Depardieu dismisses Binoche as ‘nothing’

Two of France's best-known actors are unlikely to ever talk to each other again after an astonishing outburst during a magazine interview when Gerard Depardieu dismissed his fellow screen star Juliette Binoche as "nothing". The 61-year-old is known for his temper, but even by his standards, his comments about the Oscar-winning Binoche were considered outrageous.
 
Depardieu told the Austrian magazine Profil that he was amazed that Binoche, who has a string of critically acclaimed films to her name, was so venerated both at home and abroad. "Please can you explain to me what the secret of this actress is meant to be?" he asked his interviewer.
 
"I would really like to know why she has been so esteemed for so many years. She has nothing. Absolutely nothing!"
 
Depardieu is just one of a handful of French actors well-known to worldwide audiences. The star of Cyrano de Bergerac and Jean de Florette, he won international fame - and a Golden Globe - with his leading role in the 1990 Hollywood rom-com Green Card opposite Andie MacDowell.
 
Binoche made her name in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours trilogy and Chocolat. She also won a 'best supporting actress' Oscar for The English Patient. Earlier this year she was named best actress at the Cannes film festival for her role in Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy (Copie Conforme).
 
The irony is that these days, Binoche, 46, is far more famous that Depardieu. But in his eyes, the actress does not compare to her female French counterparts. "Compared with her, Isabelle Adjani is great even if she's totally nuts. Or Fanny Ardant – she is magnificent, extremely impressive. But Binoche? What has she ever had going for her?"
 
Depardieu also slated French director Leos Carax, who cast Binoche in Les Amants du Pont Neuf (1991) and subsequently had a relationship with her. "Carax needed six years to shoot his film with Binoche, which turned out not even to be a film but just a piece of shit."
 
Neither Binoche nor her agent has commented on the outburst. However it is unlikely that she will care - these days she is more concerned with saving her anger to fight human rights injustices, such as that of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to stoning to death for adultery. Plus there's the fact that while Binoche has an Oscar, Depardieu does not. ·