“At the moment, everything he is accused of has not yet been convicted.” In a long interview with Stéphan Bureau, available on the radio platform QUB, the actress Fanny Ardant once again defends her great friend Gérard Depardieu and Roman Polanski.
“As soon as I see someone I love being deeply attacked, I can’t help but defend them,” emphasizes the now 74-year-old actress in this episode of Stéphan Bureau’s “Contact” series.
Reminder of the facts about Depardieu: In August 2018, the sacred monster of French cinema was accused of rape and sexual assault by actress Charlotte Arnould, which led to his indictment by the French justice system in 2020.
Then, in April 2023, 13 women alleged in a Mediapart investigation that Gérard Depardieu made inappropriate gestures and words with sexual connotations on film sets between 2004 and 2022.
The 74-year-old actor denied the gloomy portrait painted of him in a letter published in the daily Le Figaro on October 1.
“I am neither a rapist nor a predator,” affirms Gérard Depardieu, admitting that he was able to “hurt” and “shock” when he “tested the limits” and “confused certainties.”
Unwavering
For Fanny Ardant, however, there is no question of denouncing the man with whom she has had a deep friendship for more than 40 years. His support is unwavering.
“I knew privately. I talked, I laughed, I cried. “He’s not just a man who came from nowhere and who I would stand up for,” she said, pointing to her ties to both Depardieu and filmmaker Roman Polanski, who is still wanted by the American justice system for sex crimes . Dating from the 1960s.
“He was the one who showed me in [la pièce de théâtre] Master Class is a great actor, director, versatile and intelligent. After that, when this whole blast happened, who will protect you if you don’t protect your friend, like if you don’t protect your children? Who does that?”
“I couldn’t imagine my life without him”
Fanny Ardant and Gérard Depardieu met while filming the film Dogs in 1979, but it wasn’t until they shared the poster for François Truffaut’s The Woman Next Door in 1981 that they became lifelong friends.
Fanny Ardant and Gérard Depardieu at the premiere of the film Le divan de Staline in 2016. Ardant directed his friend Depardieu. AFP
“I knew I would dance well with this man. We had different backgrounds but spoke the same languages. He could do crazy things like me,” says Fanny Ardant, recalling that Depardieu supported her when she caused a scandal on a film set.
“He was the only one who defended me. When people looked at me in horror, he laughed. I couldn’t even imagine life without him.”
During this long, hour-long interview with Stéphan Bureau, online on Thursday morning, Fanny Ardant also spoke about her lies, her love of violence, love in general, the joy that cinema gives her and the fact that she never asks for money played.