Jean-Philippe Perras defends one of the most important roles of his career in the series The Emperor, which follows an aggressor’s journey in full development.
Christian Savard, his character, has it all. A good face, ambition and a burgeoning career in the world of advertising. He is also happy at home with his girlfriend Olivia (Geneviève Boivin-Roussy). But under this perfect picture, a monster appears.
When we meet him at the beginning of the Adam Kosh-directed series, Christian is having a one-night stand with his colleague Manuela (Noé Lira). At first we are shown a seemingly banal moment of passion, but our perspective changes drastically when other images show Manuela not agreeing at all.
Ten years after this mishap, Manuela has turned the tide and is now working for Christian, who sets the direction. In 2015 we were at the beginning of the #MeToo movement, but a year later the Fédération des femmes du Québec launched the hashtag #AggressionNonDenounced on Twitter. Christian rapes a waitress in a hotel like he has no limits. What happened that he got into this, he who can also be psychologically violent? It is the construction of this attacker that narrates the series signed by the author Michelle Allen (“Fugueuse”, “L’Échappée”, “Pour Sarah”) that navigates between these two eras.
The actor, who has been making a career for ten years, was initially hesitant to “dive into that energy.” But he did his homework and asked the writer and director a few questions before the audition to find out how the project was going.
“This series is necessary because it makes you think. Christian commits acts of violence, he attacks women, but he is also a human being with his flaws and weaknesses. It’s a “show” of nuance,” said the 36-year-old actor, who became a father at the same time that he announced filming of The Emperor last May.
His Christian is “complex” and he “does terrible things,” says his interpreter. “He must be loved at all costs and have value in the eyes of others.” So we’re going to explore his childhood – he lost his mother very early – to understand why he’s so pathetic at certain times and “why he has to make everyone dependent on him” without fully realizing it.
A benevolent record
The set went benevolently, and when a delicate scene was filmed, there was silence, “in the sense that there was respect for what’s happening, also an understanding that we’re going into difficult areas,” testified the actor.
“We went a long way but it’s okay because we were in a controlled environment, because we were confident and the set was extremely benevolent. This has allowed us to take the reflection even further and, above all, not to fall into the trap of saying: “He is a villain in front of the good guys”.
According to the actor, everyone was able to discuss openly from the first readings. “We talked specifically about the choreographies of the attacks that we would do to make sure everyone was okay.”
Jean-Philippe Perras will be seen in the ambitious “Mégantic” series, which is expected at Club illico in mid-February. His group Gustafson is working on a second album and will compose the music for a circus show for the Théâtre Advienne que peut.
Produced by Sovimage, The Emperor series will air on Noovo from Wednesday 11 January at 8pm.