MAID MARION

Marion Cotillard stars as France8217;s most charismatic and tragic singer, Edit Piaf

In La Vie en Rose, you play Edith Piaf from age 17 to her death at 47. Piaf was a brilliant singer, but she was also a drug addict with a deeply dramatic personality. Was it challenging role?
When I read the script, I was really scared. But, of course, I was also intrigued. The director, Olivier Dahan, wrote the script with me in mind. I never knew why, but then he told journalists, 8220;There was something about Marion8217;s eyes.8221; He saw some tragedy in my eyes, something terribly sad that reminded him of Piaf. And I have to say, I did feel close to her. As an actress, I could understand her behaviour. That made me less afraid of playing an icon that so many people love. I didn8217;t want to waste my time asking myself, Will I be good or not good?

Did you shoot the film in sequence, from young Piaf to old?
No. We didn8217;t have a big enough budget for that. On the fourth day of shooting was one of the biggest scenes 8212; the moment when Piaf collapsed and cancelled her performance at the Olympia theatre. From day to day, I was skipping from Piaf as a girl to Piaf at the end of her life.

Was it personally upsetting to film Piaf8217;s death scene?
No. Piaf was dying again and again. When she was alive, all the journalists were ready for her death. They prepared the obituaries every week! When you play someone with so many chapters and so many moods, it reminds you that life can have great intensity and depth.

You lip-sync Piaf in the film. Did you want to do the singing yourself?
Lip-synching is the most difficult thing to do. I had to breathe like Piaf. I would study how to breathe, when to be silent8230; I love to sing and dance. When I was 5, a director friend of my family put me in his movie. It was a dream to me. In France, film is a strong industry, but it8217;s also very complicated. The French are very proud of their performers, but they don8217;t want you to stray too far from France. The French don8217;t like you to leave.

You co-starred in Big Fish, directed by Tim Burton. Was it hard to learn English?
Yes. Three years ago, I flew to New York. I rented an apartment in Manhattan, and I submerged myself in English. I loved living in New York. In France, you are supposed to pretend you don8217;t work, but in America, they give you respect if you work. In France, they don8217;t like success 8212; for instance, they excoriate their hit movies. They only like the underdog.

LYNN HIRSCHBERG NYT