Melanie Thierry’s Toughest Film Shoot Ever with a Cinema Legend 13 Years Ago!

Known for his unique and whimsical style in films like Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Terry Gilliam remains an unorthodox and imaginative artist. Thus, when he reached out to Mélanie Thierry in 2014 to offer her a part in Zero Theorem, she didn’t hesitate for a moment.

However, to not miss out on this opportunity, the actress found herself lying to Terry Gilliam, which she later deeply regretted. “At our first meeting, he asked if I was comfortable with water, if I minded being in it. I wanted the role so badly, I was dying to work with him,” Mélanie Thierry revealed on the show En aparté.

A Lie with Heavy Consequences

“I couldn’t let the opportunity slip by. I couldn’t tell him: Oh no, I’m scared of putting my head under water. It wasn’t possible. Missing out on this role with this director, really, it would have eaten me up,” the actress confessed.

I couldn’t let the opportunity slip by. I couldn’t tell him: Oh no, I’m scared of putting my head under water.

“But I hadn’t anticipated it would be so challenging. Especially since what he was asking wasn’t easy at all. It was a scene set in space. Actually, we couldn’t do it against a blue screen because he didn’t have the budget to make his movie, he was flat broke,” Mélanie Thierry continued.

“We had to do it underwater to achieve the idea of weightlessness and the movements. So, we had to do it in a tank, which wasn’t really a pool, but a tank in a studio in Romania. They filled it with cold water, it was freezing. Even the water in Brittany seemed warmer to me.”

The Bubbles of Discord

“Then, they had to put weights on me to keep me from floating up. I never tolerated that. I couldn’t do it. Then, I had to open my eyes because she is supposed to see and wink. And on top of it, I had to talk. But then, they explained that when speaking underwater to deliver my lines, I absolutely could not produce any bubbles. The bubbles were impossible to remove in post-production,” Mélanie Thierry explained.

Then I thought: Are you kidding me? There’s a problem here.

“Then I thought: Are you kidding me? There’s a problem here. You’re asking me not to make bubbles, while talking underwater, naked. It was a nightmare. I did it, yes, but it wasn’t even successful,” the actress concluded, very aware, with a hint of bitterness.

Indeed, Terry Gilliam made Zero Theorem with a modest budget of 8 million dollars. Unfortunately, the film flopped, earning only 1.4 million internationally.

From his side, the director was very pleased with his collaboration with the French actress: “Mélanie Thierry is the spark of life in this film. Albert Dupontel, a friend of mine, suggested I work with her because I wanted a French actress for the role. Then I called Bertrand Tavernier, who had worked with her, and he said: Mélanie is like a Stradivarius, she can do anything. And she was spectacular,” Terry Gilliam shared on Europe 1.

A Futuristic Tale

For the record, the story is set in London, in a near future. Technological advancements have placed the world under the surveillance of an invisible and all-powerful authority: Management. Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz), a computer genius, lives reclusively in an abandoned chapel, desperately waiting for a phone call that will provide answers to all his questions.

Management employs him on a secret project aimed at deciphering the purpose of Existence – or its lack thereof, once and for all. Qohen’s solitude is disrupted by visits from Management’s emissaries: Bob, the prodigious son of Management, and Bainsley (Mélanie Thierry), a mysterious young woman who attempts to seduce him.

Despite all his knowledge, it is only when he experiences the power of love and desire that Qohen will finally understand the meaning of life…

AlloCiné, featuring over 40 daily articles about the latest in movies and TV series, interviews, streaming recommendations, quirky facts and cinephile anecdotes about your favorite films and series. Subscribing to AlloCiné on Google Discover ensures you explore the richness of a site designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts every day.