In the next plot of “Tomorrow belongs to us”, Dorian will find himself in danger and Etienne will be caught up in his past. Patrick Guérineau, the interpreter of the high school CPE, tells us more about the eventful future of the Curtis family.
Allociné: What conclusions do you draw after a little over a year and a half spent in tomorrow belongs to us ?
Patrick Guérineau: A positive assessment. I’m very happy to be here. The advantage of dailies is that the characters evolve. And there is also this very pleasant thing to arrive in a new family. For once, it’s not a lie to say that Tomorrow belongs to us is a real family. The people are very welcoming, both the technical teams and the actors. It allows us as actors to experience a lot of things since the essence of everyday life is to bring events to life for our characters and to construct things.
Etienne arrives in Sète by boat after a long period of navigation at sea with his family. A very tight-knit family. It was a very exciting adventure. We arrived with Honorine Magnier and Rayane Huber at the same time to create this new family on a sunny, friendly and benevolent note.
It’s a positive result, really. For an actor it’s a real experience of play, work, meetings. It’s also a real difficulty because it’s an intense rhythm. We turn quickly, everything is tighter and therefore more concentrated. You have to be very focused at all times and that requires a form of concentration that I find very interesting.
You had already been touring Camping Paradis for many years when you joined Tomorrow belongs to us. Have you hesitated to play in a daily soap opera?
No, I was very happy. When I was offered it, it was a common desire of the channel and the production to have me join this program. So I did not hesitate, on the contrary.
What attracted you to Etienne?
I like its positive side. I try to drive it home with my wife and kids. We try to be in that energy. As things can be tough overall and the news sometimes difficult, it’s important to have this friendly and benevolent thing, which we find in Etienne. I think it’s something that belongs to me.
The advantage of a daily newspaper is that the adventures that Etienne will experience will allow him to highlight other of his characteristics. I will therefore be able to bring into play other things in my life and my personality. In the next episodes, Etienne will have to ensure the protection of his family with force.
You mentioned your privileged playing partners, Honorine Magnier and Rayane Huber. It immediately matched between you three?
Yes right now ! It’s always one of the questions when you come to a fiction and you have a family to create. It is very difficult to find the right people. And there, for once, it matched very quickly between Honorine Magnier, Rayane Huber and me. We found each other right away. It was great.
I think the casting is very successful. Physically, it works well. I have photos of me at the age of 20 in which I look a lot like Rayane. So there is a real trick. I have a 23 year old son so I have a natural relationship with Rayane. It’s very nice. The three of us like each other and we spend time together outside of filming, so my fictional family is doing very well.
And with Camel Belghazi et Julie Debazac ?
It’s going very well too. We’re a great family, really. But I think that’s one of the strengths of the series too. All the actors are happy with their fictional family and their worlds. There is a real job at the level of the casting and the authors. It is well identified and correct. I don’t feel like people feel stuck or have to juggle feelings they wouldn’t have themselves.
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Etienne and Bénédicte encountered some difficulties last summer. Would you have liked their separation to last longer?
It is true that their separation did not last long. In a daily soap opera, all the subjects are covered, but sometimes very quickly because there are so many stories to tell. This separation allowed us to play other things and tell other things about these characters.
It is true that it could have stretched a little more in time but, in any case, the emotions that we had to play during this separation were nice. We talk about love, what we are able to accept and excuse in this kind of situation. These problems unite a family and allow the authors to nurture other stories. It creates more relief and for actors it’s necessarily super interesting.
Bénédicte and Etienne are now back on solid ground. What can you tell us about what awaits them in the next episodes?
Etienne’s past will resurface because he had a somewhat complicated youth. Maybe that’s probably why he decided to go to sea and escape the world he lived in. This past will burst in his face and he will have to sort himself out, explain himself and atone for it.
Etienne will have to save his son who will be in a complicated situation. What are you willing to do as a father to help your son? Etienne will show that he is capable of many things to keep his head above water.
Is all this related to the plot about Bénédicte and her new patient Luna?
Yes that’s it. This is the start of the plot. It’s all going to start a little bit there. We have two plots that will intersect. Dorian is going to be involved in this story. From there, it will involve Etienne and bring back his past. Etienne will therefore have to free himself from all that and save his family while remaining a straight and respectable man.
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Etienne is a CPE at the Agnès Varda high school. Would you like us to discover him more in this role?
I would like. I like this post a lot. The production asked itself the question of making Etienne a teacher or a CPE. I really liked the idea of a CPE because there is a big brother relationship with the students. And I like this idea of benevolence and authority. I am a friendly and caring person. I like being able to sort out problems with the younger ones, helping them and guiding them, but I also like being able to tell them to stop. I think that’s the role of the CPE (laughs).
A new teacher is about to join the Agnès Varda high school. Have you ever shot scenes with Jean Baptiste Maunier ?
I haven’t toured with him yet. We met on the sets but I haven’t had any scenes with him yet. I hope to soon be able to welcome him to my CPE office and show him around the school (laughs).
At the same time, you continue Camping Paradis. Do you still take so much pleasure playing Xavier?
Yes. Camping Paradis has become a family. These are people I have worked with for 16 years. The teams are united. We know each other, we live together. Whether it’s the actors or the technicians, it’s indeed a family.
I still take so much pleasure in embodying this character with whom I have fun. I like his somewhat childish and naive side. It’s a real pleasure every year to put the shirt back on, to find myself behind the bar and to tour with my friends in a fantastic setting. It’s a real great adventure.
TF1 has a few unreleased episodes of Camping Paradis in stock, including one shot in Reunion. Are other episodes planned?
Yes, we are going back to filming at the beginning of April for a new season of Camping Paradis.
Do you have other projects?
I’m already busy. Between Camping Paradis, Tomorrow belongs to us and my family life, I think that for 2023 it’s already not bad (laughs).