She’s won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and two Cesars, but Marion Cotillard still sounded genuinely excited about landing her fourth Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination. The “Rust and Bone” star phoned from Paris to have a quick chat about her SAG honor, a strong indicator she’ll be walking the red carpet at the Dolby Theater this February.
“It’s more than joy,” Cotillard says of her nomination. “It’s one of the most important nominations because of course as an actor being nominated by actors it’s something I really, really enjoy. I’m very happy.”
Ever since breaking out in 2007’s “La vie en rose” Cotillard has earned awards from critics as well as industry organizations. I asked her if receiving a SAG honor from her peers meant more to her.
“Of course getting a nomination for a movie and for my work is something I really enjoy because I do that job to give something to people and to share something with people,” Cotillard says. “But the actors know what you go through when you make a movie. They know what you go through when you take a character to create someone. So, this is a very special connection we have with actors so it means a lot.”
When we spoke about her role in Jacques Audiard’s “Bone” last month, Cotillard admitted she was very uncomfortable taking on the devastating role of a woman who loses her legs with such little prep time. Her commitment to Christopher Nolan “The Dark Knight Rises” severely limited her rehearsal time, admittedly, her favorite part of the acting process. Did landing this nod make it any sweeter? Well, not really.
Cotillard notes, “I’m just happy [to have experienced] a new way of working which is not something that I want to do all the time. I really need to prepare my roles. I love to spend a lot of time with a character and more than just shooting time. It’s just that it was a new way of working and I’m very happy Jacques [and I found our] place in a way of seeing that we’re not used to. Neither I or him, because he also needs a very long preparation before he shoots. So, that was actually the challenge. Finding the truth. Finding the authenticity without the usual way of working, But that’s something that I love. The unexpected . The unknown and the authenticity was something really, really great to experience with a great director.”
In a few hours Cotillard should find herself with a Golden Globes nomination for “Bones” which means a couple of trips to Los Angeles in January. Beyond that, however, her schedule is purposely free.
“I really wanted to take some time off and live my life without anyone in my head,” Cotillard says. “I haven’t decided [my next project] yet. And I feel very lucky to be happy not to have something next because I know it’s gonna come. Each time I read a script and I open the first page I’m kind of excited to think that maybe it’s going to be my next journey.”
You can experience Cotillard’s latest journey, “Rust and Bone,” is currently playing in New York and Los Angeles. It expands to multiple markets across the country on Dec. 21.