The sun is shining. The sea is calm. We are in Monte Carlo, more precisely? At the Grimaldi Forum, the venue where the 47th Monte Carlo Television Festival takes place.
On this occasion, we have invited the host of “Motus” to play a game in which he will reveal something that excites him. But let’s allow our contestant to introduce himself…
Nice-Premium: Hello Thierry, you are a contestant who comes from…
Thierry Beccaro: From Aubenas
N-P: Which is located where?
T.B.: In the south of France.
N-P: Were you born there?
T.B.: No, no, I was born in Saint-Mandé, near the Vincennes Zoo, almost like I was born in the chimpanzee cage.
N-P: What do you do for a living, Thierry?
T.B.: Versatile artist: television, theater, painting, writing, and also… being human. Which is one of the noblest tasks. Trying not to be too bad. As Enzo Enzo once said, “someone good.”
N-P: Any passions?
T.B.: Not necessarily, because it’s true we live in an era where you always have to have passions. I have crushes, things that excite me like painting.
N-P: What style of painting?
T.B.: More abstract. Very colorful. Which always surprises me because I sometimes perceive myself as a bit darker, and what I paint is very, very bright. Which doesn’t surprise people much because everything that comes out is what’s inside. It’s a beautiful breath of fresh air compared to the television and theater profession. It’s good to have plenty of escape routes. It’s also good to have entryways (smile).
N-P: Do you use oil paint?
T.B.: It’s more difficult. For now, I’m working with acrylic. Occasionally, I paint with oil, but once you’ve started with oil, it’s more complicated to correct. With acrylic, you can slightly erase. But I think oil will be my next step.
N-P: How did you get started on the canvas?
T.B.: Six years ago. I finished my daughter’s drawing. She started painting in the countryside, then got bored, and I finished it. I found it quite pretty and moving. It’s true when you paint and it goes the way you want it to when you finish the painting, there’s a kind of pleasure, something indefinable. You know that the painting is done if when you step back and look at it objectively, thinking: “If it weren’t mine, what do I feel?” And then, I think: “I did that,” I have a kind of naivety, joy, and then you know you shouldn’t touch it. Sometimes, there’s the little touch that kills it. The only trap is when everything is finished, and you think: “Oh, I’m going to add this,” and… Better is the enemy of good. I’ve messed up one or two paintings like that. After that final touch, it no longer speaks. It’s the problem with cosmetic surgery. Some women redo their faces, and their husbands no longer recognize them, no longer love them.
N-P: Thierry Beccaro has many escape routes.
T.B.: Yes, I’m happy, it prevents you from being stuck in the fishbowl and the television screen to which I owe a lot. I don’t deny what I’ve done on television. But you have to know how to leave Paris to go to the countryside to return better. That’s how you’re happy and appreciate things more.
N-P: After this introduction, let’s get back to the game. So I say a word, and you tell me what it evokes for you. Radio Bleu:
T.B.: The beginning, the discovery, the promises, the chance given to you to be able to practice, to start…
N-P: An open door?
T.B.: Exactly. An open door to try to show who you are, what you’re capable of. Just happiness!
N-P: Grandmother
T.B.: It’s first my own grandmother, who is a character that has mattered in my life and still does. I think she watches over me. And then “Grandmother and bubblegum,” a beautiful show: The idea of welcoming a grandmother or grandfather with children every Wednesday and having them discuss a theme. The Christmas theme, with a grandmother and children, was magnificent because the Christmas of a grandmother was quite austere, and the Christmas of children is more joyful and rich, and it was the meeting.
N-P: TF1
T.B.: I worked for TF1, it’s incredible. I hosted a religious show on Sunday morning during the time of the announcers.
N-P: France 2
T.B.: I’m stamped. I started in 87, almost an anniversary. But I’m not the type to celebrate anniversaries. I think it’s good to say that I’m still here and that it continues. We’ll see for the 30 years. France 2 is where I began.
N-P: Speaking of which, Morning Happiness or Morning Calvary?
T.B.: Morning Happiness was magnificent, that show. We started, and we were completely innocent of what we were going to become. True happiness is often in innocence. We’ve had many personalities: Alain Delon was the first guest, Enrique Iglesias, Claude Brasseur, Anthony Quinn, Nana Mouskouri, Jacques Villeret… It was just happiness.
N-P: What quality do you think you need to have for personalities to feel confident?
T.B.: First, having seen what they’ve done, having read their book, seen their play, their film, their exhibition, listened to their record… And then listen. Don’t prepare the next question, but listen because they might tell you something that doesn’t align with the next question. The trap when you start is you ask a question, barely listen to the response, and you’re already on the question you’ve prepared. I was lucky to have a producer who corrected me. You have to listen and show that you’re interested in their work. It’s the best gift you give yourself because the person in front of you looks at you and thinks: “It’s wonderful, I have someone who likes me, who is interested in me.” It’s very selfish even. It’s the best gift I give myself because it will come back to me like a boomerang.
N-P: Marie-Ange Nardi
T.B.: Great memory. We met on “40° in the Shade,” a nice sunny show. I worked with Marie-Ange on a play “Le fil à la patte” which we performed with all the facilitators of France 2, directed by Francis Perrin. I was Marie-Ange’s future husband.
N-P: 40° in the Shade or 40° in the Sun?
T.B.: Sometimes it was the same thing. There were places where it was 40° in the sun. I remember filming on a beach in Beaulieu called Little Africa where it was very, very hot. Just happiness! Great atmosphere!
N-P: Tomorrow, if you were allowed to choose the headline of our web journal, what would you highlight?
T.B.: Terrible question… I think I would certainly talk about Darfur because I think we need to be very concerned about it, and I would also talk about the real threat of the Bush/Putin relationship and what it truly represents.
Site: France 2
