For me, it was a wonderful surprise because I saw wonderful actors being very professional working in front of me [on Chicken with Plums]. I finally understood what an actor is and what an actor does. On a daily basis, it's a bit repetitive.

We with [ Marjane Satrapi] always work together on the script which is very important. We even film each other and we start to imagine things so that we are ready, because when you start shooting, it's pretty stressful.

We needed to have a great set decorator, a great D.P., a great costume designer, everybody. Without all these people, we would have made a shitty movie.

There are always different things that can happen and I Marjane Satrapi don't want to yell at other people. It's easier if we yell at each other. We're still friends, so obviously it worked out.

We [with Marjane Satrapi] both have very strong personalities, but that's completely normal, because even if you're very well prepared, you never know when you shoot live action.

There are different kinds of passages in the movie [Chicken with plums]. One of the passages is like a sitcom and another is a bit more delicate and another is more bizarre, so you have to have people who know how to navigate that.

For me, it was a wonderful surprise because I saw wonderful actors being very professional working in front of me [on Chicken with Plums]. I finally understood what an actor is and what an actor does. On a daily basis, it's a bit repetitive.