Virginie Efira: “Reading Suddenly had a physical effect on me”

Virginie Efira finds one of the most exciting roles of her career under the direction of the director of Drive my car. With the prize of a Cannes interpretation prize shared with his partner Tao Okamoto. Encounter.

In 2007, when Cristian Mungiu won his first Palme d’Or with 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 daysVirginie Efira made her acting debut with the series Off prime. Nineteen years later, Mungiu doubled the stakes with Fjord and Virginie Efira took to the same stage in Cannes with her partner Tao Okamoto to receive an acting prize. Even if it has been a long time since those who assured that a TV presenter could never have a career in cinema have turned around, this moment tells the story of a journey. Alone against all or more precisely alone with a few.

Pierre Lescure, the first to give him his chance at the theater in Nathalie. Dominique Farrugia, the first to give him a leading role in the cinema in Love is better between two. Justine Triet with Victoria which changed the outlook on her forever. Alice Winocour with See Paris again and the first Caesar. Paul Verhoeven with Benedetta. And so, Ryusuke Hamaguchi with Suddenly. Virginie Efira plays a director of Epahd with methods that go off the beaten track in a film of incredible freedom where poetry and politics become one. Here is how the actress prepared and lived this experience.

Suddenly: invigorating and surprising (review)

What was your first reaction to reading the script for a film as unclassifiable as Suddenly ?

Virginie Efira: Reading this script had a physical effect on me. A very strong emotion without being able to analyze the conduits through which it unfolds. And, above all, right away, I have the feeling of hearing my voice. Without obviously knowing if Ryusuke Hamaguchi will hear it. When I meet him at a café in Bastille, I initially feel a great shyness which has not completely disappeared. And I remember a question he asked me: “Are you afraid of all the work that this film and this role require?” » I had to say the most assertive “no” ever! (laughs) And I was hired…

Except that filming only began… two months later. How did you approach this time trial?

My first entry was that of language. It all starts with learning the text but with Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s method. Flat readings that penetrate inside the body. With such a short time frame, learning to read Japanese was certainly a challenge. But understanding grammar will help me understand how ideas and emotions are articulated. And it also allowed me a connection with Ryusuke because I asked him to record the dialogue sentences in several versions – from the slowest to the fastest. His voice gave me direction on tonic accents because Japanese is much straighter than our Latin languages. Then, when he tells me very early on that he wants to film two souls, it’s obvious that building this thing the way I’m used to building a character is impossible. You simply have to open yourself to the experience and live it. On a set, Ryusuke directs the listener much more than the one who plays. And it resonates with the heart of Suddenly : this idea that the way to save oneself is found in others, not in oneself. With Ryusuke, we never get into the psychology of the characters.

A sequence of Suddenly was particularly talked about in Cannes. A verbal ping-pong lasting more than 20 minutes where its two heroines discuss the evils of capitalism. How did you work on it?

VE: There is politics throughout the film. But this explanatory scene constitutes the high point. To play it, I relied on this idea that I believe in of conversation which sheds light on things. How philosophy was able to open a lot of doors for me. All with a slightly mischievous dimension where Ryusuke, not fooled by what this scene can provoke, enjoys it with self-deprecation. It even made me want to play it at first… like Columbo! (laughs) But it was the only time during the shoot where I went directly to ask him how we were going to be able to do that.

And what did he answer you?

VE: Obviously, he didn’t give me an answer! (laughs) But what was very important for me was to really understand in the smallest detail everything that Tao said so that my reaction was as spontaneous as possible and you could see on my face the fog which gradually cleared.

Suddenly. By Ryusuke Hamaguchi. With Virginie Efira, Tao Okamoto, Marie Denarnaud… Duration: 3h05. Released August 12, 2026