Ava Baya: “In GTMax, I wanted to do all my stunts”

The Voice, high-level gymnastics, motorbikes and… Ariane Mnouchkine. The revelation of GT Max talks about his journey.

PREMIERE: When you type your name into Google, what comes up first is a video of…

AVA BAYA: The Voice… I know.

So you were first a singer?

AVA BAYA: No. One day I received a call to participate in the show. I had never watched this program in my life, so I refused. But they insisted… I understood later that they had come across a Facebook video where they saw me singing a jazz standard with a homeless person… Anyway, a week later, I'm on the set of The Voice in front of millions of viewers and… Google doesn't forget anything (laughs)!

But all the same, does that mean that before cinema, there is music?

AVA BAYA: No, the acting came at the same time as the song. At a time when I didn't know what to do with my life. I was full of doubt, and I didn't know where to go. I was enrolled in philosophy college, I also took theater classes and as I needed money, I sang in jazz bars at night, until 4 a.m. without a microphone. I sang jazz, French songs. So can you imagine when I find myself on The Voice? In front of millions of viewers? Stress, adrenaline. Well, I knew about it because of high-level sport, but it was still very impressive… I did three stages in the show, alongside Julien Clerc. Amazing.

Wait, you also played high-level sport?

AVA BAYA: Yes. Before all that, at the very beginning, there was gymnastics, in sport studies. It was my whole life during my teenage years. That's all I did!

And why did you decide to stop?

AVA BAYA: I haven't decided anything. But one day, I understood that I wouldn't go to the Olympics, that I didn't have the level for that. I also had to work for the baccalaureate. I had to work and so I had to stop exercising. I fell into depression and searched for myself. And I understood at that moment that art could open up other horizons for me. Unlike high-level sport, when you sing or play, you don't have to be perfect! Sport gave me discipline and intense work rigor. But art allows you to escape these constraints, and that's where it becomes interesting… This is what our theater teachers taught us.

So… the second thing that appears when you consult Google…

AVA BAYA : … Google again? I expect the worst (laughs)

No way. What appears is the name of Ariane Mnouchkine. An atypical director, founder of the Théâtre du soleil…

AVA BAYA: This is crazy: as part of the courses at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art, we took a trip to India. For a month we worked with 150 Indian actors supervised by Ariane Mnouchkine. And then you understand… you understand that you have to work, work, and work again. Each time, just before going on stage in front of her, we were all scared to death. But I learned such crazy things from this woman! It was one of the most incredible things of my life. First, the Indian actors really gave us a slap in the face. They know how to sing, dance, clown… Us next… At the beginning, Mnouchkine judged us a lot. “So, the small Parisian actors, psychology, there, we will have to get rid of it a little…” (laughs) She took us out of our comfort zone. What I remember from her classes is that 'you have to get rid of the psychological, you have to be in the body, in improvisation, and above all play with your partners… She used an image that I will always keep in mind. The game is like a needle. If you don't go through the eye, that is to say the truth, no matter how great you create, you will always be next to it. She gave us good slaps, but it is with this kind of slap that you grew up. touch on the universal scope of theater. She does shows in India and Japan and each time she succeeds in putting on plays that speak to everyone. And I believe that is what it is. what I remember from his learning: I want to talk to everyone I'm glad that. GTMax released in dozens of countries at the same time. And I hope that even if we don't understand the language, we will understand the intentions, the relationships between people and… the action which is deadly.

Precisely, how do we go from Mnouchkine's theater to GTMax ?

AVA BAYA: Six years of casting, six years of “no”, big “no” and work, work, work. Perseverance too, until “yes”.

But between the pieces of the classical repertoire and this motocross champion, there is a gulf, isn’t there?

AVA BAYA: No doubt, but I love playing. I hate being stuck in one box. I want to experience everything and that’s what theater or cinema allows. Tomorrow, if you tell me to play a dog handler, I will…

A motocross champion isn't bad enough.

AVA BAYA: I discovered an extraordinary universe thanks to GTMax. I knew very little about this sport and I discovered that we have a very good world level. I met the French cross country champions and these guys are very impressive. At 18-19 years old, they already have 19 scars on their body… They are daredevils. They are one with risk, they live for sliding. I learned a lot from them. I truly believe that every time you go through a role, you continue your life with a little piece of that role in you.

How did you prepare for this role in practice?

AVA BAYA: I have been a motorcycle fan for ten years. I drive a motorbike every day, that's how I get around Paris. It's my life. This is where I find my very inspiration. This is my zone of freedom, of solitude. I ride. But I didn't practice motocross… So, I did motorcycle stunt training. It took a lot of work, but it seemed necessary to me to build my role. I must admit that I… yes, I “drunk” the stuntmen to do my stunts. I told them every day “but give me this bike, I’ll try”. I saw them doing the stunts and I really wanted to try. Well… I didn't do the jumps but in several scenes, I'm the one driving the scooters. And it's a special adrenaline rush. When you pilot these machines, you are constantly in a fear zone. And that’s precisely where the pleasure comes from. You ride at 200 on these unstable motorcycles and you know you could die. Paradoxically, that's what makes you feel alive. It's stupid to say, but it's because you can die that you feel alive. On the cross what really upset me was that you were constantly “sliding”. These are very light machines, which have crazy power. You are like a feather and you have to stay in control. Our stunt coordinator, Christophe Roblin, told me one day that the secret, when you think you're going to fall, is to go faster.

In the pursuits in Montmartre we see that it is indeed you who is driving.

AVA BAYA: Yes, and I was happy, because I think it always brings a “plus” to see the actor in situation in these action or stunt scenes. The viewer is more involved. But for the game, it's complicated. In these scenes, you are focused not on your character, but on the technique and the stunt. In the sequences in Montmartre, I was very focused on safety and, suddenly, I had to switch to play. It's interesting from a psychological point of view: when you have to move on to emotion, you are forced to leave a sort of emotional shell.

It's all the more interesting because this idea of ​​the shell also defines your character. Soelie locks everything, doesn't let anything out. How did you construct this role?

AVA BAYA: The actor always participates in the development of his character, because what we receive is a blank sheet that we must fill with complexities and experiences. When I started thinking about Soelie, I told myself that she was someone who had suffered trauma. She had been traumatized by the death of her mother and a motorcycle accident. She's a girl who can no longer drive even though it's her passion. Rather than languish, she decided to step back, to let her brother shine. This discretion is beautiful. And I wanted us to read that on his face, in his attitude: his strength, his sacrifice, his choices. When we look at her, we respect her because we know her track record. She has nothing to prove.

She is also a woman immersed in a very masculine environment.

AVA BAYA: And who takes all the risks to defend his family. She takes responsibility and she goes for it. And she deals with her fear. He is not someone who is not afraid, on the contrary. She's scared. Like me. In life, I'm afraid, I have doubts, I'm fragile about many things. And for me, motorcycling is that. Learn to conquer your fears.

Did you look for particular inspirations for this character?

AVA BAYA: Olivier Schneider spoke to us a lot about Italian robberiesbut I was especially inspired by Frances McDormand in Three Billboards. This falling shell, this determination, this strength… it had a big impact on me and I tried, at my level, to find that again.

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