After leaving Montreal for Val-David in 2016, Isabelle Guérard left her resume at Petit Poucet, a popular restaurant in the area. When the manager in an interview asked how much experience he had, the actress replied that she had nothing to fear: “I played a waitress in Watatatow. »
Posted at 7:00 am
Sitting in the Isle de Garde, a brasserie in the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie district, Isabelle Guérard bursts out laughing as she recounts this memory. But she knows it marks a turning point. A turning point that culminates seven years later in the result we know today, five roles in five series: STAT, Indéfendable, Mégantic, Closed eyes and Motel Paradis.
Isabelle Guérard insists that her tenure at Petit Poucet (a telling name…) “changed everything”. ” Girl [les autres serveuses de l’établissement] really shaped me. It’s become like my family, my stability. Suddenly I had this base. I was surrounded by extremely colourful, strong, supportive women. »
“Since then, when I go to the audition, I know I’ve got my whole gang behind me. You support me. How touching. And most importantly, my life is no longer threatened. It’s no longer, “Can I feed my kids or not?” I’ve experienced this stress before. It took away my creativity. I was paralyzed with fear. I’ve heard a casting director say, “Isabelle does good auditions, but there’s something that’s up in the air and in the end, it’s not her that we choose. It’s a small detail, it’s not noticeable. But it’s not the Isabelle we had before.” »
So I went in search of that something, to find that kind of openness. That kind of ruthlessness, like when I was young. It allowed me to rediscover the essence of the game: fun. I found happiness again. My eyes are full of stars when filming. Everything is fun.
Isabelle Guerard
Over a beer, Isabelle Guérard says she left Montreal after the death of her daughters’ father (actor Hugo St-Cyr, who died of bone cancer in 2015). Overcoming grief “between concrete walls” seemed impossible. “I had to breathe, change air. In my mind I would go for a year…”
Her job at Petit Poucet, which she meticulously describes as “the busiest restaurant in Laurentians serving lunch and dinner,” fitted perfectly with the lifestyle she aspired to. She still works there.
“I wanted to be home by 3:30 p.m. when my daughters got home from school. to make dinner. I wanted them to live quieter, more supervised lives. A normal life. »
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The actress Isabelle Guerard
“I’ve been spoiled”
Isabelle Guérard is not used to giving interviews. Even before she starts the discussion, she apologizes for incomprehensible answers. She’s also surprised that people want to talk about her.
Since September, however, it has been regularly – and frequently – illustrated on the small screen. And each time in supporting or episodic roles that would have gone unnoticed in the hands of a less talented actress.
In Mégantic, director Alexis Durand-Brault’s choral series offered on Club illico, which revisits the 2013 railroad tragedy, his Julie provokes violent reactions. Victim or Executioner? Transparent or heavy?
In an interview, the actress enthusiastically describes her approach to the character’s “sung” pitches, bathed in bitterness on the eve of blowing out her 40 candles. “Quarantine is a lot of hassle, especially when you’re not where you want to be,” explains the actress. Julie is unsatisfied; She hasn’t found true love, she has no children… She’s so jealous of the people around her. She is not feeling well. And her misfortune, she talks about it. A lot. »
In recent weeks, Isabelle Guérard has drawn the attention of Petit Poucet customers to Joanie, the patient with a thousand misfortunes, which she plays in STAT on ICI Télé. After being impaled on a fence, she was urgently hospitalized for “penetrating abdominal trauma with evisceration.” The compulsive hoarder was diagnosed with cancer before learning that her daughter, who she believes is missing, had been found mummified dead at home in the middle of the brothel she herself created. Her emotional scene with Geneviève Schmidt (who plays the surgeon Isabelle Granger) delighted many fans of Marie-Andrée Labbé’s daily soap opera.
“I was spoiled,” emphasizes Isabelle Guérard. Geneviève is really generous. She is focused, sensitive. She is really talented. »
“STAT is sporty. It’s like you get hit at a party, lose control a little, dance… but the next day you open your eyes and ask yourself: What have I done? Have I made a fool of myself? It was the same with STAT. Everything went fast. I shot my scenes, let go, and then I thought, are you alright? »
5 series
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK PAGE OF STAT
Isabelle Guerard in STAT
PHOTO YAN TURCOTTE SUPPLIED BY CLUB ILLICO
Isabelle Guérard in Megantic
PHOTO PROVIDED BY TVA
Isabelle Guérard in Unstoppable
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY CLUB ILLICO
Isabelle Guerard at the Motel Paradis
SCREEN PHOTO
Isabelle Guérard with Magalie Lepine-Blondeau in Closed Eyes
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drama queen
Isabelle Guérard’s recent performances in Indéfendable (mother of a violent teenager) and Motel Paradis (alcoholic and depressed mother) bear witness to this: the directors maintain their services to defend dramatic roles. This tendency is not new. If we examine the actress’ career, we can find many skinned characters, including those she impersonated in Ruptures (2015), La rage de l’ange (2006) or Rouge sang (2013).
“I really enjoy exploring these gray areas,” emphasizes the main prospect. It’s entertaining. I laugh afterwards, I laugh before. And I’m not afraid to be the ugliest. I’m not going halfway. »
The comedy may scare her, she would gladly put up with it. She also admits she really admires the “weird beat” of Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, who she rubs shoulders with in “Closed eyes” on ICI Tou.tv’s Extra. “Magalie really impressed me. I loved watching her work, the expressions she made, her rhythm…I’d like that. »
Isabelle Guérard does not hope for a specific role and dreams of spending a long time preparing and transforming a character in order to interpret it “to the tips of her nails, even if it means gaining 40 pounds”.
She also wants to make a living from acting. “But I’d still spend a few days at Petit Poucet,” she says, no doubt believing it would be a good way to express her gratitude to the restaurant, thanks to how the hero of the Perrault story he evokes , it seems to have found its way back.