Every week, columnist and journalist Karine Gagnon invites you to a major interview with a notable personality from the Capitale-Nationale.
There are those magical moments when life smiles at you in every way. Cathleen Rouleau enjoys this, her very touching series About Antoine is very successful and also benefits from the arrival of a new family member.
Author, actress, comedian, presenter, columnist and screenwriter: nothing can stop Cathleen Rouleau, a talented woman who still had to be patient until her career took off the way she dreamed of.
Cathleen Rouleau, originally from Montreal, knew from a young age that she wanted to be an artist. His father was a musician and wrote songs, but didn’t make a career out of it. She studied acting at the Cégep Saint-Laurent, where she failed two courses, philosophy and sports, which she finishes today with a laugh.
Get out of your comfort zone
These failures also allowed him to get back on his feet. Since she had enough time, she decided to enroll at the National School of Humor, where she graduated in 2003. “I fell in love at first sight,” she says, citing the special and authentic contact with the public and the natural connection greater with comedians than with theater people.
Cathleen Rouleau emphasizes that she enjoys exploring and leaving her comfort zone. Driven by an insatiable curiosity, she has published nine children’s novels, hosted a show on Musique Plus and MAtv and is also a columnist for various shows.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
She also participated in galas and comedy festivals and appeared in various successful shows such as LOL, Queue, Vrak la Vie and Escouade 99.
The momentum came back again
But it wasn’t until the first major series she signed, About Antoine, that Cathleen Rouleau’s talent was revealed to a wider audience.
This great success comes after a more difficult phase in his career. Being the wife of Sylvain Parent-Bédard, the president and founder of ComediHa!, a company that manages the careers of artists and produces films, television series and shows, strangely presented a major obstacle.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
The relationship put pressure on each of them and inadvertently slowed their momentum. “From the moment I started dating Sylvain and for several years, I didn’t do ComediHa! galas, even though I had been doing them since I left school. I stop working a little, write and sign columns, but I do a lot of searching for myself,” she says.
She returned to the school of humor in screenwriting, and that’s where the idea for “About Antoine” came from. Sylvain suggested that he write an issue about his special relationship with his son Antoine, who has multiple disabilities.
She hesitated because she wanted to prevent Antoine from becoming what she describes as a “circus animal.” Then several reasons convince her: the family that Antoine is close to and, above all, the message he wants to convey.
The number eventually became this series, in which Cathleen also plays her biggest role on television, that of Julie, stepmother of a child with multiple disabilities.
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
“Antoine, you are in contact with him and you are not coming out unscathed. He has the universe in his eyes, he will seek your heart,” she says with her eyes in the water.
However, Cathleen remembers the shock of leaving when she was still an “adult” who slept until 10:30 a.m., came from a quiet home and lived a somewhat quiet life. Antoine, who makes a lot of noise, also has a talented little brother who is moving and has a thousand questions. She quickly developed a bond with these children.
World Travel
Filming, as you can imagine, presented a number of challenges, but everyone participated, starting with Claude Legault, who returned after a break to play the role of his partner. “He’s good, he’s doing well and he’s so talented!” she exclaims.
The world tours through Antoine. Nominated for several awards, he stood out at La Rochelle and then Cannes at a ceremony honoring productions that promote diversity and inclusion on the small screen.
When we met, we had just finished filming the second season. If you missed the first part, you need to catch up: the acting is fantastic and the whole thing is so touching. In Cathleen’s words, we’re not getting out of this unscathed and it’s taking a toll on us.
Speaking of hearts: The couple is experiencing wonderful moments that they have hardly spoken about publicly. Three years ago, he took in a little girl through the Mixed Bank of Quebec program, which brings together children at high risk of abandonment.
She has just turned four and her birth mother has not abandoned her, wants to emphasize Cathleen, who enjoys every moment with this little creature who is blossoming. “She is aware that her daughter is doing well,” she emphasizes and shows great gratitude to this woman.
Don’t miss: Wednesday nights at 8:30pm on MAtv (Channel 9). [Hélix et illico]609HD [Illico]), the show Karine’s notebook via Cathleen Rouleau.