Filmmaker Xavier Dolan paid tribute to late actor Gaspard Ulliel during the 47th Cesar Film Awards ceremony on Saturday, saying “the whole world” still mourns Ulliel’s death at the age of 37. Ulliel, who posthumously appears as Anton Mogart/Midnight Man in Marvel’s upcoming Moon Knight series, died last month after colliding with another skier in the Alps. In 2017, Ulliel won the Best Actor César for his role as Louis in the Cannes Grand Prix-winning film It’s Only the End of the World, written and directed by Dolan.
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Reading from a letter penned in “homage to my friend, our friend, Gaspard,” an emotional Dolan paid tribute to the A Very Long Engagement actor for his caliber and talent in a 10-minute speech (via Deadline). Watch Dolan’s tribute below.
I wanted to pay homage to my friend, our friend, Gaspard. I decided to do it in the form of a letter.
Madame,
I’m writing this letter to you without knowing you well.
Outside, behind the window of my room in the woods where I have sought refuge, the snow twirls in the air. It is transfigured by the light of the sun, and the wind persists in beating it into loose snow. Big conifers rise in front of me, covered with a very heavy white deposit. Winter is calm, all of a sudden, after a brutal start.
I knew that in coming here to seek out isolation I was going to start thinking and writing about Gaspard. And other than for an article, an interview or a prize, believe me that I had no intention to do so.
The day he died, I sought out his company by rewatching a number of his films, including A Very Long Engagement…Perhaps I intentionally decided that this film would confirm things that we refuse to see, that I still refuse tonight, for example, to see, to believe.
But I didn’t come here to speak about the career of Gaspard Ulliel — I could recount the list of brilliant exploits and feats, of starry passages among the stars of the Riviera, of the industry. But what effect could these things have on the gaping wound of his departure?
I couldn’t help but think he would have hated this kind of elegy. He would have perceived a lack of elegance in this glorification. And he was very elegant…His talent we still have and that, no can take away.
It is the privilege of being famous and an actor of his light to be able to count on art to fade us into eternity while other important bereavements for some remain unknown to all or become so quickly evanescent.
It’s a whole world that cried for Gaspard, it’s a whole world that still mourns him.
Following news of Ulliel’s death on January 19, French Prime Minister Jean Castex paid tribute to the actor best known for his role as young Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal Rising, Yves Saint Laurent in Saint Laurent, and his tenure as the face of Chanel men’s fragrance Bleu de Chanel.
“Gaspard Ulliel grew up with cinema and cinema grew with him. They loved each other madly,” Castex said in a statement published to social media. “It is with a heavy heart that we will no longer see his most beautiful interpretations.”
Disney, the studio behind Ulliel’s final television performance in Moon Knight, issued a statement reading: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of our friend and colleague Gaspard Ulliel. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this time.”
