THE DAY BEFORE we meet, Juliette Binoche was in the French Alps. Today, she’s reclining in a suite in Berlin’s Hotel Marriott, dressed in scarlet trousers, a white blouse and eye-catching silver platforms. “We arrived last night at 12,” she says, casually brushing off her hectic schedule. It’s been this way for four decades now, ever since she blew up at the Cannes Film Festival as a 21-year-old, starring in 1985’s Rendez-vous as—guess what?—a would-be actress. The film was a sensation and “La Binoche”, as the French call her, was born.
“Before that, people didn’t know me,” she reflects now. “I had roles here and there—with great directors, of course—but they didn’t really take off. You have to have the role in order to take off.” And take off she did. Almost immediately, people were fascinated with this enigmatic raven-haired ingénue. “After Rendez-vouz, when I started, somebody asked me about doing an autobiography of my life… when I was 21!” she reveals, incredulous at this preposterous notion. “Some people actually thought about it.”
Instead, Binoche concentrated on an unassailable rise through the ranks of world cinema, working alongside Daniel Day-Lewis (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Jeremy Irons (Damage) and Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient)—the film that would win her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1997. Rather than succumb to Hollywood’s lure, bar the odd blockbuster, Binoche simply continued working with celebrated filmmakers from around the globe, cultivating a reputation as a risk-taker.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.
May Fiction
An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month
Wine Not
In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food
Train Booking Hacks
With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again
My Britain: Cheltenham
A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here
Stand Tall, Ladies
Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?