Kad Merad, you are a celebrity as a comedian. How have you found yourself in a drama role?

I really don’t know how answering to this question because whatever the role I consider myself an actor in the widest meaning of the word. When I choosed to do this job I wanted to act as a comedian because my first example was Jerry Lewis that, as you know, passed by not a long time ago; for me he was the example of an actor able to move us deeply, as you have seen in his movies.

Not much time ago, in France, it has been broadcasted a reportage about Jerry Lewies where his lifelong woman, close to his death, has told that during his entire life he has been considered a comedian, we could say a funny actor, with no people really interested in building observations or critics with a sense, and the day he made “The king of comedy”, the Martin Scorsese’s movie, everybody have been surprised and said “what a big actor” and he said “hey, I made aboit 60 movies and only today you relate to me as an actor and not a comedian”.

But do you feel yourself different in this interpretation?

I think this is the problem, I don’t feel to be different in movies, I always try to have the best from myself, to be loyal to what I have to do in the story that has to be told. I am very happy today to have the opportunity to act in so different movies and I have not finished yet, I really want to do more and I have always the feeling to learn something from movies, and I think I will keep on learning this way for all life long. I love very much comedy movies but I love so much also movies like “La Melodie” because I love emotions. It’s very pleasant seeing in the thatre people moving as laughing. I think thay are two equivalent feelings. For example I move the same watching a big sport event as in a concert or laughing for a sketch; they both are strong emotions, I think they are good things for me and good things for all the people. Laughing and crying, I feel good with both.