‘At first I said no’ … Cecil Boyce explains why he almost refused to play in A Taste of Crime.

After betraying France Télévisions by playing Gloria and Addict on TF1, Cécile Beuys finds France 2 for a new detective fiction, as he plays the lead role in the telefilm Le Goût du crime, directed by Chloe Mikut, which will be broadcast this . Saturday, April 15 at 9:10 p.m.

In this comedy-thriller, he plays Laure Grenadier, a former star chef who now pursues his career as a food critic for a web-based channel. And who will have to team up with his ex, the police captain played by Charlie Dupont, to solve the crime wave that hits restaurant owners in Lyon and which affects him closely, because the first victim is not his uncle.

Laurie’s position in the very closed circle of Lyon’s restaurants, and the respect he inspires in regional chefs, will then prove to be an invaluable asset to the police investigation.

Regarding the transfer of Taste of Crime, Cécile Beuys returned to us the elements that made him agree to play in this TV movie, despite his initial hesitation, about his collaboration with Charlie Dupont and Bernard Le Coq, about his relationship. Good food and its future projects.

AlloCiné: After Ten Seasons of Candice Renoir and TV movie in CorsicaDid you hesitate a bit before saying yes to the TV movie Le Goût du crime, which is also a detective story?

Cecil Boyce : Yes, I hesitated. Besides, I said “no” at first. With this project, a producer whom I knew, with whom my daughter will live and whom I like very much, came to me. At first I didn’t want to do it because it was a detective story and I thought it had too much in common with Candace Renoir.

On the phone we continued to discuss, I gave all the points that I thought were not working. And he agreed to change all of those points, get back to writing, and get rid of Candace. He came back to me three weeks later, as promised, and things really changed.

He also told me the idea of ​​this duet with Charlie Dupont, whom I had known for a long time, but with whom I had never worked. And because I really liked him in La Faute à Rousseau and I liked the changes in the script, I said “ok”. And so this adventure began.

Your biggest challenge in this department was really managing to distance yourself as much as possible from Candace, who you are bound to be attached to in the public eye?

Of course. It was a lot of work for me to be able to break away from Candace, despite some similarities, and play another character who is not a cop and who is still going to investigate. Because Candace has nothing to do with being a cop, so it’s a big deal. But it was interesting to go back to a thriller and not do Candace. As an actor, it was a very interesting work.

Were you familiar with the novels by Noel Ballen and Vanessa Barro that inspired Le Goût du crime?

No, I don’t want to read the novels on which this or that movie I’m starring in might be based, nor do I want to see what happened before. I’m thinking in particular of the TV series Gloria, adapted from a foreign format. I’ve never felt the need for freedom before. I tell myself, as long as I don’t have anything else to reference, I have what I envision for the character. I feel that instead of enriching it, it will limit my imagination.

The success of the TV movie is based in part on the dog and cat duo you create with Charlie Dupont. How did you work on this atypical duo?

I think it’s a matter of personality, we didn’t create anything at all, we didn’t work on this duet at all. I think the fact that we have known each other for a long time was important. In 2008, I worked on a long-term project with his wife, so I had the opportunity to see him in person. And we also have many mutual friends. It all had to be played out. And then Charlie is quite a nice and warm person, it just happened naturally.

Although you only have one scene together, your fictional uncle plays the role Bernard Lecoq. Is it always a pleasure to play with actors of this caliber?

Bernard played my stepfather in Gloria, we also worked in another film called Blind and we met for the first time on Une famille so we know each other very well now. And we always meet each other with a very contagious joy. It’s all hugs and fun parties.

But this does not prevent this request, because Bernard is a very sharp actor in what he wants to do and is often dissatisfied, so he needs to remake and challenge himself. He is the one who has maintained humility and a zest for life that inspires admiration. That’s the lesson, along with the career he’s had.

The TV movie was shot in Lyon. Did you get to enjoy the region and the traffic jams of Lyon during the four weeks of filming?

Not much, because I was shooting every day. I am the one who needs a lot of sleep and silence because the atmosphere on the sets is always demanding. I often need to be alone, that’s why I didn’t extend halftime after filming (laughs).

It gave me little opportunity to discover the city and the traffic jams. Which isn’t too bad because it’s not an area where you lose weight (laughs). And it’s a success on the set without gaining weight. So everything was done to stay in my corner prepared to eat.

Between Le Goût du crime, which takes place in the world of gastronomy, and Les Gouttes de Dieu, which will be released on Apple TV+, your news is pretty much about enjoying life, good food and good wine. Are they talking to you? Do you consider yourself an epicurean?

Yes, rather. I have a hard time resisting pleasure no matter what. By the way, it can be a problem (laughs). Of course, I have life discipline, but only on the condition that I win on the side.

Having said that, what I have to say is that I was immersed in wine at a very young age because when I was young, my godfather had vineyards in Libourne. That’s why I participated in the harvest until I was 15 years old, I had my feet on the land of vineyards, I picked grapes. I tasted some wine very quickly, it helped to have a sharper palate I think. But it didn’t give me the taste of wine, today I am not the one who drinks a lot of wine.

On the other hand, I love food, whatever it is. But over the years I find that the best food is not necessarily haute cuisine. Mostly good products. But I care about it all, that’s for sure.

In Le Goût du crime, your character, Laure, is a famous food critic who is very successful on Youtube and Instagram. What is your relationship with social networks?

Reasonable account. I make it the tool I want, i.e. write profiles that make me feel good, watch videos that relax me or teach me something. But I absolutely avoid scandals, things that make noise in all forms. And when I do post, I’m careful that it’s something positive, not consequential. I don’t add shade to shade. We live in such a noisy, noisy world that you avoid grist to the mill.

There are several novels featuring Laure Grenadier. If you know if it is possible to continue if successful? And do you want to enroll again?

I don’t know at all if France Télévisions wants to continue this TV movie. As for me, I’m continuing Candace Renoir as a single, so I don’t know if it would be redundant to release a Laure Grenadier collection when I’m already playing Candace, which I particularly like.

Can you tell us a few words about your upcoming projects? Will you be keeping an eye out for upcoming Candice Renoir TV movies?

I will be in the credits of the series Les Gouttes de Dieu, which comes out on April 21st on Apple TV + and which will be broadcast a priori on France Télévisions before the end of the year. It was a wonderful series, adapted from the manga, in which I play the mother of the heroine played by Fleur Geffrier.

As for the rest, I especially try to get away from Candace, even if this a priori is the most immediate project, it’s true. I worked a lot last year, I needed a real break. Today, the end of the series in its traditional form leaves me much more time to read and choose my projects. I have quite a few reading projects, some in the embryonic stage, some in the medium term. And in the short term, I’m finishing what I started three months ago: taking care of those I love.