Pierre Niney: “After Monte Cristo, I wanted to come back with something different”

At the center of the new Première, which has just been released on newsstands, the star of Gourou tells us about his return to theaters after the Edmond Dantès phenomenon.

9.5 million entries. The triumph of Count of Monte Cristo marked French cinema and established Pierre Niney at the top of French actors. How to bounce back from such a blow? The 36-year-old actor took the time to digest Edmond Dantès. And today he returns to theaters with Gurua societal thriller that he co-imagined and produced. To continue?

On the cover of the new Première (number 570, currently on newsstands and on the online store), Pierre Niney refuses to think that he is at a turning point in his career:

“No, honestly, that’s the kind of pressure I really don’t want to put on myself. On the other hand, I wanted to come back with something different, that’s right!”

The star awarded a Caesar for Yves Saint Laurent (2015) explains that he did not want “not a historical film, not a costume, not an adaptation, and Gourou arrived at the right time: a contemporary thriller, with a resolutely modern societal anchor, yes it was good! But to tell myself: “Be careful, there is a momentum to be confirmed, you must not miss it”… No, I am not asking the question in those terms. Because it can only inhibit.”

Almost two years have passed since the release of Count of Monte Cristo. But Pierre Niney takes his time: “I’m looking for good stories to tell, stories that I don’t feel like I’ve already seen 1000 times. When I shoot a film with Gondry (The Book of Solutions, 2023) in his aunt’s house, where we discover every morning what we’re going to do because he himself doesn’t necessarily know, or when I make Monte Cristo, they are two very different approaches… But in both cases, there is a story that interests me. Or a process. Good stories remain a rare commodity in cinema in general, and French cinema is no exception to the rule. We try to bring together the Holy Trinity: a good story, an interesting role to play and a good director.

Guruby Yann Gozlan, can be seen in cinemas from Wednesday January 28.

Find the full interview with Pierre Niney in the new issue of Première.