How Joaquin Phoenix slapped Vanessa Kirby on the set of Napoleon

“Anything you feel is necessary, you can do it. You can slap me, you can grab me, you can pull me, you can kiss me, whatever!”

Beyond the story of the general who became Emperor, Napoleon will focus on the love story between Bonaparte and Josephine.

Joaquin Phoenix And vanessa kirby tell this week in Empire magazine how they approached these powerful roles and how they made a pact to “shock each other” during filming to make sure the movie doesn’t look like a boring, shot-gun biopic.

They return in particular to the scene of the divorce which tore Napoleon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais apart. “We took over the real words of their divorce in front of the church. When it’s like that, you can easily fall into the archive reconstruction, read the lines, and go home. But we always wanted to surprise each other” explain vanessa kirby. His partner Joaquin Phoenix says that his classmate said to him without batting an eyelid: “Anything you feel is necessary, you can do!” He replied, “Same with you.” SO vanessa kirby was at the end of his idea by suggesting: “You can slap me, you can grab me, you can pull me, you can kiss me, whatever!” And the actress clarifies:

“We had this agreement that we were going to surprise each other and try to create moments that weren’t there, because we both wanted to avoid the cliché of period drama. And by that I mean well-orchestrated, over-designed moments. It really is ideal when you have a creative partner and you know you are safe. We can go out there and sink into the dark depths together.”

The two stars of Napoleon did not hesitate to leave the framework and the script of David Scarpa, as during this scene of the slap in question, which they improvised on the set: “NWe encouraged each other, we demanded of each other and we challenged each other to shock each other at times. And that’s what came out of that idea, at that time…” justifies Joaquin Phoenix.

Napoleon by Ridley Scott will be released on November 22, 2023 at the cinema in France.