I think American audiences like gangster movies. It's part of the culture.

You can't escape from what you are.

I come from an acting family, my father was an actor, and I had to fight my way and just create my own identity.

Cinema is entertainment, and people go to the movies because they want to feel good and forget about everything.

My father is best known for his light comedies, and Im best known for crazy bad guys with short tempers.

I didn't want to be part of that tradition of French cinema that wasn't really watched by the people of my age. I didn't really care to be in the last André Téchiné or Claude Chabrol movie, even though some of them are really interesting. For me, it was much more important to work with Mathieu Kassovitz or Gaspar Noé. It was for me a question of identity.

I'm an actor, that's what I do every day. Dressing up is part of my job. But whatever you wear you should always be yourself: never go totally with the fashion but use what there is available to be an individual.