She has had a 50-year career, has been in love with Gaston Lepage for almost 44 years and cares for her family and friendships with a lot of love. To add to her happiness, Louise Laparé returns to the screen in 2019 Witcheswhere she brilliantly plays Manon Lussier, a character as troubled as he is disturbing…
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Louise, after 10 years of absence we find you on the small screen of the series Witches. It’s a great comeback!
It’s true that it’s been a long time since I starred in a traditional television series because people who meet me bother to tell me that they don’t see me anymore. However, in the last few years I have still been working on several different projects and also doing acting coaching, so I haven’t had a career break. I just starred in a film by André Forcier, I co-hosted Elles Pêgent for three years with my friend Suzanne Beaudet and I also played a grandmother cooking with her grandson on the cooking show Miam. If someone had told me that one day I would do a cooking show, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. (laughs)
Photo: /
Let’s go back to your role as Manon Lussier… Is this the first time we’ve seen you in the role of such an unbalanced character?
Yes. And when I first read the Witches script, I found this universe fascinating, even if I read it like a novel. Furthermore, I was offered this role; I didn’t have to audition. What a lovely gift! I have never played a complex character like Manon and that made me take up the challenge. She is a woman shaped by life who is very fragile. She is very interesting to play because she is in areas of light and shadow. I love exploring it all.
And we transformed you for this role…
Absolutely! I loved being transformed for Manon. Even though I’m often told that I don’t look my age, I swear to you: in Manon’s shoes we can see a little more that I’ll soon be 74! (laughs) I enjoyed working on this series, I was surrounded by exceptional actors and actresses. And it’s crazy how many great people I’ve met. It is a project that has nourished me enormously.
Photo: Eric Myre / TVA Publica
You made your debut The little homeland…So you’ve had a 50-year career. Does thinking about it make you dizzy?
(moment of silence) But yes, it is very true. I wasn’t even aware of that! (laughs)
I completed my theater studies in 1972 and appeared in a few plays before La Petite Patrie. But I’m not one to look back on life. I prefer to look ahead, because at my age the wind is starting to get scary. (laughs)
Photo: Eric Myre / TVA Publica
And have you always maintained this passion for your job?
Absolutely! Since I left school I have always wanted to achieve something and have given everything I could give. At my age, I still want to take part in projects that excite me. Today I work a lot with young people who are starting their careers. Seeing passions blossom, it constantly renews my own passion and is an extraordinary privilege. When I coach young people, I feel like I’m giving them wings. It is extraordinary and everything nourishes and ignites me deeply.
Does it keep you young in heart and mind?
Yes, exactly! It keeps me young, but otherwise not so much. (Laughter) But I have good genetics, I think: my mother died at 96 and my father at 94. I feel privileged in that respect. I have always said that the most important thing in my life is family, both mine and my boyfriend’s, as well as my long-standing friendships, and for this I know that I have an extraordinary opportunity. I even said to my friend: “Hold on, my love, and be patient, because I’m here for a long time!” (laughs)
Photo: /
You are true to life. How many years have you been in a relationship with Gaston Lepage?
Next November 24th, my birthday, will be 44 years since I’ve been with Gaston. And just saying the number makes my legs go weak. (laughs) I met him on my birthday when I turned 30. And if I’m with Gaston today, it’s the fault of my great friend Francine Ruel.
Was she playing the matchmaker?
In fact, she had asked Gaston to take out the big Bentley he had at the time and take me with him the night before the festivities because she had organized a surprise party for me that started at 11 p.m. I had put on a beautiful dress from the 1950s. After spending the evening together we clicked because we had a lot of chemistry and common interests. It’s crazy considering we’ve been together for 44 years. It’s happening so fast, I didn’t see anything!
Photo: Jean Demers / YOOPA
She and Gaston are one of the most beautiful love stories in the artists’ colony. What’s your recipe?
I think it always starts with the same principle: you both have to really want it. To be successful in your relationship, I believe that the prerequisite is to first choose yourself as a base and then decide to walk part of the way together with the other person. And like everyone else, we have times when things go well and others when things go not so well, but we must respect each other in all of this and above all, love and passion are always stronger in everything than anything else.
Louise Laparé plays along Witches Airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on TVA.
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