Before filming in dramas for major directors, Virginie Efira distinguished herself in several comedies, in particular “La Chance de ma vie” released in 2011 in which she gave the reply to François-Xavier Demaison. But before him, several actors declined the proposal due to the presence of Virginie Efira. Find out why.
The chance of my life: the debut of Virginie Efira at the cinema
Virginie Efira began her career as a TV presenter first in Belgium at the end of the 1990s, then in France where she hosts the show The New Star in 2006. After taking her first steps as an actress in series and TV movies (notably Kaamelott the time of two episodes), she began her career in the cinema in comedies. In 2010, in The Whistlerthen in Love is better with two and finally The chance of my life released in 2011. In the latter, she plays the leading role, alongside François-Xavier Demaison.
She plays Joanna, a young single woman to whom everything smiles. Until the day she meets Julien, a brilliant marriage counselor who can’t keep a woman for more than two weeks. And for good reason. Julien is a real black cat, which brings bad luck to all the women who fall in love with him, whether in their personal or professional life. And Joanna will find out the hard way.
These actors who said no to Virginie Efira
Virginie Efira is today considered one of our greatest French-speaking actresses and has filmed with prestigious directors. But in 2010, she was still suffering from her image as a TV presenter. What complicated the casting of The chance of my lifeas director Nicolas Cuche had revealed at the microphone of 50 Minutes Inside (via Gala):
Virginia’s name has arrived. I think there was no huge excitement around it. After she was chosen, the male character had to be found. And there it was not so easy, because she still had this image of TV presenter. I don’t want to say names, but there are comedians, who at the time were pretty bankable, who turned down the role because they didn’t want to serve the soup or be associated with the image it had in the time.
On arrival, François-Xavier Demaison was chosen. And the movie was a real success in France with more than a million admissions. An astonishing success which allowed Virginie Efira to then be more free in her choices, as she revealed in 2015.
