Jean Dujardin perfection personified in ‘The Artist’

JEAN Dujardin at the Golden Globes on Jan. 15: “Actors, more than movies, inspire me.” photo by Adriana Barraza

LOS ANGELES – “You have to have a lot of sausages in your pocket,” said Jean Dujardin of his wonderful chemistry with Uggie the dog in the celebrated film, “The Artist.”

In person, Jean has the same killer smile that he flashes as George Valentin, the 1920s silent-movie star he portrays in director Michel Hazanavicius’ black-and-white front runner in this awards season. Up close, Jean evokes Douglas Fairbanks, his inspiration for the role that has won him a Golden Globe and other best actor awards.

Uggie is the Jack Russell terrier who almost steals “The Artist” from Jean and his leading lady, Berenice Bejo.

‘A genius’

Jean recounted times he spent with the dog who, incidentally, also appeared in “Water for Elephants:” “Uggie and I watched ‘Lassie’ and ‘Rin Tin Tin’ together. Sometimes he followed me, and sometimes I followed him. It’s very difficult to act with a dog. There was a lot of improvisation. When I put Uggie on the table, I don’t know how he’s going to react.”

Before the cameras rolled, Jean said he and Uggie were together for 15 days with Omar (Von Muller), the dog trainer. “Uggie got used to my voice and smell. We rehearsed the walk, the bang, the head down and the good boy tricks.”

Uggie is “a genius” in Jean’s book. “He is not a dog. He is a star.” While sitting as a nominee in the Feb. 26 Academy Awards show at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Jean will get to watch Uggie do a skit onstage with host Billy Crystal.

Meeting Clooney

Jean – who starred in two James Bond spoofs as secret agent OSS 117 and is reportedly France’s highest paid actor – talked about meeting George Clooney, star of “The Descendants” and a rival for the Oscar best actor honor: “George Clooney is impressive in his perfection… charming … very accessible.”

Jean himself is perfection personified in “The Artist” as a silent-film icon whose fortunes slide when the talkies arrive. “I didn’t try to imitate (Charlie) Chaplin or (Buster) Keaton,” he said. “I just wanted to be inspired by them, but my references were Gene Kelly for the smile and Vittorio Gassman for movement. For mustache, Douglas Fairbanks. I watched a lot of Douglas Fairbanks movies.”

When the film’s director, Michel, first approached him to do the silent, black-and-white project, Jean recalled saying, “Are you crazy, Michel? Are you a lunatic?”

He did not think it possible to finance the movie. “Thanks to producer Thomas Langmann, the only one who could make this. I asked Michel, ‘What do you want?’ Chaplin, Keaton… that’s impossible for me, but when I saw (F.W.) Furnau’s films, I understood what Michel wanted. He probably saw that I was capable of doing something like that. It’s our third film together.”

Jean displays his dancing talent in a scene with Berenice that brings back the glorious days of Hollywood musicals. “I trained for five months with Fabien Ruiz,” he said. “He is the fastest dancer in the world. I like dancing. It was my first time to dance in a movie. My reference was Gene Kelly.”

With a laugh, Jean revealed that some of the lines he mouths in “The Artist” are nonsense: “In the scene when I’m in the bar, there’s a miniature version of me and I’m yelling. That’s gibberish. There were no actual lines. The crew thought it was French but it’s not.”

Asked what he likes about LA, setting of “The Artist,” Jean said: “If you turn right on red here, it’s okay. I really love that. We need that in France. I love Orpheum, the old theater in downtown Los Angeles, the extras, Warner Bros. and Paramount Studios. It’s the energy here. It’s the Vatican of acting. I like the commitment of all the actors. They will cut their hair accordingly because it’s a 1920s movie. In France, you have to give them a hat. Everything here motivates you. I love being here and I’d love to be here again.”

It turned out that Jean had been to the Philippines. The Inquirer had reported that Jean and Berenice visited our homeland in 2007 to promote “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies.” Michel also directed the two “OSS 117” films, with his wife, Berenice, as the female lead, too.

Jean’s other hit movies include “Brice de Nice,” where he did a sendoff of a Southern California surfer dude. “It was the story of a surfer in Nice, but there are no waves in Nice.”

Down time

What does the French actor do during his free time in this hectic awards season? “Sleep, eat,” he said, laughing. “I have a passion for three years now: I assemble metal. I go to antique stores and flea markets. I worked on metal before so I make things together. I make statues but I don’t show those to anybody.”

He rattled off the films and actors that made an impact early in his life: “The movies of Jean-Paul Belmondo… I remember (the actor) Lino Ventura… ‘The Fisher King,’ the film of Terry Gilliam. I love that film… Robin Williams… Jeff Bridges. Some of (Claude) Lelouche’s movies. ‘Love Is a Funny Thing.’ Annie Girardot. Vittorio Gassman. All the Italian movies. ‘The Monster.’ (Ugo) Tognazzi. I like watching actors who look like they’re having fun. When Gassman walks into a room, you don’t have to edit at all. He’s going to nourish the whole space. He is brilliant and has lots of panache. Actors inspire me more than the movies themselves.”

‘Very rational’

Jean will be seen this year in “The Players” and “Mobius.” Despite the surprise journey that “The Artist” has taken him on, starting with his best actor triumph in May last year, Jean claims that he keeps his feet on the ground. “I am not a dreamer,” he said. “I am very rational. It was beyond our wildest dreams that this film could exist, that it could go to Cannes, that it’s here.”

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