way. The atmosphere was very different from Summer Of 85 where my character was based on a fantasy figure whom François had known in real life. We were able to talk about that whereas with Meursault I did not know exactly who he was – and neither did François.

Benjamin Voisin and Rebecca Marder in The Stranger: 'For the whole film there was the searing heat and the light and I could hardly see the other actors' Photo: Curzon

“During the shoot I kept myself to myself and did not really socialise with the rest of the cast [among them Rebecca Marder, Pierre Lottin, Swann Arlaud and Denis Lavant]. That was a shame because in cinema you tend to work as a family, discuss things and have a drink after work. For this role I did not want any of that. I did tend to stay in the character after the filming had finished. I am not really an Actors’ Studio kind of person but for this role it seemed to work for me.”

Ozon who shot the film in stunning monochrome, has admitted that it was a difficult challenge for the actor. He said: “Meursault is an unsympathetic character, but we still must follow him, watch him, be fascinated by him. So, we needed someone with charisma, someone beautiful. And with Benjamin we worked in that sense to make the character of Meursault enigmatic and exciting to watch, not just unsympathetic.”

Part of the allure of the project for the actor was the fact it was filmed in black and white. Voisin explained: “You are not conscious of it at the time of filming but what dominates is the light. In the book and in the film one of the characters that we do not talk about is the sun. It almost made blind because it was so bright, but in a way it was what I felt I needed. For the whole film there was the searing heat and the light and I could hardly see the other actors. François told me not to play to them – one of his few instructions was not to play at all. And that was one of the hardest aspects for an actor – not to play and to go into non-acting mode.”

Benjamin Voisin: 'The book made a big impression on me at the time' Photo: Curzon

Voisin who, out of the blue, asks for some dating tips for a Swedish woman with whom he has an assignation later that evening (and obviously is slightly preoccupied), chooses his parts based on “the fragrance” of the role. “It must ignite my passions, and if I don’t have those feelings then I am suspicious. It depends also who is in the cast. There must be a connection and something for me to interrogate.”

He has fond memories of making Lost Illusions for Xavier Giannoli who he describes as “a major director” whose new film Shadows (Rayons et les ombres) has just been released. “I loved Lost Illusions because it is one of the few films that I can watch and not see myself in it. I simply get lost in the film like the audience,” he added.

For someone who has praise and awards heaped upon him by the bucketload he remains determined to keep aloof “from the narcissism of being an actor. I try to be polite, but I don’t really want to get sucked in to the round of awards, red carpets, photo calls and festivals.

“What pleased me most about Lost Illusions was the fact that the film had the César for best film rather than my award as best newcomer. There are lots of films where the actors may be excellent, but the film is mediocre.”

Born in Paris, Voisin has been well-grounded in the craft. His father was a teacher at the Cours Florent drama school which he attended, and his mother worked as an accountant.

Before he dashes off for his Swedish date Voisin gives a parting shot that proves his feet are firmly on the ground. “I accept my flaws and show that I accept them. That way, I don't have to justify myself all the time. I am who I am, and bending myself is just a waste of energy. Accepting oneself is crucial for me, both on stage and at home. Maintaining balance, nuance and movement is like a tightrope walk.”

The Stranger on UK and Ireland release through Curzon from 3 April. Also on release through Music Box in the US in April.