Catherine-Anne Toupin watched Disobey: Chantale Daigle’s Choice, the series for which Éléonore Loiselle could win the Gémeaux for best dramatic leading role. She envies the young actress for having landed this contract. “First, because you were perfect, but also, because we have always told the story of men. It’s about time we made room for important women. »

Sitting alongside Catherine-Anne Toupin, Éléonore Loiselle agrees. “And sometimes, these are women who have been completely forgotten. »

Leaning back in her chair, the 22-year-old actress speaks knowledgeably. Before auditioning for Disobey, she was unaware of the existence of Chantale Daigle, this Quebecer who fought all the way to the Supreme Court to assert her right to abort in 1989.

“It shocked me,” she says. I wish we had learned it at school. I would have liked to discuss her. My friends had the same reaction when they saw the series. Guys or girls, they were like: “I wish someone had told me about this before.” Especially because it is about abortion, such a taboo subject, even today. »

Discuss Chantale Daigle with the actress who plays her and Catherine-Anne Toupin, an actress, playwright and screenwriter who thrives on social issues, gives an interview which obviously goes beyond the framework we initially set. And that’s good.

The Gémeaux finalist for best leading role (comedy) for Moi non plus!, a series which deals with the left-right divide against the backdrop of a romance between two radio hosts, has a lot to say about the work written by Isabelle Pelletier and Daniel Thibault, and above all, on the history that it unearths.

“I was 14-15 years old when it happened,” recalls Catherine-Anne Toupin. I was too young to take a critical look. I thought I was equal to men, because that was the time the world sold us that we could have a similar life: go to college, get married, have a career… You can have it all! But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not entirely true. »

“The violence to which [Chantale Daigle] was a victim struck me,” continues the actress, looking at Éléonore Loiselle. I was like, “Screech! We haven’t made much progress!” »

For Éléonore Loiselle, the Désobéir series brings hope… although it revisits an inglorious period in Quebec in relation to women’s rights. “Chantale was 21, but she changed things. She made herself heard. »

“That means that we can intervene, that we can do something… as long as we are not in the United States,” adds Catherine-Anne Toupin, with a bitter smile, in reference to the cancellation of Roe v. Wade, who protected the right to abortion among our neighbors to the South.

Disobey: the choice of Chantale Daigle and Me neither! have a special meaning for Éléonore Loiselle and Catherine-Anne Toupin. The first, who we discovered in 2019 in The Breakaway, had never landed a leading role on the small screen before being selected to play the antiheroine of the pro-choice movement.

Éléonore Loiselle fought hard to appear at the top of the credits of the drama. After failing at her first audition (“I wore a little shirt… I looked like a pixie!”), the actress wrote a letter to the director, Alexis Durand-Brault, asking for a second chance.

“I thought this woman was fabulous! she exclaims. There was something about her that I wanted to interpret. And I had often played similar roles. I wanted to go somewhere else, to try something else. »

For Catherine-Anne Toupin, the Moi non plus! came to “crystallize” his first 25 years of experience. “I wore many hats: I was the one who came up with the idea, I was the one who wrote it [with Karina Goma], I was the one who played it, I was the one who came up with it. produced [as associate producer]… It was quite a learning experience. »

“It’s a new low that I’m reaching, at 48 years old. A floor where I want to be. In my next projects, I will arrive much more armed… and much more zen,” she adds, emitting a laugh in passing which suggests that she herself is questioning her potential for zenitude.

Catherine-Anne Toupin’s journey is certainly a source of inspiration for Éléonore Loiselle, who has a desire to write, but lacks direction.

“I’m like, ‘How does that work? Where do I start?” It’s a blockage. »

“You have to start by yourself at home, with your computer. That’s the best way, answers Catherine-Anne Toupin. Try to bring something to life. It doesn’t have to be something complete. Just an idea. It could be three pages. »

“I started by doing short pieces, things of 10 minutes, 15 minutes,” continues the actress and author. Then I wrote for TV. I started with children’s shows, half-hours. I learned my trade. I learned to become better. »

Catherine-Anne Toupin always knew she wanted to write. At the Montreal Conservatory of Dramatic Art, she was impatient to put her ideas down on paper.

Me neither ! having ended last fall after two seasons on Noovo, Catherine-Anne Toupin is now hoping for “a nice big juicy role” that she could sink her teeth into. The type that wouldn’t emanate from her, though.

“I would go for something dramatic. I was often told that I was intimidating, that there was something rough about me. I could use it to play a businesswoman, someone extremely strict and unpleasant. A mature woman who is not shy… and unpleasant, preferably. Because it’s always more fun to play unpleasant characters! »

While waiting for this dream mandate, she will star in the feature film La meute, directed by Anne Émond. This is the film adaptation of a play she wrote, expected in theaters on February 14.

As for Éléonore Loiselle, The Break and Disobey completed, she would dream of a physical role. She cites as examples the actors Denis Lavant and Marc Béland, whose work she admires. “As an actor, speech is interesting, but sometimes you forget the body. For Chantale Daigle, I had never walked in high heels. I had to take walking lessons because I couldn’t do it. I’ve always worn flat shoes! It made me want to explore the physical aspect of the roles more. »