Laure Calamy returned to the stage on Thursday, January 23, at the Théâtre Montparnasse, on Paris's left bank, where she plays, sings and dances in Peau d'homme ("Man's Skin"), an adaptation of the Hubert and Zanzim's award-winning comic book, directed by Léna Bréban. She made a name for herself in the TV series Dix pour cent (Call my Agent) and Caroline Vignal's film Antoinette dans les Cévennes (My Lover, My Donkey & I ) for which she won a César for Best Actress in 2021. Her latest films are Mon inséparable (My Everything) by Anne-Sophie Bailly and Un ours dans le Jura (How to Make a Killing) by Franck Dubosc.

Fill in the blank: I wouldn't have gotten here if ___

...My mother hadn't taken me to the Avignon Festival to see Pina Bausch's The Rite of S. I was 20, and it was the first time I had ever been to the Cour d'Honneur in the Palais des Papes. We had the very cheapest seats right at the top, but it was perfect for watching dance. It was such an aesthetic shock! A young girl who was going to be sacrificed, a sort of war in the sand between men and women, I was enthralled. Everything was incredible: The way the story was told, the magnificent music that I'd never heard before. I'd never seen anything like it, so wide-ranging, so deep. It gave me goosebumps.

But it bothers me to have to choose what got me to where I am. It makes me feel I'm being unfaithful to others! I could also mention Jean-Pol Dubois, an actor and childhood friend of my father. When I was young, whenever he came to the house, he'd tell me stories about his theater tours or his days filming. His stories made his profession accessible and concrete and made me want to act, but I didn't dare say I wanted to be an actor.

Was your mother a regular theatergoer?

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