A newcomer to the world of English series, which is already appearing on the big screen for the second time, Jonathan Zakai tells us about his experience “Downton Abbey II – A new Era”
A new era … and new faces. Less than three years after the release of the first film, the world of Downton Abbey is back on the big screen. Along with French-speaking actors: Natalie Bay and Jonathan Zaccai, whose characters discover that the villa in southern France was taken by Violet Grantham (Maggie Smith).
Opportunity for some heroes to travel to France. And the Belgian actor met them, as he explained in Paris, a few days before the release of the feature film.
AlloCiné: How did you finish this project? Were you offered a role, if you said so, when you found out that the production was looking for French-speaking actors?
Jonathan Zakai : I passed the tests. I do not apply, my agent usually takes care of it. Which was told to me by one of the former journalists, Simon Curtis Knew the office of legends and already noticed me in it. Then I passed the tests and was selected.
What did you know about the series before participating in the film?
I have wanted to see her for a long time. This is one of those series that we are about to start. So obviously when I got to the part, I watched everything immensely and was very excited about the adventure part. ᲛLoved. I find this wonderful.
There is a mystery surrounding the series: from its theme, we think it can only interest the English public. But it works in France, in the United States … What do you think explains this success?
He also works in China, very very strong. What explains this is, first of all, the quality of the writing there. Then, I think, it’s a bit of the same pleasure when we look at the life of the royal family over the years and wonder what ‘s going on behind these walls, what’ s going on in their privacy. ᲠHow is he? How does it change? How is she when she talks to her husband in the morning? At some point he really lets go of the mask or not?
It’s also a great idea at Downton Abbey: Butler and Basement’s relationship with the nobles and all the interactions that exist between these characters. And between these two worlds, which is also quite fascinating. And the actors are great.
Downton Abbey is a bit of the same fun we had when we watched the Royal Family live for years
This idea of class relationship is one aspect that can easily be shifted to different societies without staying in the image of the series.
Yes. And someone told me a very fair thing: when you see this series and this world, something is preserved. Today we are in a world that is always open and, unfortunately, more and more at risk. And even if they are, there is something very flourishing in their world. They stand behind closed doors, something a little soothing even in the series, strangely enough. In a world of soothing people listening to each other, talking to each other. It is true that this also exists.
And finally this camera is changing with this movie, especially thanks to your character. How would you describe it?
I think he comes from a not-so-happy family. He has a rather conflicted relationship with his mother. , With whom it is at the same time close. And she is a woman with a bit of a frustrated life and a lot of things. But he has to fulfill his father’s last wishes and especially the fact that the English inherit the villa, which is his mother’s problem. While for him it may be an opening, an opportunity to meet that can change his life. And he is quite willing to break this loneliness with his mother and expand the family.
Jonathan Zakai vs. Hugh Bonneville in “Downton Abbey II”
When we think of “Downton Abbey,” we think of a castle or characters like Maggie Smith. Wasn’t it a bit frustrating to integrate into this world without going to this place or playing against this actor?
Frustration, we can have in life. But if we have it at the time, we are fools. I was already very happy to be a part of this adventure. Before me was Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, who was still one of the heroes of my childhood – I was madly in love with her in the movie Once Upon a Time in America.
But, I admit, a bit of a disappointment because I didn’t meet him outside of filming Maggie Smith. Because it is a monument. There are so many movies where he loved it. And then especially there. But we did the costume and haircut there because they were already getting it. So the whole team was there, we were shown around the castle. It was fun to go there.
What was your first impression when you came to the set and in this family that has been filming together for over ten years?
My first impression was that I told myself that they are very welcoming, very simple and very friendly people. They did everything they could to make us feel comfortable. Hugh Bonneville, for example, is a reflection of his persona as a friendly patriarch. And Simon Curtis is the director who calms the actors down.
Could Julian Fellows’s English and writing pose a problem on set?
Yes, Julian Fellows uses 19th century English, so sometimes you have to be careful about what you say. Because their speech is very melodic. But it did not go badly.
Do you have any special memories that you keep from filming?
It happened in the south of France, near Sanari-sur-Mer. And I remember the scene with the toads by the pool. Or frogs. But it was a racket. And it was not easy to hear these voices when you speak on a stage that is not at all happy. And it was difficult in terms of sound as well. A funny anecdote, say.
Interview with Maximilian Pierrett in Paris, April 19, 2022
Source: allocine
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