The year 2024 got off to a brilliant start for Marc-André Grondin. Not only is the 39-year-old actor – soon to be 40 – discovering the joys of fatherhood for the third time, but he will also headline the new spy series IXE-13 and the race for uraniumas well as the film The successortwo projects that make him very proud and that forced him to step out of his comfort zone.
“I'm really lucky because these are two damn beautiful projects that are part of the desire to try something different and take risks,” admits Marc-André Grondin in an interview with the Journal.
• Also read: Marc-André Grondin in five remarkable roles
“As actors, we sometimes have the desire to go somewhere else because the basis of our job is to crossdress and become someone else.” That's exactly what I had with IXE-13 and The Successor. They were really two great playing challenges.”
First, let's talk about IXE-13 and the Race for Uranium, a new series based on the spy novels of Pierre Saurel, which will be released on the Club illico platform on February 15th. Marc-André Grondin plays Jean Thibault, aka IXE-13, a Quebec spy who must return to duty after taking part in secret operations during World War II.
Archive photo, QMI Agency
Written by Gilles Desjardins (Les pays d'en Haut) and directed by Yan Lanouette Turgeon (L'Imposteur), the series explores a genre – the spy thriller – rarely covered in Quebec, and lets us relive the Montreal of the era Red Light and the Cold War.
Marc-André Grondin smiles when asked if he ever dreamed of playing a spy on screen.
“I never felt like I had the physical profile to play a spy other than perhaps a James Bond from Pointe-aux-Trembles,” he says with a laugh.
“Seriously, it was never a dream for me and I don’t have many acting fantasies anyway.”
“My dream is to do seven seasons of IXE-13. I really enjoyed it. I think there's really a lot to do with this character and this universe. I think it's really fun to take part in a television project where each department can shine and let go of what they love to do in life. From the lighting to the costume design to the set design, there is really a lot of talent in this series.”
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
A big year
If the two projects are released two weeks apart, The Successor and IXE-13, as well as the race for uranium, are the result of a “bad big year” of work for Marc-André Grondin. From summer 2022 to spring 2023, the actor successively filmed the second season of Reasonable Doubt, IXE-13 and The Successor.
According to his own statements, the filming of “The Successor”, a new feature film by the French filmmaker Xavier Legrand (“Up to the Guard”), proved to be particularly strenuous. Grondin plays an artistic director of a French haute couture house who must return to Quebec to settle the estate of his father, who has just died of a heart attack.
“It was very demanding energetically,” he admits. My character constantly suffers from asthma attacks, panic attacks, intensity and stress. We shot at night, in March, when it was cold. It was very scary.”
“While filming, I asked myself whether what I was doing was good. But I had faith in Xavier (Legrand). When he told me he was really happy with the film, I told myself my job was done. After that, I hope people join in. It is a cinematic proposal that is really interesting but also destabilizing.”
Enttract Films
On the eve of his 40th birthday, which he will celebrate next March, Marc-André Grondin admits that he feels more comfortable in his profession as an actor than before. The CRAZY and The Dumont Affair actor has asked himself a lot of questions about his work and profession in the past. Even if these doubts have not all disappeared, they are less present today than before.
“I still have doubts that I don't take this job for granted. I know the phone can stop ringing. There I am aware that I have just had three great years with really fun projects, but that doesn't mean it will last another ten years,” he says.
“I still have doubts about the stability of my job. But I think I'm happier with acting than before. I stopped myself from many things in my life because I didn't take responsibility for many things and because I was prejudiced. That’s less the case today.”
The sequel hits theaters on February 2nd. IXE-13 and the race for uranium arrives at Club illico on February 15th.
Marc-André Grondin about:
His role as producer
We've seen him evolve as an actor over more than three decades (he started starring in a Minute Maid commercial at age 3!), but Marc-André Grondin also spent several years in the role of producer for series like Dance! carried. (written by Sarah-Maude Beauchesne) and The Collection (directed by Podz).
“Production allows me to look into the future with less uncertainty,” he says. If I stop working as an actor overnight, I will feel very comfortable working as a producer without being in front of the camera. My creative potential does not lie in gaming. My pleasure lies in doing business, having fun working in a team and using the talent of each individual. It is a joy that I can also fulfill by working in production.”
His desire to act
Last year, Marc-André Grondin surprised everyone by portraying Rambo Gauthier in a Bye Bye 2022 sketch. This small role allowed him to dabble in comedy for a rare period of his career.
“Apart from Goon, I actually haven’t done many comedies. I would like to do more! For “Bye Bye,” I approached it as a composition role. The sketch made fun of Rambo Gauthier's speech, but I tried to play it without making fun of him. It was the context that made it funny.”