PARIS MATCH - 27 MAY 1999

 

 
 

                           Recent views on life...

 

      Exclusive: The confidence belied in Laetitia Casta before mounting the steps, "I am not
      perfect. There are many better. If I change my teeth, it would be a ninsult to my nature,
      to my parents"

      Paris Match : What do you think of this madness you've started [ surrounding the film
      and her career ] ? You do know that in this line of work, there is a beginning, and very
      quickly, an end.
      Laetitia Casta : It doesn't scare me. I hae a reality to myself, my secrets, my hideaways, people
      don't intimidate me. I am not afraid to confront the world. If I never had the education I was
      given, the love of my parents, my family, I would never be so comfortable. I'd be scared, I'd be
      vulnerable, I would live terribly. Myself, I feel all is well and with people, in general, they are kind
      with me.

      P.M. : This has all come so quickly...
      L.C. : It has been 6 years that I have been working in the industry! [ emphasis mine ] It didn't
      happen all of the sudden. I took my little path, and voila... But me, all this doesn't interest me, I
      want to stay free and happy before anything else. The success isn't the goal of my life. The day
      when I feel I have no more to give, I'll stop. And at the same time, I tell myself: all this [
      attention ] for some photos! It's nuts, non! I have invented nothing. Tell me, why is everyone so
      interested in all of this?

      P.M. : Because it makes us dream...
      L.C. : Because the people don't see the other side of this life, the sacrifices we make, the 'livre
      de chair TRANSLATE HERE' that prevails. Always being easygoing, smiling, having the form, the
      patience, and giving, giving...

      P.M. : We were distracted by your teeth in the beginning, your mediocre waistline and
      your form...
      L.C. : I know that I'm not perfect, but my teeth for example, I would never change for the
      world. If I changed them, it would change my smile, my souvenirs. I wouldn't be myself and
      that's not what I want. Plus, it would insult my parents.

      P.M. : Do you look at the world around you?
      L.C. : Always. I revuse to limit myself to my navel. The other day, in London, in the middle of a
      photo shoot, I saw an elderly couple who went by in the street. They were holding each other
      so closely and looked so happy! I dropped everything, and I went to the corner to observe
      them. It was a great moment, wow! Nothing but for myself. It brightened my entire day... These
      moments like that are what help keep my equilibrium. And my parents... I speak with them every
      night. Its natural with us -- its the Corse mentality. We form a clan. I live in London, but my
      house, its the world. I and never stopping, going to the right, to the left, and I like that. I like
      when life is fast paced. Its a career 'peel-poil TRANSLATE HERE' for me. At this time, I am indeed
      happy, I see life en rose. But I do everything for this...

      P.M. : You seem very sure of yourself...
      L.C. : I am Corsican! But you can't believe that everything is simple and easy in my life. I saw
      some horrible, terrible things, but I avoided them.... And I came out of it stronger than before.
      When we dont believe that these things are touching or hurting us, then no bad comes of it. No
      one ever asked me to take drugs, for example. Me, I have my own drug: Love!

      P.M. : You don't live in a comic book?
      L.C. : Far from it. I see things, sometimes, the reality scares me. I dont' want to see, it makes
      me fragile. I tell myself: "Is this life?" But, at the same time, I learn. I change too, its natural.
      When I was 15, I declared all boys were idiots. Today...

      P.M. : Today...?
      L.C. : I think always of the same thing, but I tell myself it suffices to find that rare pearl.

      P.M. : And have you found it?
      L.C. : That's none of your business. Its my secret garden [ I'll bet the webmaster of Laetitia's
      Secret Garden is eating that up... ] . And if I want to say, its to him I'll speak, not you! Me, my
      secrets, I tell them only to the close friends of mine.

      P.M. : What do you dream of?
      L.C. : Not of this job. I dream of a prince charming, I dream of becoming someone genuinely
      good, a wonderful woman, of integrity. I dream of having a house, kids. I dream always of the
      same thing. I never dream of being rich. I dont' like money. What I want, money won't bring me.
      I won't change. [ Contradiction there, but what the heck...] People wont sway me! Its a
      challenge I find jubilant.

      P.M. : You could fall in love with an ugly man?
      L.C. : With a beautiful soul... There is nothing more exciting than discovering in a man something
      nobody else knows, and it is a secret between you. That, is very pure, its beautiful. Spending
      the time to get to know him, to discover him, to talk, to tame him. Its like a drug for me. Myself,
      what interests me in a man, is his sensibility. When I say something more profound than myslef,
      and he exclaims, "Wow!", then he is really something. There are always the idiots who throw
      themselves at you [ now, remember this, don't be a stupid fan who hurls himself at her for an
      autograph, that is just lame, I could have told you that, set yourself apart from the crowd, and
      then you'll have her attention. An extraordinary girl needs an extraordinary guy. If this is a
      stretch for you, give up on her here and now ] and want to own your beauty. Those ones I
      don't even look at!

      P.M. : And you find yourself beautiful?
      L.C. : I am beautiful because I am true to myself, because I received lots of love from my
      parents. To each person may they find their beauty and happiness. I have grown up
      tremendously in doing my job. I have learned a lot, that will serve me later well.

      P.M. : Later...?
      L.C. : Yes, when my real life begins. [ How much would you give to become a part of her real
      life? you're heart, your soul? is that all? ] Everything that happens to me now is pebbles in the
      sand. When I am ready, I will start my real life and I'll therefore have a few lives... I'll have kids,
      a house, a man who I like, and then there will be other things I'd want to realise, but its
      difficult, its a secret, and I will not share it.

      P.M. : Do you want to continue doing movies?
      L.C. : I dont even ask myself the question. I don't say: "I want to be an actor." I believe in
      destiny. I received lots of propositions after "Asterix", but I didn't accept them. For the time
      being, I live with a passion for my career.

      P.M. : What makes Laetitia Casta furious?
      L.C. : When we mix everything, when we dont' respect one another. Its not because I pose in
      bikinis and bras in the Victoria's Secret catalogue that I have to give myself away. And when
      people ask me questions about my private life, it annoys me ten times more than posing in little
      skimpy nightware, because these questions concern what is beneath that lingerie. And that is
      nobody's business! My private life is my own, no one is up to date but my mother. There aren't
      any more modest than myself. When I do a photo shoot without clothes, there is no one there,
      and I refuse certain photos even if they propose a lot of money to do them. I have never posed
      for "Playboy", for example. And you will never know what I do in my private life, because I will
      never tell! Understand this: I want to be a woman with integrity, a woman that I would respect.

      And what a last note of emphasis for that interview. Don't change a thing Laetitia, you
      are on the right track, always have been, and probably (hopefully) always will.

                                                        Translated from French by Mintoir