French Talent Alix Villaret is Knocking on Hollywood’s Door
Breaking Through: The Beverly Hills Film Festival’s Best Actress Nomination for her Leading Role in ‘Doll Face’ Shines Spotlight on Up-and-Comer Alix Villaret.
June 2020 — Los Angeles
I had a chance to catch up with Villaret in Hollywood, California, at one of her favorite cafés over a couple of matcha lattes right after a screening of her film Doll Face and in between filming of her latest movie Blind Ghost.
“Ever since I was six years old in Paris, I would watch Hollywood films and television series, dreaming of myself in those shows. Growing up, I watched those shows dubbed in French and later on found them in English with French subtitles. That’s how I learned English. Although I was nervous I’d probably sound like a New Yorker since I liked The Soprano’s and Happy Days so much,” says Villaret.
She’s been working diligently with the renowned dialect coach Bob Corff. “A year ago no one could understand anything I was saying because my French accent was so strong. The second phase is to do the American accent perfectly,” says Villaret. She often jokes with strangers that she’s American but that she’s working on her French accent for a role.
And while Villaret anticipates perfecting the American accent will lead to more opportunities, that certainly hasn’t stopped her from making a splash yet. “In L.A., it feels like everyone is someone,” says Villaret, who arrived in L.A. from Paris in March 2019. And she is hoping that’s something Angelenos will be saying about her.
With a starring role and best actress nod for the thriller Doll Face already under her belt and another horror film on the horizon with Blind Ghost, Hollywood may be eyeing a new ‘Scream Queen’ in Villaret.
As she sipped her matcha latte, exuding a rare poise and confidence, I found myself curious what it was like to be a young actress from Paris pursuing a career in Hollywood. Villaret recalled growing up in Paris and her yearning for the entertainment business.
“I was from a middle-class family and watched my father work very hard in his restaurants. I would sometimes work in the restaurant and pretend it was a stage, and the customers were my audience.” She remembers dreaming about great Hollywood actresses, like Audrey Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman.
“I always loved An American in Paris with Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron. Although I will still have to work on my dancing,” she says jokingly. But that wouldn’t be too tall an order for Villaret. After all, she learned to skateboard in less than a week to land a role in a music video back in France.
Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands was another Hollywood film Villaret says was a big influence on her. So it seems fitting that her breakout role in Doll Face is also a film that dabbles in the macabre.
“It’s the story about a young girl who inherits an apartment from her grandmother that is full of dolls. The place is haunted, so you can imagine what happens with those dolls. It was a challenging shoot because I was interacting and acting opposite a lot with dolls, and they obviously don’t react to you. A lot was done in computer graphics and post, so it took a lot of focus to stay fully in character.”
That type of hyperfocus on her craft is also coming in handy for her upcoming role in Blind Ghost, where Villaret’s character is blind.
“I am really fortunate because another one of my favorite films is Wait Until Dark with Audrey Hepburn. Blind Ghost is about a young blind woman who is challenged by ghosts, and her being blind actually helps her with her fight,” says Villaret.
Playing a blind character is not something Villaret takes lightly.
“I feel like to play a blind character — you truly need to experience what it’s like to be blind. I spent a lot of time before filming with a bandage over my eyes. At first, I started by walking around in my apartment, and then eventually, I practiced in the streets by getting used to not relying on my eyesight but my other senses. It’s amazing to realize what you can do without sight,” she says. Villaret has been reading up on what it’s like to be blind and hopes to spend time learning at the Braille Institute or the Los Angeles Blind Children’s Center, pending current COVID-19 limitations.
So what’s next on the horizon for Villaret?
“There is a television series that I am being considered for that is based on some bestselling novels. So I spend a lot of my time reading these days. I would also love to do a superhero film like Wonder Woman or Captain America,” says Villaret.
As we finished up our matcha lattes, one thing was for sure: the American dream seems within reach for a Parisian in Los Angeles.
