Julie Delpy
Julie Delpy
Julie Delpyis a French-American actress, film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, or acted in more than 30 films, including Europa Europa, Voyager, Three Colors: White, Before Sunrise, An American Werewolf in Paris, Before Sunset, 2 Days in Paris, and Before Midnight. She has been nominated for three César Awards, two Online Film Critics Society Awards, and two Academy Awards. After moving to the United States...
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth21 December 1969
CityParis, France
I may move from everywhere and spend two or three years in total isolation. I like being alone a lot. I enjoy that more than anything.
I love acting and I still want to do it, but I've such an instinct for directing, it's something that comes naturally to me. It's why I'm here on this planet.
Isn't everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?
A lot of new American directors have had mentors who have given them advice. And some of them have had the way paved for them by huge Hollywood directors who saw a younger version of themselves.
I've never had help from anyone, ever. I've never had this great director who saw themselves in me, because I'm a French woman in Hollywood. Who could identify with me as a successful director in Hollywood? Nobody. And the few people who could have been mentors, instead they just stole my ideas.
I did a film that I shot in 24 hours that was self-financed for $5,000. It was a feature called Looking For Jimmy that I shot with a bunch of friends. I spent eight months editing because we had 24 hours of footage that made no sense and I learned a lot about directing while editing that film.
I'm quite neurotic, usually. But when it comes to work, I become extremely focused.
Most of our life is miscommunication, and when you add a language barrier to it, it just becomes total mayhem and confusion. It just adds to it with all of the cultural differences. It could be an American family meeting another American family and you could still have a total clash. With family, it's like visiting another planet.
The way I work is that I never let people do an assembly. I don't like it because it shapes the film in a way that I can't really control. To me, editing is making the film and it's a huge process and editors are under-rated.
I always wanted to write a story about a couple coming to that moment in their relationship where either they keep on going or it ends.
I avoid confrontation. When I'm on set I never snap at anyone. I don't have a temper.
I love making movies. I love writing. I love acting. I love it, and I feel really blessed to be able to actually make a living with something I love doing.
My therapist in Paris once told me that being creative is a better form of therapy for me than sitting on his couch.
The condition of being an actress can be unbearable.