His voice is not unknown, as he lent his voice to George Clooney for many years. But Samuel Labarthe deserves his fame, especially the success of the series Les Petits Meurtres d’Agatha Christie, which brought joy to the audience of France 2 in 2013-2020.
The Geneva actor currently stars in the mini-series Tapie on Netflix as François Mitterrand. Surprisingly, the latter also played two other presidents of the republic and a former prime minister.
to our colleagues Recreational television In January 2018, Samuel Labarte poked fun at this taste for political figures: “I must have some kind of natural authority, or maybe I just wear a suit well.”
Jacques Chirac in Death of a President
In 2011, for Pierre Acnine’s TV movie The Death of a President, Samuel Labarte lent his artistic functions to Jacques Chirac. The latter was not yet president at the time, as the story of the film takes place in the early 1970s, during the last months of Georges Pompidou’s (Jean-Francois Balmer) life.
At the time, the man Pompidou affectionately nicknamed “The Bulldozer” for his ability to manage files efficiently was just a young political wolf. In his full ascendancy as a minister, Chirac was then under the influence of two shadowy advisers: Pierre Gillette and Marie-France Garaud.
Jacques Chirac, still inexperienced in the exercise of power, appears in this TV movie as a fragile and uncertain character, torn between his desire and the desire to satisfy his two advisors. does not have a very high opinion of him).
Dominique de Villepin in the Conquest
This feature film by Xavier Dieringer was a first, as no film had ever dared to “attack” the President in office.
As the title suggests, La Conquête depicts the presidential campaign led by Nicolas Sarkozy (Denis Podalides) in 2007. His unstoppable rise up the ladder of power has been marked by an estrangement from his wife and adviser Cecilia Sarkozy (Florence Pernell).
In this political comedy, Samuel Labarte does not take on the role of Jacques Chirac, much older than in the TV movie mentioned above, since that role was given to Bernard Le Coq. But the Franco-Swiss actor lends his features to another figure in French politics, as in this case he plays Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.
Sarkozy’s rival and Chirac’s self-proclaimed successor (but not Juppe, who wants to…), Villepin comes across as a man full of himself (“Ursula Andres in James Bond” as Sarkozy taunts in the film), balanced by Carter’s foul language with the poet’s phrasing.
Charles de Gaulle in De Gaulle, Splendor and Mystery
In a completely different register, Samuel Labarte donned the clothes of General de Gaulle during a six-episode mini-series that chronicled the resistance leader’s and then the latter’s political careers.
The series thus traces the general’s life from his June 18 call in London to his departure from the Elysée in April 1969. A portrait of a gigantic figure, both in size and the imprint he left on history, this mini-series also explores. De Gaulle’s shortcomings by lifting the veil on his family history, little known to the general public.
The story of an extraordinary rise to fortune, until his twilight, de Gaulle, splendor and mystery had the privilege of opening the doors of the Elysée, but also the private apartments of the general on two churches in Columbia. This proud, yet complex and nuanced portrait of the Lille native certainly offers the most successful on-screen transposition of de Gaulle’s life.
François Mitterrand in Tapis
In this Netflix mini-series about former businessman Bernard Tappy, Samuel Labarte appears in just one episode as François Mitterrand. The latter manages to perfectly reproduce the socialist president’s gestures and phrases without falling into the trap of caricature.
Before that, François Mitterrand played Michel Bouquet in Mars Promeneut (a role that won him a César for Best Actor), Philippe Magan twice (in L’Affaire Farewell and the TV movie Changer la vie) or once again. by Michel Duchossoy in The Gorge Affair: A Story of Cohabitation.
An excellent performance, but no more surprising from this specialist in interpreting the greatest figures of our Fifth Republic. Who knows if the future will not allow him to step into the shoes of another person in French politics?
The Tapie miniseries is now only available on Netflix.
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Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
