This year, 59-year-old Oscar winner Juliette Binoche has been nominated for another prestigious award – the French Academy Award for Best International Film. It is about the film “Recipe for Love”, where Binoche played the role of a cook of a famous chef. She will also play the role of Coco Chanel in a new series that will be shown on online television. Becoming the heroine of the new issue of City & Country, the actress shared career details and mentioned her upcoming 60th birthday, which she will celebrate in March.
“I’ve celebrated my 50th birthday at home. This time I don’t even know what I’m going to do. Perhaps we’ll be at the Oscars the next day? I’ll see how I feel. I’m not afraid of it,” the star said.
The film starring Binoche, “Recipe for Love,” is based on the Swiss novel by Marcel Ruff, which was written more than 100 years ago. A gourmet chef named Doden Buffan lives in a chateau in a French valley. Binoche plays Eugénie, his cook, muse and lover. Ironically, Dodin is played by her former favourite, Benoît Magimel. They met in 1998, they had a daughter Hannah in 1999, but the couple never married, the actors broke up in 2003.
The actress also spoke about the role of Coco Chanel in the series “A New Look”, the action of which takes place during the Second World War, when the Nazis occupied Paris, and Chanel, Dior and Balmain tried to build fashion houses. In preparation for playing the iconic role, Binoche read many biographical books about the fashion designer.
“Chanel was the complete opposite of Dior. She was the poorest of the poor. She watched her mother die when she was 11 years old. Her father abandoned the children and she never saw him again. At that time, as a woman, you couldn’t just elevate yourself to another rank in society. She had the energy of a survivor. And she really wanted to be in the cradle of creativity. She wanted freedom because her growth started from a very traumatic moment. Yes, she’s complex, but I think everyone is complex.”
Binoche’s next role is Penelope, wife of Odysseus, in Uberto Pasolini’s The Return, whose premiere date has not yet been disclosed. When asked why the actress works so hard, she replied:
“I’m passionate. I love this job. I think I have the honour of choosing the films I do, and I do a lot of different things,” the star explained.
