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.

The movie [Chicken with Plums] is very delicate, and you need to have people around you that understand what you're doing, otherwise it doesn't work.

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.

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 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.