When my agent called me one day to tell me that Olivier Dahan, was writing a script on the life of Edith Piaf and he had me in mind. One year later, I received the script and I met him.

Was there any hesitation to tackle the part?

There was no hesitation. There were only periods when I felt “Will I be able to do this?”

Is this your most challenging role?

Yes. To play an old woman is definitely difficult.

Were you wearing prosthetics when you played the old version of Edith?

I had a body prosthetic to make it a little bigger, and latex and acrylic painting on my face. At the end, I had that bald cap with orange hair. Sometimes I wanted to kill all those people touching me. But sometimes, I felt like a child.

Do you sing all of the songs yourself?

No, the only part I sing myself is when the character gets drunk (laughs). I don’t know why they decided to keep my voice. The lip-synching is a very difficult thing to do.

How did you get into the character?

I didn’t try to imitate her. I wanted to understand her inside—the movies she did as an actress, the interviews and the personal images. The other part was abstract. Both these parts put together, I enjoyed doing all the scenes.

When were you relieved from portraying Edith?

When I discovered her life, I discovered a woman and not an icon. I felt something close immediately. I was not anxious about touching an icon.

You had to scream a lot for your character. Did you strain your voice?

A little bit. I had to sing loudly every morning to get that baritone. But for the last scene, I wanted this broken voice. I had to push myself to the limit, but never cross it.

Was there anything you learned about Piaf’s life from your own research?

Edith’s last husband was someone important.

He truly loved her. And when Olivier asked me if I would have loved to see something being added to the movie, this was the only thing. But when I read the script, I liked Olivier’s vision.

Do you plan on doing any more American or English movies?