http://runninginheels.co.uk/articles/cinematiccv-audrey-tautou/
First major films: Venus Beauty Institute and Amélie
Most recently released film: Coco before Chanel
Significant acting awards to date: César award for Most Promising Actress (1999)
“It was a passion, of course, but I thought I would give myself one year, and if at the end I hadn’t done what I wanted, I would do something else.”
Audrey Tautou, 2005
Audrey Tautou, 2005
Audrey Tautou may be one of France’s finest actresses but she could have just as easily have been something completely different if things hadn’t gone her way. Fortunately, she didn’t have to confront the possibility of failure for long though – she won the ‘Most Promising Actress’ award at the Césars (the French equivalent of the Oscars) for her very first major film role.
Early Work in French Cinema
Tautou’s role in Venus Beauty Institute (1999) garnered her industry acclaim but she was catapulted to worldwide fame courtesy of her role as the title character in Amélie (2001), the adorably quirky tale of a young waitress in Montmartre who dedicates her life to bringing happiness to others.
It’s interesting – almost frightening, even – to think that Tautou was not director Jean –Pierre Jeunet’s first choice for the role: he had originally written the part for Emily Watson, who eventually withdrew from the role. Having spotted Tautou’s face on a poster for Venus Beauty Institute, he took a chance in casting this still relatively unknown actress as Amélie. Ultimately, her portrayal of the wide-eyed and eccentric Amélie was instrumental in the film’s success, as she captured the heart of filmgoers worldwide.
In the years following the success of Amélie, Tautou seems to have chosen to remain beneath the radar, shirking big budget movies and the high-profile offers which surely must have come her way.
Definity more pretty than dirty in dirty pretty things
She did take her first English speaking role in gritty drama Dirty Pretty Things (2002), during this period although she seems to have preferred to stay within the French film market. Another film she acted in during this period is cult Erasmus favourite Pot Luck (L’auberge Espanole – 2002) - a brilliantly funny take on the year abroad experience.
Her next major success in a film role came courtesy of a second collaboration with Amélie director Jean–Pierre Jeunet, in A Very Long Engagement (2004). Whilst many wrongly presumed the film would by ‘Amélie 2’, it too achieved much success garnering Tautou nominations for Best Actress at both the César and European Film Awards.
Oozing Gallic Glamour as Chanel
Hollywood Calls!
Given Tautou’s apparent penchant for smaller movies, her presence in The Da Vinci Code (2006) came as a surprise to many, not least the actress herself; ‘I really didn’t think I was right for it either… it’s certainly not my dream to drop everything for Hollywood’ . This, her first Hollywood production, did not win her any industry acclaim but it did mark her first steps into the big leagues playing opposite Tom Hanks in the film version of the bestselling novel by Dan Brown, making her more recognisable among film audiences worldwide.
Whilst more French movies followed her foray into Hollywood, Tautou choose to remain in the spotlight taking on the role of leading lady Coco Chanel in the biopic of the fashion designer Coco Before Chanel (2009). Whilst it by no means clear where Tautou will go from here, it’s safe to say her acting career will be one to watch over the coming years.
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