A More Beautiful Life: “Roland’s death will change many things for Thomas” according to Laurent Kerussore

Michelle Cordes is going to say goodbye to Plus belle la vie. This Monday, October 3rd, viewers will actually witness the death of Roland Marc, who will collapse on the Mistral in the square of a heart attack. An unexpected event that will throw the residents of the neighborhood into deep turmoil, especially his family, who will have to deal with this sudden disappearance.

In this case, Laurent Kerussore, who has played the role of Roland’s son Thomas Mars since 2005, returned to the consequences of this death on his character.

Allociné: What’s next for your character in Plus belle la vie?

Laurent Cerusor : Thomas has a rather disastrous experience in his family life. There is an actual break that will somehow close the loop. Thomas has come to Mistral to look for his father and he is about to leave Mistral without his father.

How will Roland’s death affect your character and the Mark clan in general?

Thomas is extremely attached to his father and never imagined that his father might not be immortal. In terms of the script, it was good to come full circle with my character. Michael (Lines, Editor’s Note) agreed to this game, which may not have been easy for him. It offered a very emotional ending to the character of Thomas.

And it’s strange, I think the community that has been following us for 18 years expected a little but didn’t want to believe. To be honest, I think he will cry in the country houses. Also, after 18 years of working together, the emotion that comes through in these episodes is a very real emotion.

I even have a small anecdote. On the day of shooting, when Thomas is going to bury his father, I was crying and at some point I asked him to cut the scene. The director told me “But no, Laurent, it was wonderfulSo I explained that it was not Thomas who was crying, but Laurent. And I don’t want to be schizophrenic (laugh). So we started again. And then it was Thomas who cried, not Laurent.

What will this death change in Thomas’s life?

Death will change many things for him, but unfortunately these changes will be very short-lived after the end of the series. After Roland’s death, it is primarily François, Thomas’s other brother, who takes the inheritance poorly. Thomas is just lost because he doesn’t understand.

On the other hand, he will continue to be there for Killian and Lola, his half-brother and half-sister. Thomas is like that too. He took in his two children, Baptiste and Teresa, and raised them. And he did the same with Lola and Killian. He accepts them as if they were his own children. This is Thomas. Besides, this is the promise he made to his father, and Thomas keeps all his promises.

Isn’t Thomas really tired of taking in kids who are already teenagers when he takes them under his wing?

I think this is the strength of Plus belle la vie. The screenwriters use this atypical couple, homosexual and married, who suddenly create almost the most normal family in the series. We are balanced, we are not wrong, we are married, we have raised two children who have succeeded in life and we have recovered two more teenagers.

And even if at first Riva’s character is a little against it, because she was happy to finally be able to enjoy life without children, she knows her husband and he knows that he cannot help the twins. Finally, Riva also interferes in their education.

It’s something very beautiful because, all of a sudden, we were able to see, without them having to say it, all the love and respect they have for each other, just by both agreeing to educate these two teenagers. This is a very modern way of doing things.

I am very glad that the authors thought of Thomas and Riva for this story. So we can imagine that even if this series ends, Killian and Lola will be left to live with Gabriel and Thomas, and that they may even adopt at some point. This way I inherit (laugh).

Thomas is the cornerstone of Plus belle la vie. What do you like most about your character?

This is his kindness. This is what I liked most about my character during these 18 years. There were occasional minor inconsistencies from certain authors that surprised me, but generally, Thomas doesn’t judge anyone. He really listens and is non-judgmental. He will try to understand everyone.

And above all, one thing that I like about my character that I don’t have is that Thomas is very patient. I am impatient. That’s why it was very interesting to play him. People think I look like my character.

But those who know me know that I am not Thomas at all. I’m handsome, I have the same smile, but I don’t have his character. There’s also something people don’t notice: Thomas doesn’t have the same voice as me. I speak a little louder when I impersonate him. But no one realizes this.

He is a character that was extraordinary to play. It had a real evolution. Thomas, this is almost a small slider that makes it possible to see how our community has evolved over the past 18 years. From 2005 until today, he grew up, got married… developed with society.

And this is very important in relation to society. We showed normality. Besides, I always said that. I never played a homosexual, I played Thomas. His sexuality was almost accidental. Perhaps that is why the audience immediately liked Thomas.

Is there an actor or actress that you would like to play with until the end of the series?

I have two actors in mind, but unfortunately it is not possible because they are no longer in this world. I’m still very attached to Colette Renard and Pascal Roberts (Rui featured Rachel Levy and Wanda Legendre, editor’s note). I never had to say goodbye to them because I was filming. And I still haven’t recovered.

But let’s talk about the positive. I want to play with Laetitia Milot again. Together with Michel Korde, we painted all three “Mistrals”. I believe we are at over 4,000 sequences together, which is dizzying. We gave the answer to almost all the actors who were able to pass by Mistral. I have good memories with Laetia.

Is there a story that has particularly stood out to you over the past 18 years?

First I will mention the marriage of Thomas. And oddly enough I would say the plot with Francois Ferroletto, who played Bruno Bassin. He was a big mobster who claimed to be straight and who was going to marry Melanie. In fact, she was in love with Thomas. He wanted to rebound and it was Nikola who caught him at the last moment. This is a plot that surprised me because it was so convoluted, but it worked in the end.

However, the plot I hated is “Mars vs. Mars” because suddenly the writers took away my mistral. And I’m very attached to Roland’s scene and character. And it was very difficult for me to play.

I’ll let you in on a secret: Michelle Podroznik, our producer, called me months in advance about this plot because she knew it would break my heart. And we agreed to have Marci’s decor at the Belle de Mai studio.

I did not want an outdoor setting because I am very attached to the Place du Mistral. The pill passed when they announced to me that they were going to put the decoration of “Mars” in the place of “Mistral”. I still enjoyed shooting this story, but it was difficult.

There were scenes where Roland told Thomas that he was no longer his son. For 18 years, my character is only looking for his father’s approval, and suddenly the connection is lost. Even Michelle was very excited that I had to say this. Still a good memory, but it wasn’t easy to shoot.

And finally, with that last storyline, I was oddly enjoying the game. I think he helped to tell me that it was all over.