How the turbulent Jérôme Niel became the disturbing Paolo for HBO Max

He leaves his troublemaker roles to play a much darker character in Sébastien Marnier’s new series for HBO Max. Jérôme Niel tells us about this “extra step” in his career. Meeting on set.

“I actually shout very little in life in general… So it wasn’t that hard to play a more withdrawn character…”

The enfant terrible of YouTube, who exploded in a thousand ways by revealing his “Tutorials” to us – already around fifteen years ago – is changing his costume. Jérôme Niel puts on a dark jacket. More serious. More adult. The 100% venerated little hit, to whom the role of Joe Dalton was an obvious choice in Disney Plus’ Lucky Luke (in 2025), switches to the other side of the mirror by recycling his crazy look to play… a real psychopath. In Paolo, which will be released this Friday on HBO Max in France, he plays the title role, an average guy living quietly in a small provincial town. He has a girlfriend. A stable job. Friends. In short, a cushy little life that he will completely ruin when he crosses paths with Théophane, his former classmate. He succeeded. Financially and socially. To the point that he is running for mayor. Fascinated by the man who wore his short pants on the benches of the same school as him, Paolo will spiral and sink into pure and simple obsession.

“Paolo, he’s a bit of a new Mr Ripley…”

It is in Théophane’s luxurious house, isolated in the Champagne countryside, a few kilometers from Reims, that we find Paolo. In the heart of July, nightfall brings down (a little) the scorching temperature that has been knocking out the entire production team for hours. Tirelessly, Jérôme Niel replays the scene. Lurking in the shadows of Théophane’s garden, he observes from afar, watches, spies. A social voyeurism because Paolo dreams, deep down, of having the life of his former comrade. “Paolo, he’s a bit of a new Mr Ripley”, the actor tells us……