“150 hours sitting in a chair”: Pierre Niney’s intense preparation for The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo 2024 version is in theaters

It is the day long awaited by literature and cinema enthusiasts: The Count of Monte Cristo comes out today in French cinemas. Directed by Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte, this ambitious film stars Pierre Niney in the lead role of Edmond Dantès, an unjustly imprisoned young sailor who transforms into a count to take revenge on those who betrayed him.

Adapted from the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, this film follows Edmond Dantès, falsely accused of treason by his rivals and imprisoned at the Château d’If. After fourteen years of imprisonment, he discovers a hidden treasure thanks to Father Faria, his cellmate. He became immensely richreturns as the Count of Monte Cristo to orchestrate a relentless revenge against those who betrayed him. The film also stars Anaïs Demoustier, Laurent Lafitte, Anamaria Vartolomei and Bastien Bouillon in key roles.

Intense physical preparation for Pierre Niney

To play Edmond Dantès The Count of Monte Cristo, Pierre Niney had to undertake particularly intense physical preparation. The extremely demanding role required notable bodily transformations and great physical resistance.

As he stated in the film’s press kit, Pierre Niney began with rigorous training that lasted several months. He spent “about 150 hours in a chair” doing the makeup, a crucial step for the many physical transformations required by the role. He mentioned minimal physical transformation session It could last up to eight hours.

To ensure that the action scenes were believable, Niney had to coordinate closely with the stuntmen and the film crew. Especially for the fight and wrestling scenes, where he had to perform organic and fluid. This preparation included not only intense physical exercises, but also precision in movements to avoid any accidents on the set. She also took riding lessons to be credible on horseback.

One of the most grueling scenes for the actor was the prison escape, where he had to simulate drowning while being locked in a 15 kg weighted bag. This scene has been described as one of the most disturbing and challenging in the film. The actor almost drowned during a take because he couldn’t get out of the bag. For the freediving sequences, he trained extensively with world champion Stéphane Mifsud, who helped him control his breathing. Pierre Niney discovered a passion for this discipline and practiced it outside of filming.

During the filming of the film The Count of Monte CristoPierre Niney shared images from the shooting on his Instagram account:

Source: Cine Serie

Ray

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