Exit (2020)
Director: Michael Fausti
Writer: Mathew Bayliss
Starring: Tony Denham, Michael Fausti, Charlotte Gould, Billy James Machin, Leonarda Sahani, Christophe Delesques
In a new interview on Blazing Minds I got an opportunity to talk with actor Christophe Delesques and asked him a few questions about his role in the Brexit inspired film ‘Exit’, ahead of the World Premier at Horror-on-Sea.
It is the premiere of Exit tonight, what can people expect from the film?
I think it’s a crazy film, really crazy. In terms of editing, lighting, acting everything is mad. And we are in horror film festival so people could expect something or things like a bit hard to watch. That’s all I can say
No problem I know you don’t want to give too much away. You’re playing Christophe, which is also your name, and can tell us a bit about your character?
I’m French, but my character is French with a capital ‘F’ and all the clichés. All the clichés I don’t like with French people, but its true and I was when I was playing it, I was exaggerating these clichés. That’s the character, but at the same time this character is very sensitive.
Your French like your character, but did you do any other characterisation work to prepare for the role?
I have a method of creating a character for my plays and I choose an animal to create the body language, so it would be an animal that matches the character. Then I pick a random picture online, using Google, search for images of guys, pick one and focus on becoming that one. I work a lot on making a biography of the character. It brings a deepness to the character because he has a story, childhood, parents, jobs. It doesn’t matter if the director knows about it, but for me it builds it and it’s very important. Then I go through the lines.
So, you have a history behind the character
Yeah, a strong history behind it.
And what animal did you choose for your current role?
It was a Leopard. (mimes a leopard slowly creeping forwards)
That’s an interesting choice. And what was the experience like on set and what were some of your favourite moment during filming?
I really enjoyed everything. It was really interesting because we shot in one flat, so we were locked in one flat for more than a week, but the cast and crew got on really well. The four main characters, we had so much fun and were like a family after that. It was like a one-week holiday when you are a teenager and yeah, you do everything together and at the end of the week, most were very sad that it was the end, I had so much fun with people.
Did you experience any issues during filming?
Issues no. I can say some of the acting stuff I had to do were quite hard, but I don’t want to give anything away.
What’s your favourite scene in the film?
We are two couple I’m trying to convince the other guy to exchange the women. I love that scene because I am like a Leopard, walking slowly and then leaping out. I loved playing that.
Obviously, you were working with Michael Fausti, this being his first feature film, what was he like to work with as a director.
For me, it was really easy. We, we talked before about the character and then he just trusted me, so I was able to do what I wanted. He was very precise with what he wanted and always coming to us asking if we are okay, if we had enough water, coffee, food. He was more than a director; he was also like a producer.
And the character itself, did you make any changes from how it was originally written in the script?
Not at all, nothing was changed from the original script.
Do you have anything else you are working on?
Oh, yeah. I will be rehearsing for a play in Switzerland. I will travel in four days for four weeks of rehearsing for that crazy play. Again, it’s a mix of theatre and contemporary dance.
So again, that’s something different to norm.
Yeah, and I’ve been learning my lines for months now. 60 pages in my mind, so that’s the next project.
What do you think makes Exit stand out as something different in the horror genre?
I would say it does this mix of horror scenes and sex scenes, I think that’s all I can say, but that makes this film a bit different than others.
If someone’s looking to get into acting what advice would you give them?
Study it! I know many people want to be actors, but it’s a job you have to learn. There are technical things you need to know, you can’t just act like this without knowing what to do, especially with a camera you have to be precise with your eyes and where you look at. If you move to match your face, on the camera this is not going to work. There are a lot of things to learn, body language, how you move, how you talk and rhythm. So, go to drama school. Yeah, that’s what I would advise learn the craft.
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
