WITH JUST THREE WEEKS LEFT OF ACTING SCHOOL, JULIEN DE SAINT JEAN FOUND HIMSELF IN A CYCLE OF ENDLESS AUDITIONS, STRUGGLING TO SECURE A ROLE. IT HAD BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE HIS LAST ACTING GIG, BUT THEN, IN WHAT HE DESCRIBES AS A MIRACULOUS TWIST OF FATE, HE WAS CONTACTED TO PORTRAY ANDREA IN THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO, ALONGSIDE PIERRE NINEY. DESPITE ONLY HAVING SEEN A BRIEF TRAILER OF HIS WORK ONLINE, THE DIRECTORS WERE CONVINCED HE WAS THE PERFECT FIT FOR THE VENGEFUL ADOPTED SON OF THE COUNT. ALTHOUGH HE HUMBLY REFERS TO THIS OPPORTUNITY AS A BENEDICTION, JULIEN HAS CONSISTENTLY PUT IN THE WORK. HE JUGGLED ROLES IN PARALLEL PROJECTS LIKE LIE WITH ME AND LE PARADIS, A PERFORMANCE THAT EARNED HIM A CÉSAR NOMINATION. HE ALSO TREASURES HIS TIME COLLABORATING WITH CLASSMATES AND TEACHERS ON SHORT FILMS, SUCH AS LA PIQURE BY LENA DANA. HIS GUIDING PHILOSOPHY? “MAKE THE CHOICE WITH YOUR HEART.”

Hi Julien, how was your summer?

If I compare it to last year, when I shot The Count of Monte-Cristo, I have to admit it felt good to be in full-time holiday mode because it's been a pretty busy year. I need to start getting back into the swing of things, learning scripts again, working on my auditions and my next projects. I'm always happy to get back to work, I can't wait.

As you said, last summer you were filming The Count of Monte-Cristo, what was it like to work on such a big production and have it be shot, produced and released in such a short span of time?

We started shooting in July 2023 and finished in November. The editor edited the film at the same time, so by the end of the shoot we already had a big cut with at least 3 and a half hours of film. Then there was this gamble of, “Should we send it to Cannes?” because the film was due to be released in December 2024. Finally, they said let's go to Cannes, so they had to finish the editing and the special effects in less than 4 months. It's great, because films like this, big-budget ones, are rarely celebrated at film festivals like Cannes or at the Césars...So just the fact that we got to be there was great, and I found the welcome from the audience and press to be so warm.

What does this event and this experience mean to you as a young actor? A standing ovation that lasted 12 minutes...that's huge!

People often talk about the Cannes vortex: you get there and you have two days where there's a huge number of things happening every hour. When you see your film, it's like a dream, you can't believe what's happening. On the way out my agent said to me, “Julien, I don't think you realise what's going on.”

All the critical acclaim is well deserved, you can tell that there's a lot of work behind it, and I have to tell you I had a great time. 3 hours just went by!

It was scary for us because it's true that 3 hours of film in French cinema is quite rare. We were afraid that it would stop people from going to the cinema. But in the end, through word of mouth, the reviews were so good that people thought, come on, let's go watch these three hours.

How does your character differ from Alexandre Dumas’ novel?
Summarising 1400 pages in 160 pages of script is quite difficult. As the character is pretty different and we didn't want to start getting mixed up, I wanted to read the first part of the book, to immerse myself in Dumas' work and his writing, but I really only based myself on my character, and on his trajectory. I don't think there’s much difference in how I approached the role compared to any contemporary character [that I’ve played].

But I imagine there are a lot of written things to take into account when you play it. What did you like when you read the script and Andrea’s lines?

First of all, he's pretending to be an Italian prince…So he's lying, he's manipulating, and with the help of the Count, they’re going undercover. There's nothing more enjoyable as an actor because these characters are a bit like actors, they're playing a role. That was also part of the complexity of the role...because the viewer is always aware of the plot and our plans, you don't want to show too much and at the same time you need to show enough to show that you're deceiving... It was a question of finding the right balance. For me, what most attracted me was my character’s sensitivity.

Do you see a bit of yourself in Andrea?

I don't know if I'm very close to my character, but in general, there’s this desire for justice. It's a fairly universal feeling, but I can understand all the things Andrea does, going to great lengths to take revenge.

The Count adopts Andrea and teaches your character everything. Would you say you've also had a mentor like that in cinema?

I think it's all the people you meet, whether they're professionals or friends. Or like my mother who told me, “Ah, you should try the Conservatoire in Lyon” And maybe if she hadn't said that to me, I wouldn't have gone to school, met teachers and other students who made me realise that it's possible to be an actor. There are lots of people I've met along the way, encounters that hopefully lead you to your goal. And sometimes people say that the profession is a bit of luck and that's true, there's also work, there's rigour, but it's also about meeting the right people at the right time. I've spoken to actors who've had a career of 40 years and they've told me that the hardest thing is to stay. And that means making the right choices, diversifying your roles, not locking yourself into one type of role and continuing to be fulfilled in the profession.

You also gave a wonderful performance in Olivier Peyon’s Lie with Me where you played alongside Jeremy Gillet. You seem to enjoy playing roles where you hide part of yourself, how do you approach this duality in your characters? And what inspires you to play such damaged characters?

It's funny, I'm often projected into characters who are tough, who have anger inside them and who have a very dark side. In life, I'm rather the opposite of those characters. So when I play, I try to imagine how they would present themselves to the world as these rather dark characters, and then I re-inject something gentler from myself. And it's this duality that I put into them.

Do you have any plans to explore roles abroad?

I've been in my first English-language film, coming out on Netflix, called Delicious. It's a German film about a German family who arrive in France for the holidays. We're going to be a group of French people, and we're going to get involved with this family. It's a bit of a thriller and this is the first time I've played in English. Frankly, it was a great experience. The film will be released in 2025. I also have a role in La Réparation by Régis Wargnier and Merteuil for HBO MAX, where I’ll be reunited with Anamaria Vartolomei who plays my sister Haydée in The Count of Monte-Cristo.

Did you notice a big difference when filming in English?

Sometimes when you're acting in English, you don’t look at yourself as much, it's as if the accent or the language barrier is a bit in the way. Let's say you look at yourself less because it's not your mother tongue. But I know I'd like to continue in an international career, there are more and more international projects and castings. I'm not closing my doors, even though I know there are so many great projects in France.

You've already shot with some of the biggest French actors in this film, who would you like to work with next? And in what types of roles?

I'm curious and I want to try my hand at everything. When you're a young actor, you want to do lots of films. I'd love to play with Noémie Merlant, who was my godmother at the Césars. I love her choice of films. She's an actress who moves me. And I'd love to play with her. And on top of that, we've got the same mole on the face on the right side, and I frankly told her that we should play brother and sister. The future is so uncertain, we could get life-changing news any day and life usually has more imagination than we do. So I'm rather looking forward to seeing what happens next. If there's a character, a director you want to work with, or an aesthetic you want to try out, if you really feel deeply in your heart that it's a good choice. If you make the choice with your heart. Even if you realise after the film that you're a bit disappointed, at least if you've made it with your heart, then that's the most important thing. At least that's my motto at the moment. Make the choices that please me. Not do roles because I'm told to do them. Films are bets, you never know. Sometimes it'll be a huge success, sometimes it won't work out, but it’s ok, we can always make more films.