Interview
Nicolas Maury: “The shooting of the film Ten percent must begin this year”
The actor is now a singer and released his first album, “Porcelaine de Limoges”, earlier this year. He talks to us about music but also about the rest of the series that revealed him.
Published
Nicolas Maury spent two years on this musical project.
Stephane Gizard
Nicolas Maury is not as modest and fragile as one might think. The one we know best for his role as Hervé in “Ten percent” adds a string to his bow by becoming a singer. In January, he released “Porcelaine de Limoges”, a disc which mixes texts talking about seduction and love on the piano or sometimes even on electro sounds. He tells us about this new adventure by phone and tells us more about the long-awaited sequel to “Ten percent”.
After actor and director, you become a singer. Was it the next logical step?
I don’t know if it makes sense, because it means that Catherine Deneuve should also start singing (Laughs.). For me, it was like a no-brainer. All the professions you have just mentioned have one thing in common: being an interpreter. When one is an actor, one interprets the signs of a text and of a role. When you’re a director, you interpret the signs of life, of how you feel about the world, how you feel about people… And when you’re a singer, it’s even more special, because you don’t act of role. We are at the most naked of what is the restitution of a sound with the music.
Your first song was on the soundtrack of your movie “Rag Boy”. How did the idea of putting the voice on a title come about?
It started when I met Olivier Marguerit. He did the soundtrack for “Garçon chiffon” and he also composed and produced my album. My film was released on October 28, 2021, the day the confinement was announced in France, and all the cinemas closed. I felt long dark months coming. I then made this proposal to Olivier and he was quite inspired. We created about one song per week. At the beginning of January, a dozen models were ready. At the time, you still needed travel permits to leave your house and, as he was in a studio not far from my apartment, I went there to do myself good. And then it was a whole new path. I stopped everything for two years for that.
“I had a bit of a complex about my voice. Now I manage to get along and, above all, I manage to find sensuality.
Nicolas Maury, singer, actor and director
How did music come into your life?
Before, I sang like just about everyone else. That is to say in my room since childhood. But I was not at all extroverted in relation to singing. I have this high-pitched voice today, so imagine me as a child when it was even higher. The singing teacher would walk me past everyone and say, “Listen to that voice!” As a teenager, it was not so easy. I had a bit of a complex about my voice. Now I manage to get along and, above all, I manage to find sensuality. I am very happy.
Who inspires you in music?
Vanessa Paradis. A lot. It was the first record I had. Then there are several female voices that my mother listened to, like France Gall or Véronique Sanson. For my part, I really like Joe Dassin and Mike Brant in the 80s. Afterwards, when I started the theater, I inevitably went to Barbara.
In your piece “Porcelaine de Limoges” you talk about a boy with a complicated childhood and big dreams. Is it autobiographical?
Yes. It’s really autobiographical. But it remains a universal subject. If it only affected me, it wouldn’t be very interesting for others. I sing for all the people who have been stressed in the schoolyards. Not necessarily because they are gay, they may be suffering because of their weight or a disability…
Thanks to remarkable text work, you managed to make the music very visual…
It touches me. Maybe it’s a professional deformation… It’s my Libra side. (Laughs.) When I make movies, I talk about music. That is to say, I direct my actors with musical words. Even the technicians. I often talk about music, and when I do, I think I’m talking about cinema. Finally, I find myself perfectly at the meeting of these two universes. For example, for my next feature film, I have already requested the original music. The project will take place in Switzerland. I wrote the script for a hotel in your regions.
On the title “Gentleman”, we find you on an up-tempo style that suits you to delight. Why haven’t you tried this exercise several times?
I wanted to work more on my sensitivity. It is true that on a daily basis I am a happy person. During the making of this disc I precisely paid attention that that is felt. And then I like up-tempo songs. I just wanted to have fun, let myself go and dance when we composed “Gentleman”. It gives this feeling of the return of spring or summer. When I did my first television for the record, I performed it and was very comfortable. But it’s new for me who is usually in the fragility. I’m glad I let go of the horses and made room for desire.
In concert, what should we expect?
It will obviously be a concert, but I can’t help but want to give a little more. There will be no flashing red, yellow or green lights. (Laughs.) There will be stories of curtains, stories of paintings and climates. A bit like what you can see in a play. I don’t want to play singer, I just want to sing.
Despite the music, you will continue your career as an actor. Where is the sequel to “Ten percent”?
Things are being prepared very actively and I would not have said that a few months ago. There is a twist in the writing. A small revolution. I can’t reveal more, except that we are still moving towards a film format which will be very dense. It will last about 2 hours. We will focus on the people from the ASK agency, which was shaken up in the last season. We all really want to meet again. The only problem is our busy schedules. Normally, filming is scheduled between the end of this year or the beginning of next year.