“Initially, Fabrice Luchini contacted me for the role. He even invited me to lunch. I must admit that he was amazing: he knew the entire script by heart. Not only his role, but also those of the other characters. At the table, he acted out all the scenes. I was ready to hire him, but it didn’t happen because he asked for too much money, fed up the director, contacted by Paris Match I then chose Christian Bujeau, who was an excellent theater actor And when we watch the film today, we can say that he achieved a feat: standing out among megastars – Valérie Lemercier, Jean Reno, Christian Clavier and the others. “he held his place perfectly.”
Rewriting part of the film
“What few people know is that Christian Bujeau indirectly modified the film during filming,” adds Jean-Marie Poiré. One day, the actor is faced with a custody problem and decides to bring his two sons to watch the scene where Godefroy and Jacquouille wash in the toilet. Jean-Pierre will say his famous: “It’s not two amnesiacs, it’s two gougnafiers: they’re floundering in the toilet bowl. » «They were impeccably educated, always very well dressed, with small suits and ties. Christian had ordered them to remain silent in a corner. As he was quite authoritarian, they had obeyed the letter. At one point, I heard strange noises behind the camera monitors. I turned around and found the two boys. One was biting his sweater, the other had his fist in his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Then, when the scene reached its climax, they completely broke down. Rolling on the ground, hitting the ground with their feet. This reaction had a profound effect on me,” remembers Poiré.
The same evening, he called Christian Clavier who was going to Saint-Rémy for the weekend. “I asked him to cancel his plans because I thought he understood something important: we were making a film that would appeal to children. However, “Les Visiteurs” was not written as a family film. Originally the spirit was much closer to “Santa is trash”. We therefore reworked the script and removed certain expressions likely to pose a problem for a young audience. » The words “faggot” and “goudou” will be replaced by “Tsoin-tsoin”, in a scene that has become cult. “Basically, the sons of Christian Bujeau enabled the success of the “Visitors”. » The film recorded nearly 14 million admissions and placed at the top of the audience during each rebroadcast.
A super popular character
Jean-Pierre, the dentist, will become one of the most popular characters in the film. “Luchini was not mistaken: he immediately understood that the role was exceptional. Jean-Pierre is probably the least caricatured character in the film. The others are very typical: the bourgeoise played by Valérie Lemercier, the visitors themselves. He’s the normal guy, the one the audience can identify with. It is the ordinary man who sees two energumens land and witnesses the methodical destruction of his life. This is a very important dramatic principle. I remember a phrase from Sacha Guitry: “For a story to be successful, you need someone who tells a funny story, someone who understands it and someone who doesn’t understand it.” In a scenario, you need clowns, but also someone who stays in the background and observes the phenomenon with amazement. The viewer recognizes himself in this character,” explains the director, who will give an important place to Bujeau in the editing.
“There is a scene that deeply marked me, it was that of the meal where Jacquouille farts or burps. Jean-Pierre says: “You haven’t heard.” And Bea replies: “No, I didn’t hear anything.” At that moment, she switches to the “freaks”, she remains the only normal character”, estimates Jean-Marie Poiré, who salutes one of these actors “whom we know immediately that they have an exceptional engine. » « “Les Visiteurs” allowed the general public to discover one of the great theater actors of his generation. HAS”
/2026/06/16/6a30f01a45799775235291.jpg "French people less inclined to go to festivals and concerts, mainly for budgetary reasons, according to a barometer")
