For the final show of the regular season, Jean-Philippe Dion opened the doors of his chalet to Jessica Barker, Marie Denise Pelletier and Guillaume Cyr. A disarmingly simple trio that genuinely seduced the host…
• Also read: Jean-Philippe Dion shares rare secrets about his role as a father
Here are 10 behind-the-scenes secrets from the 12th episode of true nature:
BRITISH ANCESTORS
Jessica’s father comes from the British upper class. Being a kind of black sheep in his family, he broke ties with his relatives and settled in Quebec. So we called Jessica “Lady Barker”. (laughs) After all, she could have been the wealthy heir to a large British family! She has already visited her grandparents in England. They hired a painter to capture the moment… and we found the canvas!
A SPECIAL MAN
Marie Denise is a woman who has everything under control. She doesn’t give up easily and she’s not one to get emotional. She told us that her parents sang very well. We had also gotten our hands on a very valuable archive: records from the 1930s that his father had recorded for Pepsi Cola. She was overcome with emotion and we understood why. His father was a special person. He went through depression, became violent, and turned his family life upside down. He didn’t expect his daughter to take up more space singing than he did. When she sang with him, she always had to let him shine. It had to be him who was in the foreground. He is the source of many wounds in his life.
A FATHER AT HOME
Guillaume grew up in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce. His parents had decided to reverse the roles: his father quit his job to look after the children. He was called a sissy because it wasn’t considered normal at the time for a man to stay at home to take care of his family. This man did everything for this one… I only had to say his name to make Guillaume emotional. In fact, he was immediately moved when he entered the studio and saw a photo of his parents. The bond with them is very important to him.
DEAR OLIVIER
Guillaume also became emotional when he saw Olivier Guimond’s famous sketch Trois heures du matin, which Benoît Brière took up in the series Cher Olivier. We knew that scene was significant and that it clicked with him. He performed this scene to join a theater company in high school. Since Guillaume hardly had access to cultural excursions in his youth, he owned more than 300 VHS cassettes on which he recorded Bye Bye, Me… and the other etc.
LATE DETECTED
We are currently experiencing the rebirth of Marie Denise. It’s pretty incredible when you think that despite all the success she’s had with her songs, this woman has only won one Félix in her career. The day before filming, she had just won the second Félix of her career for her show Pour une histoire d’un soir. However, the delivery was unique: the Félix fell on his foot, and his thanks were cut off! It’s as if she couldn’t taste the joy of this second award…
A LOOK THAT TALKS!
We laughed a lot with Marie Denise about her famous orange hair. Her makeup artist Jacques Lee Pelletier and she had decided to create a bold look inspired by… a cognac ad! I found an archive of her being interviewed on Ad Lib. Jean-Pierre Coallier asked him such petty questions about his looks that we tell ourselves that nowadays it wouldn’t do anymore. For years we’ve only talked about her hair!
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
We spoke to Jessica about how she made the transition in her career. When the phone stopped ringing, she wanted to move to New York and start her life there, but was told that in New York the waiters were almost all non-acting comedians. Since she was lucky enough to already be known here, she was recommended to submit her own projects. That’s what she did, and that was the key to her success.
SUPPORT THAT FEEL GOOD
Jessica touched me a lot when she said that her parents never put much value in her career. Since his brother was in the circus, they worried that the limelight wouldn’t shine on him as much and he would feel less loved. They placed great value on her brother’s circus performances, so Jessica never felt that what she was doing was extraordinary in her eyes. It was her way of keeping both feet on the ground. Over dinner, while discussing her documentary Mom, why are you cry? I asked her if she thought her parents were proud of her. She broke down and explained that for the first time in her career her parents had told her how proud they were of her and what she was doing.
THERAPY NEEDED
Taking stock of her career, Marie Denise said she was often asked why she didn’t have a career like Celine Dion’s. She explained to us that success sometimes put her in a painful state. He actually had to go to therapy for that. For a woman who didn’t love herself, seeing herself in the spotlight was exhausting… She admitted she could never have handled all the media attention that comes with a success like Celine’s, for example.
NEED FOR RECOGNITION
Over dinner, Guillaume showed great honesty by admitting to having an everlasting need for approval. He was so sincere that he disarmed me. Career occupied a very large place in his life, and for a long time his self-esteem depended on professional success. When he worked hard, he was happy. If he lacked work, he was unhappy. Eventually he realized that this wasn’t normal. I asked him if he was the kind of actor who experiences great joys and great sorrows, and he admitted to being in a changeable mood. He realized that maybe he was a little too emotional and that his career sometimes took up too much of his life.
The consequence of true nature starring Jessica Barker, Guillaume Cyr and Marie Denise Pelletier, will air on TVA on Sunday April 2nd at 9:30pm.
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