“I reread Voltaire’s work, I learned to dance the Menuet, and I forced myself to smile.”
Charles Templon
photographed by Nicolas Wagner
styled by Maël Gicquel
above: suit by Xander Zhou, tie by Steven Passaro, shirt by Damien Francois Gabriel
Are you superstitious?
I hope not; I’m wearing green in my suit.
What’s your favorite trait in your friends?
Caring through small tokens of attention and vigilance.
What are you most proud of?
Everything I haven’t done yet.
What was your first stage theater experience?
Starmania, the role of Ziggy, at the Salle Jean-Renoir in Bois-Colombes in front of 350 people. I was 8 years old and perched on high heels with false eyelashes…
I remember the light chase that followed me on my playback.
suit by Ambush, shirt by Steven Passaro, denim shorts by Ouest Paris
How did directing come into your career?
A friend of mine had written her story. At the time, we were in the process of setting up our company, going to see four shows a week (sometimes more), and spending hours afterward examining costumes, set design, and direction – she suggested I direct her brilliant text.
But it all goes back to my early childhood.
I’ve always directed everything.
Is it difficult to receive compliments?
Never difficult. But I know that they don’t help me get ahead. Especially in the theater, when you’re performing every day for so long… It can be dangerous to fall into a comfort zone.
total look by Steven Passaro
Do rituals reassure you? In the theater or everyday life?
In everyday life, I have absolutely none.
Every day is too different…
In the theater, I have several rituals that are a bit like ticks. I absolutely need them before I go on stage because they help me concentrate and get rid of the growing ball of stage fright. I keep them to myself, sorry 😉
An everyday heroine you admire?
There are two of them: my mother and Gisèle Pelicot. I think about them every day these days.
What talent do you wish to have?
Knowing how to chop wood.
shirt by Ouest Paris
How did you prepare for the role in Candide (directed by Didier Long)?
I reread Voltaire’s work, I learned to dance the Menuet, and I forced myself to smile.
What is the essential tool for this role (costume/research / readings)?
I’d say the search for freedom – what it means for this character and for the people around her – and how it can come out in body language, too.
Are you an optimist?
I’d like to answer: Yes, very much so ……..
But the more I get up in the morning and the more we rehearse this show, the more I rediscover myself as a Martin (the pessimistic, clear-sighted friend who crosses the world with Candide, and who could be Jean-Pierre Bacri’s cousin)
“You only have to cast your eyes over this globe to understand that God has abandoned it to a few evil beings. The powerful treat the weakest like cattle whose wool and flesh are sold“.
The people I work with think I’m idealistic.
total look by Steven Passaro
Do you cultivate your own garden?
My inner garden is always lying fallow!
As soon as I take the time to cultivate it and to think for myself and not for others, the soil is of better quality, and my imagination resembles bunches of juicy tomatoes.
And to be more down-to-earth, I’ve been lucky enough for a few years now to have my hands in my vegetable garden from April to September.
suit by Xander Zhou, tie by Steven Passaro, shirt by Damien Francois Gabriel
Charles Templon will be in the play Candide directed by Didier Long at Theatre de Poche Montparnasse (Paris) starting Jan 14