INTERVIEW - Guillaume Labbé in "Les Yeux Grands Fermés" on TF1: "I was afraid to play the role of an incestuous father"

Solène Delinger 08h00, 02 October 2023

It is a TV movie of public utility that TF1 broadcasts this Monday evening at 21h. In Les Yeux Grands Fermé, Guillaume Labbé, seen in the series Plan cœur and Je te promets, changes register by playing the role of Stéphane, a father who sexually abuses his son Adrien, 6 years old. His mother Anne-Marie, brilliantly played by Muriel Robin, is faced with a dilemma: close her eyes and defend her son Stéphane, or believe and protect her grandson Adrien. Before the broadcast of Les Yeux Grand Fermés, Europe 1 spoke with Guillaume Labbé, who says he was changed by this project on the painful theme of incest. Interview.

Did you immediately agree to play the role of Stéphane, an incestuous father?

No, I really hesitated. I read about fifteen pages of the script and I said to myself: "It looks great, it's very well written but I don't want to do it, I wouldn't make it". I was scared because I thought I was going to have to go get things in me that would fuck me up psychologically. Finally, I reread the script and agreed. First because it was a big personal challenge for me, but also because the intention of the author convinced me. I also really wanted to play with Muriel Robin and I told myself that the project would necessarily be fine and modest if she participated.

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How did you manage to slip into his skin?

I spoke a lot with the author, who knows the subject very well, to understand Stéphane's psychology. I asked him several questions: does he enjoy manipulating? Is he in total denial? Or in a form of psychosis? Is there a split personality? Is he a mythomaniac?. Then I read several psychological studies on fathers who have committed incest. I chose one of these profiles to be consistent.

What is his psychological profile?

I didn't want to play a narcissistic pervert or a father who sees his son as an object. Stéphane himself was sexually abused by his father during his childhood. But he was never recognized as a victim. The reality of a child is the one in which he grows up: if his father acts like this but the entourage and society close his eyes, the child will think that it is possible. And this is what Stéphane will do with his son Adrien in a moment of fragility, after losing his wife. He loves his child and he lies because he knows that society will never understand what he is doing even if he is convinced that it is not wrong. His vision of right and wrong is totally wrong. And above all there is a denial: he cannot accept that he is the executioner of his son, but also that his own father did not love him properly and that he himself was a victim. It's dizzying.

Do you have empathy for Stéphane?

It's complicated for me to say that I love Stéphane and that I understand him... But it's the truth. For me, Stéphane is a child who just hasn't grown up. He remained stuck at a psychological stage because of his father, who abused him, and his mother, who failed to protect him. I feel sorry for him because he destroyed everything. I understand him but I do not forgive him because he is responsible.

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In the film, we feel a real connection between you and Muriel Robin, who plays Stéphane's mother. How was your collaboration?

We did not know each other with Muriel Robin and yet, everything happened very naturally. On the day of our first meeting, we hugged each other for two minutes without speaking. This thing followed us throughout the shoot. With Muriel, we could stay half an hour without saying a word to each other and not be embarrassed. Then we could talk to each other about deep or light things for half an hour non-stop.

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Was the little boy who plays Adrien, Stéphane's son, aware of the film's theme?

Yes, his mother told him everything and explained what incest is. I never talked about it with him. We were really only in a working relationship. His acting was directed on concrete actions: the director did not tell him "you are not going to see your father because he did this to you last night" but rather "you are not going to see your father and you do it with sadness, or with anger".

Does this TV movie mark a turning point in your career? Because you have been known in lighter roles, as in Plan Coeur...

It may be a turning point for producers and directors who will imagine me in more dramatic roles. For me, as an actor, there is no turning point because I always work in the same way, with the same intentions.

And personally, has this role changed you?

This role opened my eyes to incest. Like everyone else, I knew it existed but I was not aware of the extent of this scourge. While doing some research and seeing the numbers, I just hallucinated. And there is something that shocks me: 99% of rapes outside the family and 97% of rapes within the family are committed by men. I'm a man so it makes me wonder... I wonder if this sexual violence is biologically within us or if our violence is exacerbated because of patriarchal society, or if it is a mixture of both. In any case, we will not be able to eradicate this violence if we do not understand where it comes from.

You recently said you wanted to become a father. You wouldn't be afraid to educate a boy, with all these problems?

No, on the contrary, it would be more of a challenge. Because we can change society by being aware of all this and educating our children differently.