«My Athos, a wounded man I love being a chameleon on the set»- Corriere.it

To focus on what he wanted from his Athos, Martin Bourboulon, the director of The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan (in theaters from April 6 with Notorious) asked Vincent Cassel to think of a gray, lonely and melancholy wolf. “Athos tries to drown his demons in alcohol, but over time they have learned to swim.” The actor’s memories of the Dumas saga were decidedly more sunny. “I have a very close bond with those stories – he says -. As a child I dressed as a musketeer, they were my heroes, I really liked a chocolate snack that was called that. But, above all, I remember when my father Jean-Pierre took me to Madrid on the set of The Three Musketeers. A role so different from the ones he played in the Nouvelle Vague films. A somewhat delirious version of the classic, let’s say».

Is yours, scripted by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre De La Patellière, faithful to Dumas?

«This is a classic that says a lot about us, it can be renewed indefinitely. It tells of people who come together with a shared goal: “One for all, all for one”. It’s a powerful message, even more so after the pandemic. They all want to divide us in the name of something: skin color, religion, gender, sexual preferences. Divide et impera. To check us better. And instead, it’s time to find points in common».

It’s an action film, some speak of it as a French western.

«That is an American genre that you Italians have also done very well, the swashbuckling genre belongs to our culture. It has been at least 60 years since a new French version was made, I’m happy to be part of it. It is good that the new generation has its own».

Who is Athos?

“He is a broken man filled with remorse and regret. He seems to me the character who best connects the different episodes of the saga. He is tormented, he carries the weight of the past on his shoulders. We see him haunted by remorse, shame and guilt that he doesn’t know how to handle. He’s a tough guy with a deeply human soul.’

Dumas’s is a story of men. Has Bourboulon updated it?

«It is true that it is a male story but with very strong women at the centre. I think already in the book the real badass character is a woman, Milady, who is Eva Green. Dumas told us almost two centuries ago that women would control the world».

She has two daughters.

«As a father I can say that the paternal image has also changed, men have a different role in the family than that of our fathers, who didn’t take care of it. What do I want to convey to them? Disobedience and fantasy».

You are the son of an artist, you found your job at home.

“It was a natural landing. But what fascinated me and made me choose this path was the idea of ​​being able to write on the blank canvas, having every possibility before me, becoming what you wanted, daring. Freedom and imagination”.

They call you the chameleon of French cinema, do you recognize it?

«I try to do different things, I accept roles in which to get involved. But in the end, even if you try to change, keep your style. If what is recognized in me is a chameleon style, I gladly accept it».

In addition to her and Green, the cast brings together François Civil (D’Artagnan), Romain Duris (Aramis) Pio Marmaï (Porthos) and Louis Garrel in the role of the king.

“I already knew how to handle weapons and ride horses. But for five months we went through a demanding training to make everything seem real. It helped us to team up.”

It is a 72 million euro blockbuster. Does it scare you to face the hall?

“We are talking about the cinema crisis. I don’t agree, the public wants to see engaging things, to know that they are spending money on something that is worthwhile, otherwise they stay at home and watch TV. I know you are going through a difficult moment but for me the mecca of cinema is not France as they say, but still and always Italy».