He is currently preparing to play a young Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, a film that has generated great expectations. His taste for literature and philosophy, his passion for music and his risky vision of fashion are undoubtedly compelling reasons for having been chosen as the image of one of the most successful men’s scents in history. In this interview he explains how he feels about it.
Why was this the right time to become CHANEL’s new ambassador?
I didn’t have to convince myself of anything when I was asked to be the new ambassador for BLEU DE CHANEL. This decision was no different from agreeing to make a film. I am fortunate to be at a point in my career where I have the opportunity to curate and choose the projects that spark my passion. When so many fingers fit into the glove, the decision is obvious. You get excited right away and go all out.
CHANEL has given me an incredible creative opportunity to work with Martin Scorsese, the greatest living American author of our time.
How has discovering the connection that CHANEL has with the world of cinema influenced the importance of this collaboration?
I am a person who is passionate about film and acting, so collaborating with a fashion and beauty brand that has a vast and substantial history with film meant a lot to me. As if that were not enough, CHANEL has given me an incredible creative opportunity to work on a short film inspired by BLEU DE CHANEL and directed by Martin Scorsese, the greatest living American author of our time.
The BLEU DE CHANEL philosophy is rooted in the idea of becoming someone who does not adhere to the ordinary limits imposed by life and who looks beyond the visible to evolve. Does this resonate with your own ideas or ideologies?
For me, the idea of becoming revolves around an ongoing aspiration to own oneself. There is something powerful about living as our best and most authentic self, and manifesting what we want in and out of our lives or even on a specific afternoon, a micro-manifestation.
Is there a memory or scent from your childhood that remains in your memory?
During my childhood, my sister took ballet classes at the Rosella Hightower school in Mougins, in the south of France. On one occasion, my mother took us to a perfumery in Grasse. I loved the experience and there I bought a cedar spray for my room. I accidentally applied it on my clothes and the smell was overwhelming. However, from that fact I remember very vividly the feeling that this was a creative expression to cure the smell of my room. It felt like something very French and nostalgic.