SERIES – Season 6 of Peaky Blinders is available from this Friday, June 10 on Netflix. A new season in which Thomas Shelby takes to French for a few sentences. Grégory Fitoussi, who plays the sailor who exchanges in the language of Molière with the character played by Cillian Murphy, tells us about the filming of this episode in the video that you can find at the top of the article.
In Black Day, the first episode of this sixth season, Grégory Fitoussi is Jean-Claude, a sailor from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon who smuggled alcohol from the United States to Europe during Prohibition. But the story takes place on the first day of the end of this period, and the lifting of the ban on the liquor trade brings the smuggling activities to a halt. Jean-Claude and his fellow sailors are therefore on technical unemployment and meet Tommy Shelby at the counter of a bar in a hotel on the island located off the coast of Canada.
The actor revealed for the first time in Under the sun however, thought he had to give up the role. “We were filming during the COVID period and I took a test before leaving which came back positive”, he says at the microphone of the HuffPost. “So I almost missed the role but it was a false positive. I redid at least seven of them behind which were all negative”, he continues. The actor was finally able to travel to Manchester, where the episode was filmed, but had to remain confined to a room for 12 days.
A blessing in disguise since devoid of activity, he was able to fully concentrate on his character of Jean-Claude. “I was a little bubbling, I wanted to go out and it stuck well with my character who is someone very angry and who wants to fight it out,” he explains.
The meeting between Jean-Claude and Tommy Shelby
Tommy Shelby is no stranger to the French language. He had taken part in the First World War in France, where he was able to learn a few words. When Jean-Claude goes to meet the head of the Shelby family, for a reason that you can discover in the episode, the two men therefore discuss in French.
If the role of Grégory Fitoussi is secondary, he greatly contributed to the unfolding of this scene which was shot over two days. Although Cillian Murphy’s mother is a French teacher, the Irishman does not speak the language. “He asked me if his way of pronouncing the words was correct so I coached him a little,” laughs the 45-year-old actor. “He’s very careful and very precise in what he wants to do and that’s why he’s a great actor,” he continues.
Grégory Fitoussi is not the only Frenchman to take part in this scene. He is accompanied by Assaad Bouab and Laura Presgurvic, who play the hotel managers.
Cillian Murphy, a star who remains humble
Despite his superstar status in the series, the Irishman knows how to stay humble. “He is a very elegant and very generous person, which is not always the case”, reports Grégory Fitoussi.
A humility that the Irishman mixes with professionalism. “He was very open to proposals. I discussed with him about certain things that we could modify and most of the time, he found it relevant”, rejoices the actor ofgears.
The technical team of the series also knew how to listen to the Frenchman, despite his secondary role. It is in particular by evoking the idea with the make-up artist that tattoos could be added to her character.
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