We speak to Samara Weaving about taking on the role of Marie-Josephine in the new film Chevalier, acting alongside Kelvin Harrison Jr., and more:
Searchlight Pictures’ new film Chevalier brings a largely forgotten musical master into the limelight once again. The film tells the story of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a composer and violinist who rose to fame in the court of Marie Antoinette. Unfortunately, much of Bologne’s work was lost during the rise and reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, so many will be hearing of the composer for the first time thanks to Chevalier.
Samara Weaving: It was stressful but Michael Roberts, who was my singing teacher, made it really easy and really fun. I actually looked forward to it. In fact, after we wrapped the movie, I still saw him for more singing lessons. He made it really fun. Actually, I should call him; I should keep doing that. I've put it off. But [it was] nowhere near as crazy as Kelvin's schedule.
I don't want to be pigeonholed into one thing. I did a few horrors, one after another. I wanted to have a departure from that, and I spoke to my team about that, and we thought, "Okay, what else is out there?" But I love horror, so I went back for more. That wasn't intentional, I guess, is what I'm trying to say.
What was it about her that you think kind of paved the way to the relationship that she ended up having with Joseph Bologne? Samara Weaving: I mean, you know, he's a profesh. He's very, very talented. It wasn't hard at all, unless we were loopy from working for 12 hours and we just got the gigs. And Stefani's writing was so beautiful that it's hard to break character. It was just [such] powerful dialogue, and with Stephen at the helm being like, "We're running out of light," I'm like, "Okay. And, tears, and let's go.
Strangely, I never thought, like, "Oh, she's so different from me." In fact, I thought the opposite. She just was in a very different situation, so that was what I had to use my imagination for. But thanks to the set design, and the locations we were filming in, and the costume design, [and] the hair and makeup, I didn't have to use my imagination that much. [It] felt like walking into a different time.
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