The Little Lieutenant on France 3: when Nathalie Baye dedicated her César to actresses

The actress shares the bill with Jalil Lespert and Roschdy Zem in this drama by Xavier Beauvois.

After Venus beauty (institute) Sunday on France 2, France Télévisions continues its tribute to Nathalie Baye, who died on Saturday at the age of 77, by broadcasting this Monday evening The Little Lieutenant on France 3. It will also be available for streaming on France.TV the next day.

After winning three consecutive Césars between 1981 and 1983, Nathalie Baye won her fourth trophy, the second as best actress, for The Little Lieutenant, in 2006. On the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet, she delivered a vibrant speech, among the most memorable of the ceremony, where she addressed her colleagues in particular:

“I would like to dedicate this César to the actresses. To all the actresses. To those in this room who are privileged like me. To those who are getting started, who are just starting out, who are afraid, who have doubts. And particularly to those who don’t work, who are waiting for phone calls, who are in the hole, who no longer believe in it. Because that’s the hardest thing in this job, when you don’t have a job. Because being good in a film is the least you can do.”

The Little Lieutenant is a role apart in Nathalie Baye’s filmography. Notably because she was initially supposed to play the judge. The role of the ex-alcoholic cop was intended for… Jacques Dutronc. The actress explained to First a few years ago:

“Originally, Xavier asked me to play the role of the judge, played by Jacques Perrin. And one day, he calls me – I knew that Dutronc, who was to have the role of the commissioner, did not give his answer – he calls me and says: “I’m tired of waiting, do you want the role?” “. I hesitated for two seconds and said yes. It was a beautiful role, very tough, ambivalent and I love working with Xavier. Beauvois is like Godard. He is one of the dry cleaners, those directors who clean up the grease and don’t want the actors tinkering. He’s a lazy person, but an extraordinary lazy one. And when lazy people are this intelligent and sensitive, they sometimes give birth to dazzling things. I was happy when I received this second Caesar. But it was no different from the first. The worry never leaves me. I’m always afraid before starting a film of not being up to the task, of not making it. I continually question myself, I am not reassured and I do nothing to be so, I need to be alert. Reward or no reward…“