"If you can dream it, you can do it"

This is what Line Ancel delivers to us when we ask her what defines her. The 25-year-old actress hung this sentence at home, on a post-it note next to her keys. We then wonder about the beginnings of this talent, his appearance in a few short films and his debut on television through two TV movies.

What led you to this promising journey?

I had a real small trigger. I must have been 6 years old and I was watching Luc Besson's The Fifth Element . In my childhood mind, I thought it was extraordinary that Leeloo, the main character, was a woman who was going to have to defend life against chaos. I was like, "Wow, but this is amazing, I want to do this with my life!. If there is a meteorite later that falls on the Earth, I want to defend it like Leeloo does." I asked my mother what a job it was and she said, "Well, that's an actress." This sentence stuck in my mind and I did not understand at all at the time the "actress" side because for me the goal was to save the world. I figured it out later while doing theater in college. Then at the conservatory where you can embody "everything" when you play a role. You can be that person who is going to save the world, play a person who has existed, live all lives and be anyone. And it was when I grasped that that I told myself that I wanted to make it my job.

Where did you get started? 

I started at the Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Antibes with Luc Girerd. In Nice I did a degree in Performing Arts. During my Bachelor's degree and during the conservatory, I participated in short films with ESRA (School of Cinema and Audiovisual). In particular, I was able to work with one of my best friends, David Nguyen, who directed the web series Expressive Movement which takes place in the world of dance. It allowed me to edit my demo tape that I learned to do on my own. I also had contracts in the theater including Elvire Jouvet 40 directed by Paul Châtieras in Anthea, Théâtre d'Antibes. In addition, I did a lot of figuration and silhouettes to see how it was on a set and train myself we will say "on the job". I then became intermittent from the show. Subsequently, I moved to Paris because I wanted more important roles and to have a more important role, you need an agent and live in Paris. So I found my agent two years ago, Mathilde Mayet with whom I had my first contract 6 months later. 

How do you manage the daily life of an actress?

In my daily life there are quiet moments and waves where everything happens very quickly. Then follow appointments all day long with many things to prepare between fittings and castings. For me, these are the times when I feel the best. I love having to organize myself to run everywhere and by comparison I appreciate all the more the lulls because I rest. It's a balance where you change your rhythm quite often. 

How does it feel to Play with Mimie Mathy in Josephine Ange Gardien? 

I loved Mimie, she is a very serious woman, square but also caring. She makes sure that everything works for the best to allow the crew to work without difficulties and the actors to feel good on set. I like it, I appreciate perfectionists. I think it's very pleasant to work like this, with time to work, time to laugh. With Mimie we got along very well on this rigorous and professional side. At the end of the shooting, I had the chance to go see her in her dressing room to thank her. She pulled the rug out from under me a little bit by saying words that I would never forget and that really reinforced my idea that I am made to be an actress.

Where did the new idea of telling the story of several clients come from instead of just one for this episode of Josephine? 

I don't know how the team came up with this idea. Maybe they wanted to innovate. There was a great inspiration for the wave created by the Elite series on Netflix, especially for the uniforms. We shot at the University of Paris Sud in the new beautiful geometric buildings. In any case, the pace of filming is very strong: I was picked up at 5:30 in the morning at home. I would come back at 8:30 p.m. and sometimes I would even come back at 11:30 p.m. These are really days where you have to eat well, make herbal teas and not get sick (laughs). Because in September we were in a bra in the cold of Paris for the need of certain scenes. 

How do you prepare for a sport you don't know like athletics in this episode? 

I was ahead of that. Between my 15 and 17 years old I did speed relay in intra high school competitions. So it was exactly the sport that was in demand. I said it during my casting when I met the director. We still had a coach all summer. We saw him once every two weeks to learn how to run well, how to pass a relay, etc. So we had a real group preparation at 5.

How did you end up playing alongside Ryan Bensetti in the TV movie Once Upon a Time in Monaco? 

That's a bit of a combination of circumstances. As much as I do a lot of castings and the "dir cast" (casting directors) call the agent who tells you "well I offer you this". There you are caught or not.For this TV movie it's a casting director from the south, Jean-Marc Gaudet, with whom I worked when I was in the south and with whom I continued to work while being in Paris. I have also kept in touch with Jacques Emmanuel Astor with whom I speak regularly. What I liked about Rayane Bensetti is that he was very rich in unexpected proposals in terms of texts to enrich the shooting. It's still professional but it makes filming a little more fun. 

At what point in the TV movie do you appear?

They needed a young woman in evening dress. They asked me if I could play poker and I did. I was told "well you have the shooting on such a day". I went, on the set we were several people designated as playing poker. They said "come you, you and you". They put us at the table and that's when we got the text. I was not supposed to talk to the base at all, well I was not aware of it anyway. And it's on the job when we started shooting that the directors said "the scene is good but come we make plans on Line, come we make plans on such-and-such, etc." Finally, I had several lines that are quite short and some reactions that they also asked us. The shooting done by Frédéric Forestier, Asterix at the Olympic Games, was very interesting. We also laughed a lot because it was always me who lost, obviously someone had to lose (laughs).

Were you warned that you would appear during the broadcast?

I almost told no one because I wasn't even sure if they would keep me editing. I was surprised and I hadn't even followed the broadcast when I get Instagram notifications where I am tagged in stories. I knew when the prime was, but I thought, "Maybe they're not going to see me as much." It was great. It's a small role but it was very nice to see that. 

How was the shooting of the short film Ragnarök? 

I love talking about Ragnarök because it's an extraordinary experience. At the time of casting, I was asked to imagine facing a whole army where my girlfriends would be killed. When I visualized the thing, I was actually crying. It's horrible to see all your girlfriends die in front of you. And then there is a rage that rose and I wanted to kill everyone. At that moment I composed with an inner energy that allowed me to feel like a warrior. I made a roll with the shield, I screamed, I hit with an axe. I have this video at home of the casting, a moment where only the immersed person can understand the engine that made it possible to imagine all this.

Have you ever played with special effects before?

Well, it was the first time. For the story, the character of IIlevi is a warrior who will face the snake world that causes Ragnarök, therefore the end of the world. In Norse mythology it is Thor who will kill him but there they chose a warrior. When I saw the cast on Facebook, I thought, "But I have to do it! You're a warrior, it looks crazy and everything!" So I went to do the casting in Montpellier and I was chosen. We had five days of rehearsals before the shoot where we created my avatar in 3D. It is a photogrammetry (where the face is recorded in 3 dimensions) that passes around the head via a helmet to be really close to the skull. My avatar is used on certain scenes in particular. There is a moment when my character jumps off a boat and rolls. This is my avatar and I am picked up where I hit my head, where it is really me.

How was the grimage to make you look like a warrior? 

The hair and makeup were very elaborate. Jewelry came to implant in the braids and I had a prosthesis that was changed every two days. So I slept with it, I went back with it. We were going for a drink, I had my prosthesis on my cheek and I always had my braids too. It's so long to do that we saved time by keeping them. And I really kept them all week In FX makeup There's blood. There is a product called the crust that is crust, pus, many elements with which we had to deal. 

How is such a special environment built? 

So, it was almost just green background: the floor, the walls, the space in fact. There was nothing, except for one scene, the one at the beginning where I actually wake up and spit water. This is the soil of a place called Saint Fréchou. They added a portable green background behind. 

What kind of interaction do you have with a space totally recreated in post-production? 

You are told "in front of you, there is a dragon and you are super scared!". But actually if the image of the dragon is in one place and you look elsewhere, it's not believable. You have to be told in advance "there is a dragon very precisely in this place" so that your look brings credibility to the special effects and therefore to the story. Regarding the use of objects, there is a scene where I jump to kill the snake world. I turn around, I take Odin's spear that he sent me. The spear was a neon with a thread painted green. Everyone is traveling, chasing me to get the sound and the mage. I scream as I jump and catch myself on the ground with my 3D avatar. It was too good because I had to deal with my imagination. I had to get everything out of my gut and it was too nice to say to myself "I'm a warrior, I'm going to save the world". Later at the time of post-production, when remaking sounds like the one where the warrior's cry is added; I felt unwell right after. (laughs) I really gave it my all into the microphone. When it was over, I sat on the floor and had to ask for a glass of water before doing more takes. 

What are your future projects? 

I shot an ad for La Redoute in December by director Audrey Dana, Sous les jupes des filles. She is quite well known so it was nice to be able to meet her. And that's for the Reloop. It's like a kind of Vinted actually. You can bring your clothes and have vouchers. So it's green and I like it! I also shot an ad for Typology. It is a French cosmetics brand that creates with very natural products. There is for the future a short film project, and I am waiting for an answer for a feature film that takes place in 1542. This era fascinates me. I have a particular face that can adapt to many eras, which is an asset. For the rest, I'm also putting on a play. This will be the first play I hope to play in Paris. I also plan to go to England, to London, to go through castings, because I am able to play in English, and finding an agent there could allow me to make this happen. Then, despite the pandemic period, I try to stay active. In live performance it is compromised, as well as for dance. But on the other hand, the shootings are done so I cross my fingers.

Precisely, how do you live this rather particular situation, governed by the Covid-19 epidemic?

The rules on the sets are quite rigorous, with Covid tests to do very often. The most difficult thing at this time is that in life we need love, contact with people. It makes me happy in normal life to meet a person and exchange a smile. The mask hides expressions and since we can not smile, we tend to look at people less for fear that the look is misinterpreted because the face is changed. I am also thinking of students, alone in their university rooms, and the elderly who are therefore the most isolated. I have this sentence in mind "For fear of dying I will prevent myself from living". I have a very asthmatic dad and it bothers me not to be able to take him in my arms. So I tell myself that I will miss moments with him. There are all these annoyances due to the benevolence, the warmth, the love that we can give to others and that we can receive and the pandemic deprives us of these moments. 

A word for the end? 

I was written a lot after Josephine, I was written a lot on the networks and often after projects in general that come out. For all those who want to start through their dreams, young people who do not know where to start, I did not know either and I did some stupid things, such as bringing a photo book. And I was like, "What do you want me to do with this?" (laughs). I could have come with a USB stick or sent an email. It's silly but I did that for example and I don't recommend it (laughs). But if I had only one thing to advise it is to go for it and believe in your dreams because as I said "if you can dream it, you can do it".