Three words. Charles Lafortune never forgot the three words with which director Jean Beaudin dismissed him, just before he shot his first scene on Miséricorde.
The year is 1994. Charles Lafortune is beginning his career. Aged 25, the graduate of the Drama Conservatory “is not rolling in gold”. Fortunately, he has just obtained a contract: he plays Marina Orsini’s younger brother in Miséricorde, a miniseries by Fabienne Larouche and Michel Tremblay which relates the journey of a nun.
Filming is in full swing in Beloeil, south of Montreal. Since the action of the drama intended for the TQS network is set in the heart of the 1970s, Charles Lafortune wears a Beatles haircut. In period costume, he waits patiently to do so.
Then, Jean Beaudin arrives. The director of Les Filles de Caleb and photographer J. A. Martin sees her with Rémy Girard (her father), Dorothée Berryman (her mother), Étienne de Passillé (her brother) and Marina Orsini (her sister). Measuring 6 feet 3 inches and “built like asparagus,” Charles Lafortune stood out. And Jean Beaudin expresses it without restraint. Faintness.
The verdict falls a few seconds later. The director looks at his assistant and says the following three words: “Wrap that for me. » Meaning: Dismiss this flesh to Kodak.
After a few minutes, Charles Lafortune is effectively “wrapped”. Alone in his car, a 1986 Pontiac Sunbird, the poor guy is groggy and slightly disgusted. But what happened?
The feeling lasts for a few days.
The incident seriously shakes the actor’s confidence. Fortunately, he quickly gets back on track thanks to the role of Guy Lebeau in Watatatow, a popular daily youth show on Radio-Canada that also attracts an adult audience.
“I was lucky to come across Watatatow. It was the American League of gaming.”
The Miséricorde affair had a profound impact on Charles Lafortune. Thirty years later, she continues to influence his decisions, but this time, as Senior Vice President, Content and Creation at Pixcom, the television production company behind Indefensible, Nuit blanche and several other titles.
After knowing the other side, Charles Lafortune believes he can better defend the interests of the actors. “In the food chain, it’s hard to be an actor. When a show sells out, you come last. It’s a job of seduction; you must please. »
“For this reason, I always take notes when someone has a really good audition without necessarily getting the role. Maybe it wasn’t the actor or actress we needed, the right shape of the piece of the puzzle we were making, but for something else, it might be. . »
Charles Lafortune left the Conservatory in 1993, within a cohort that included Suzanne Clément and Paul Ahmarani, among others. When he started, the newcomer had only one goal in mind: to become Roy Dupuis or Luc Picard. “I wanted to be mysterious and dark… but I’m anything but. I’m an open book,” he analyzes, looking back.
Charles Lafortune almost landed several roles that could have transformed his professional career. In an interview, he mentions his audition for Corneille in Chambres en ville, a character that Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge ultimately inherited.
Still on the small screen, he almost played Jerzy Pawlowski in Ces enfants d’ailleurs (1997), a miniseries inspired by the novel by Arlette Cousture. But Patrick Goyette topped it at the finish line. In a completely different register, he was approached to play Carl Charest in Radio Enfer, this situation comedy broadcast on Canal Famille from 1995 to 2001, but the author and director Louis Saïa (Les boys), who wanted “a little bum” , convinced the producers to opt for François Chénier.
In the cinema, David La Haye beat him to L’enfant d’eau (1995), by Robert Ménard.
“In our business, things can change overnight. You can be in the right place, at the right time. You can star in a big hit that lasts several seasons. You can touch people, get into their hearts, and suddenly become a darling comedian. »
Although he has played roles in several fiction series, such as Diva, Catherine, Russian Dolls and Rivière-des-Jérémie, Charles Lafortune is better known as a TV host, as evidenced by his numerous Artis trophies. He has found himself at the helm of several TVA shows over the past 20 years, such as L’école des fans, Le circle and, of course, La voix.
“I was talking about it recently with Patrice Bélanger [who also comes from the Conservatoire]. I said: ‘Stop fighting against yourself. You can act, you can host, you can do stand-up… It’s a talent to be able to do a lot of business!’”
Charles Lafortune has not practiced his acting profession much in recent years. His last continuous role dates back to 2015, in Karl
Although he is very busy, Charles Lafortune misses acting. On Alertes, a series he produces, he would have liked to play Sergeant Guillaume Pelletier, played by Danny Gilmore. But when you listen to him talk with passion – and pride – about Michel Laperrière’s performances in Indéfendable or the major issues facing our television, you can see that he is fulfilled elsewhere.