
My roommate was super jealous when I left for work this morning. She, like most of the country, has a huge crush on Gilles Marini. And who would I be interviewing today? None other than the famous Frenchman himself. Gilles was, as always, extremely gracious and very generous with his responses. Enjoy!
Cole: What was your life like before you moved to America?
Gilles: Well, I
grew up in south of France. When I
was 7 years old, I started working with my father at his bakery, helping make
bread, pastries. And it was a
pretty hard job, let me tell you.
That was my job until I turned 18.
This is when I became a fire fighter in Paris. The army owns the fire fighters in Paris. It’s very different than here. During my service, my father got sick,
and this is why I decided to go back down and work with him until he
passed. After that, I was a little
bit sick of my situation in France, so I decided to seek a different horizon
and move to America.
Cole: And how
did you first get into modeling?
Gilles: A
friend of mine named Sandy would come to the bakery all the time. We really liked each other, she was the
sweetest girl ever. And her uncle
was a photographer. And she told
me, when you get to Paris, you’ve got to meet him. I got to Paris, I met him, and actually he’s one of the best
photographers in the world. And I
just didn’t know it at the time.
His name is Fred Goudon. I became very, very close to Fred. We took a lot of pictures together
along the way when I was a firefighter.
Next thing you know, after that, I had these beautiful pictures.
Gilles in his days as a firefighter, photograph by Fred Goudon
Cole: And did you move to America to pursue modeling?
Gilles: That was in my mind. But when I moved to America, I had already met my wife and
she was pregnant. So for me, in my
mind, it was like, oh God, I have to do whatever it takes to provide for her
and the baby. It went smooth in a
way because in America I was really welcomed. With the photos from France, I was able to quickly get a
Visa for work. I got one campaign
and next thing you know, an agency wanted me to work with them. I was doing modeling and able to spend
so much time with my family. It
was awesome.
Cole: And was it an easy transition going from modeling to
acting?
Gilles: Everything
went slowly but surely. Acting was
always in the back of my mind. It
is what I’ve always wanted to do.
Now, there’s a big difference between what you want to do and what’s
going to happen. But, I never gave
up. I said, this is what I want to
do. I will take it step by step
and take my time.
Cole: So it took a ton of perseverance?
Gilles: Oh yes.
And by the way, I didn’t speak a word of English. I came here with 400 dollars. It wasn’t easy. I couldn’t say, oh I want to be an
actor, so let me spend money to take acting classes. No. It really
was way more complicated than that.
Cole: Your
French accent is one of your trademarks.
But I’m wondering, when you were first starting out, did agents or
casting directors pressure you to change your accent?
Gilles: I didn’t speak a word of English. Obviously acting wasn’t something I
could ever do because of the language barrier. With modeling, I had a chance to go to some commercial
auditions. And right away, I was
booking commercials. And that’s
when you understand, okay, there’s something going on here. So I decided to explore it a little bit
more. I didn’t jump in the mix and
say, “I want to be an actor.” I
took my time. While I was in Miami, I was going back and forth to France a
lot. I was also working as a model
with Giorgio Armani in Italy.
Cole: Sounds like you were quite the globetrotter. So when you were trying to make this
transition, were there any actors in particular who inspired you?
Gilles: I actually met Will Smith when I was working at the
Delano Hotel in Miami. I was waiting on him every day, bringing things to the
room. It was him, his wife Jada,
and the kids. They were there
while he trained for the movie Ali.
It was a while ago. I think
that was 2002. I’m not sure. But anyway, it felt so
real, and I remember looking at him and saying this is really cool and
possible. I told him, you know, I
would love to act. It’s something
I really want to do. I do modeling
and commercial acting. We talked and
he told me really, the thing is everything happens in Los Angeles, so if you
want to keep going and doing what you love to do, you have to move there. And when someone like that is telling
you something like this, you take it very seriously.
Cole: So what did you do next?
Gilles: I decided to move to Los Angeles and also to kick it
up a notch with my English, I mixed more with the crowd to learn faster. I kept
telling myself Los Angeles is the place for me to become an actor. I know it’s a long shot. I know I’m not from here. I know I don’t speak the language. I know it’s a long shot. But why not me? I feel in my bones that this is
possible. This is something I
feel. I also started taking
acting classes at Vincent Chase on Sunset. I met with an agency here called L.A. Model and they threw
me in the mix. I worked more than
ever as a model. That helped me a
lot because I could actually have a regular, normal living, not thinking too
much of what was happening tomorrow.
I kept doing a lot of commercial acting. One year, I did six commercials. It was pretty involved, but one thing leads to another. I started doing acting starting with
the soap Passions and then I did Criminal Minds and did an independent feature,
Ugly Betty, The Bold and the Beautiful, Dirty Sexy Money. All those things. It wasn’t major. It was always a little part here and
there, where you would just see me quickly.
Cole: Taking the classes and getting these roles, what did
you discover to be your favorite part of acting?
Gilles: Being
able to expose things. I was very
moved by the fact that you can get into a different character. You can just dream of being this person
and be them. You can also explore
your dark side and what not.
There’s no limit when it comes to acting. And it’s great to tell a story and entertain people.
Cole: A lot of people recognize you as Dante, Samantha’s
sexy neighbor from the Sex and the City movie. Were you at all intimidated when you found out how sexually
provocative the role would be?
Gilles: Well, I
did not think too much of that just because the script…I didn’t know how far
we’d push it. Michael Patrick King
had an idea about the character. I
felt like, well, maybe we’re going to see a little bit of a butt.
[Cole laughs]
Gilles: And when I got on set, I let it go. You know why? Thinking about being this character. As this character, why should I be
ashamed of anything? Who cares? It’s my house, my shower. Samantha comes onto my property. Maybe she wants to see that, you
know. I really felt I became one
with Dante and found a way to be this kind of person. I’m always dressed up and I never walk around the house
naked. I’m very shy when it comes
down to that. So I just pushed the
envelope a bit, and next thing you know, it went from a bit part to a scene-stealer
and it changed my life. It changed
my life. So I have no regrets for
pushing the envelope a little bit.
I went full frontal. Who
cares? And what you guys saw on
camera, it was really nothing compared to what was happening on set. It was much more provocative and they
toned it down quite a bit.
Gilles bares it all as Dante in Sex and the City
Cole: So there was a lot more that happened in that shower
that we didn’t see?!
Gilles: Absolutely.
Cole: Yikes. Well,
a lot of people talk about a difference in French and American attitudes on
nudity. Have you noticed a
difference?
Gilles: Here,
people don’t really talk about what’s happening behind closed doors. I think in Europe, we’re much more open
and it’s more of a natural thing, especially when it comes down to sex. It is what it is. And here, it’s a little more
taboo. But in the end, people are
all the same. Culture can alter
you a little, but what it comes down to is our nature. And it’s weird to me that people are so
taboo about something that’s natural and actually the reason why we’re all
here. My character, if it comes
down to Dante, is really nuts, crazy.
It’s pushing the envelope.
But really, what is normal anyway?
Who are we to judge anything?
It was a pretty interesting movie.
Cole: What was it like to find yourself cast in such a big-name
movie?
Gilles: I realized it was a big movie when Michael Patrick
King told me on set that day, this is going to make you a superstar. I was like, what? He said, “You’re going to hate me. Your phone is going to keep
ringing. It’s going to be insane.” I was shocked.
Cole: And was he right? I think he was right…
Gilles: He was
right. What can I say? He really was right. When the movie came out, my life
changed. I got one part after the
other...The interview continues next week, as I ask Gilles about Dancing with the Stars and his experience so far working on Brothers & Sisters.