“The most difficult thing for me was…” Guillaume Labbé confides in his role as an incestuous father in Eyes Wide Closed, broadcast this Monday, October 2

Striking accuracy and truth in Eyes wide closed, the TV film with Muriel Robin (who did not hesitate before saying “yes”) broadcast this Monday, October 2, at 9:10 p.m. on TF1, Guillaume Labbé plays an incestuous father with remarkable sobriety. A questioning, frightening role, in which the interpreter of I promise you Or Heart Plan – also screenwriter (To insanityunitary on the influence broadcast on M6) – slipped in, not without first questioning the father he is in real life.

Eyes wide closed : Guillaume Labbé returns to his role as an incestuous father in fiction with Muriel Robin

Tele-Leisure : How did you play this character: as a guilty person – which he is – or as an innocent person – which he believes he is?
Guillaume Labbé : That was the big question! I did a lot of research and, through the studies I read and the testimonies I listened to, I learned that several archetypes of incestuous fathers emerged. Even if it is not representative of all the others, I chose one and stuck to it, in order to remain coherent and credible throughout the story. He is a man who is in denial, with a real split personality. The hardest part about accepting this role was asking myself how I, the father of two daughters in life, would get there? We all think we are doing good by doing evil. But how, as a dad, could I manage to make the tenderness, the love or even the sensuality present between a father and his child overflow, to the point of committing this irreparable thing? Denying the Other to this point: for me, that’s the real question.

Did you find the answer?
My character was loved like this by his father and thinks that this is how you love your child. Violence for him is Love. So he reproduces this violence. Furthermore, among the various neuroscience works that I consulted, I learned that only 3% of women are perpetrators of incest when it occurs within the family, and 1% when it occurs outside the context. family. Which makes 97 and 99% men! Is it innate, acquired, a result of patriarchal society, testosterone? I realized that deep inside me, there is this violence, this sexuality, which can make me commit the worst! It makes you dizzy! When I put this together, I asked myself if I was going to continue having my daughters looked after by men! However, whatever the profiles, we see that 100% of the attackers had a childhood lacking in self-confidence and love. Which means that, even if a monster lies dormant within us, it is possible to make things happen through education.

You are one of the rare ones to have both a career as an actor and a career as a screenwriter: how does this dual role allow you to stay a little outside the system, which does not seem to displease you…?
It’s first and foremost a question of networks. I started by learning “psycho” and writing in France, then I left for the United States to study theater. My student network is not in France. When I came back, I was playing rugby, so my friends were either those I played with, or those I wrote with, or those I was in psychotherapy with. As I have a hard time making friends, I kept them and didn’t enter any “chapels”. Also, not being a big fan of Paris, as I started to get invited to parties, premieres, etc., I prioritized my family and friends, so it was a bit of a shock to me. out of the game.

“I don’t really like people to regulate my life!”

Could this have harmed you professionally?
I ask myself this question all the time. There are projects that are being done without me because I am not part of the “middle”, no one sees me, especially since I have settled in the South-West. Is this a handicap? It is obvious. Afterwards, as I don’t have a label, this allows me to feed the desires of the directors. So it’s both good and not good! But I have to say to be honest that I prefer my comfort when I’m not shooting. I love playing, but everything around, the pickups, the schedules…, I don’t really like having people rule my life!

Have you ever thought about writing a role for yourself?
Never. Except at the moment, where I’m writing a very personal project, inspired by my own questions about couples, society, sexuality… So it makes me imagine a role for myself, even if I always tell myself that ‘another actor will always serve the character better than me!

“We are friends before being brothers and sisters”: the tender confidences of Guillaume Labbé about his sister Constance Labbé

When will there be a project with your sister Constance (Balthazar, editor’s note)?
With Constance, we are super close. We are even friends before being brothers and sisters. We wanted to work together, but we never found a project. At the same time, we are not actively searching! Everyone does their own thing, and we’ll see. She starts writing too and she amazes me! I find her amazing because she hadn’t gone to any school unlike me, she started it a year and a half ago, and, frankly, I’ve read her projects, she’s impressive!

Will we see you in the weeks and months to come?
To go out, there is Escort Boys on Amazon Prime, a series, Machine, for Arte. And, there, I go to turn Shoresa mini-series for France 2 at the beginning of October.