We knew him as an author, composer and performer. In Breathe, broadcast this Tuesday at 9:10 p.m. on M6, we discover him as an actor. Calogero plays Raphaël, a music teacher in a high school who helps Tessa, one of his students who is a victim of harassment and school phobia. This fiction is inspired by the autobiographical book by the singer Tessae (read the box).
It was the producers (Ivan Sadik, Hubert Cornet and Arnaud Le Guilcher) who had the idea of offering this job to the artist. “They must have known that I had failed at school,” says the author ofWeightless. The first day of first grade, I experienced a traumatic event: I got slapped by my teacher because I hadn’t dotted my i’s. This is probably what caused me to have so much trouble afterwards. »
If he agreed to make his baptism of fire in comedy it is, he says, because of the subject of the TV film – “I like to transmit. I am convinced that for students in difficulty, art in general calms them and helps them to hang on.”
“On the first tests, I wasn’t comfortable”
“I had no positive or negative preconceptions about Calogero,” confides director Jérôme Cornuau. I actually found it relevant to call on someone who has a strong image in the music industry to play such a role. We took the necessary time. It took a month and a half, after the first try, for the decision to be made to give him the role. »
“On the first tests, I wasn’t comfortable. I’m not used to giving the answer, admits the singer. Jérôme gave me confidence by immediately telling me what was working or not. » He also learned to play, supported by a coach and by taking lessons in Montreuil, surrounded by twenty-somethings aspiring to have a career.
“The first time we saw each other, during the tests, I felt that he was very apprehensive. Perhaps because in France we tend to put artists in a specific box and that put pressure on him. He gave his all, he progressed, it’s crazy because he worked so hard,” applauds Charlie Loiselier, who plays Tessa, the main heroine of Breathe.
“I would be comfortable in a historical film”
While Calogero learned a lot from this experience, he also helped modify and refine certain aspects of the script. “I wanted to send messages,” says the singer. Initially, the way Raphaël taught music was presented in a very classical way. » In the final version, his methods are more iconoclastic. “I didn’t want him to be a bitter teacher but someone who is good about himself, who thinks that ignorance in music is very important because it allows you to create. » This is in any case a conviction of Calogero, who specifies: “When you put a kid directly into classical music with Mozart and Bach, it can kill him creatively. »
Is the singer ready to perform comedy again for the small or big screen? The main person concerned is not overly enthusiastic. “I let things come to me, I let the universe do its thing,” he answers. I would love to play a character that has nothing to do with me. Perhaps I would be more comfortable in a historical film. There’s something about costumes that makes us distance ourselves from ourselves. »
Inspired by a True Story
Breathe is freely adapted from Brush against the walls, the autobiographical book by singer Tessae published in 2021. “I found it crazy when I learned that Calogero had been cast. One of my music teachers at college reminded me of him,” explains the artist whose first album, Serendipity, was released last year. The character played by the singer is a mixture of several people who supported Tessae in her difficult times. “All my music teachers had little touches, allowed me to sing a little longer or talked about music with me,” she says. In this character, there is also a bit of my current manager, Sofiane, who has a caring behavior and watches over my mental health. »