Tomorrow belongs to us: “People will start to ask questions about Renaud” according to Pierre Deny

Allociné: With the arrival of Lydie (Nicole Calfan), it is Renaud’s past that resurfaces in this new plot. Were you happy that the writers of Tomorrow Belongs to Us explore your character’s past a little more?

Pierre Deny : Absolutely. This is a subject that we discussed together almost a year ago. I’m very happy that we explored this avenue because it will shed a little different light on the character of Renaud.

It is ultimately a dark and surprising past that we discover as this plot unfolds. If Renaud claims that he was forced to intern his ex-wife to protect his son, Lydie has a completely different version of the facts. While two opposing truths, Renaud is he perfectly honest?

Indeed, there are two opposing versions which can both be quite credible. We understand that Renaud had a past of seducer and that he wanted to get rid of his wife to live his life. One can also imagine that Lydia, apparently in good health, is not entirely clear either. In any case, these two tracks will clash and Samuel (Axel Kiener) will be tossed between his father and his mother for several more episodes before we discover the truth.

Out of love for Samuel, Renaud seems ready to do anything, even the worst, to make him understand that he is in serious danger. By going so far in his approach, does Renaud not risk losing his son permanently?

Renaud obviously risks losing his son or at least seeing him move away and get really violently angry with him. On the other hand, Renaud is so convinced that his son is in serious danger with his mother that he absolutely wants to protect him. This is his priority. Now, it remains to be seen if this is a facade he gives himself to be able to satisfy his fate and his lies or if he sincerely thinks that Samuel is in danger? We will find out much later.

Finally, we can say that Samuel is now at war with his father. How will their relationship evolve in the next episodes?

The relationship between Renaud and his son will evolve in a very precise way when we have the resolution of this ark. In any case, we have the feeling that between them, it is a passionate relationship between a father and his son but always arbitrated by anger, lies or even by women. With all this, we can’t help but think that there is still an atavism somewhere and that his father may have transmitted this instability to him. Renaud himself was a bit disturbed in his way of becoming an adult because he had problems with his wife in the past. And these problems, we will discover them over the episodes.

To demonstrate that Lydie is a dangerous woman, Renaud can count on the unwavering support of Marianne. What role is she going to play in this whole story?

Renaud had never told Marianne (Luce Mouchel) that he had had his ex-wife interned. This will instill a kind of little doubt in Marianne on the way Renaud speaks to her and especially of hiding the truth from her. While they have been married for just a year, she will say to herself that it is surprising that the man she loves was able to hide such important parts of her past life from her. When she realizes that Samuel keeps saying that he had Lydie interned because he wanted to lead his life as a seducer, Marianne wonders. For love, she will be on Renaud’s side but there is still a little doubt that will settle in her.

By kidnapping Lydie with the help of Marianne, does Renaud realize that he is going too far in his approach?

Yes, he realizes that he is going too far but Renaud is obsessed with a single guiding idea: to protect his son and make him understand that his mother is dangerous. And for that, he is ready for anything. He will go about it in an awkward way trying to kidnap Lydie. Marianne will become his accomplice since she will help him administer a sedative to Lydia in order to make her drowsy and defenseless in order to push her to tell the truth about their past. In any case, Renaud will try to make her speak in the presence of Samuel. We’ll see if it works or not.

So we can expect a heart-to-heart discussion between Renaud and Lydie?

Absolutely. Renaud will try to make him relive moments from the past and make him tell the truth. Will Lydia’s state of health allow her to answer all these questions? Will she continue to deny? Or will she go so far as to invent something else? Will she tell the truth without it being the one Renaud expects? All that, we don’t know yet.

The truth about Lydie’s state of health divides the Dumaze-Chardeau clan. When father and son are no longer able to understand each other and each member of the family takes sides, who will be the voice of reason to ease tensions?

The person who could have done this is Marianne. But Marianne is a little in doubt and no one is going to stand between the father and his son. Generally speaking, everyone has a tendency to believe Renaud because since the beginning of this series he’s been a loyal, upright character who embodies someone completely respectable. All of a sudden, the light on Renaud’s character will change a bit and people will start to wonder about him and to wonder if eventually he won’t be able to do something not very clear. No one will dare to take sides for one or the other, apart from Sofia (Emma Smet) and her parents who will be more on Samuel’s side because they will find Lydie rather sane in being around her on a daily basis. The switch will therefore rather lean against Renaud at first.

As you have just said, Renaud has always been a loyal, calm, reasoned and thoughtful character. In this new plot, Samuel and viewers begin to doubt him. Did you enjoy having the opportunity to play another side of your character?

Obviously. When you are an actor, you want to be surprised by the writing and that your character has evolutions and changes. I was very happy that the veil was put on the character of Renaud. Even if viewers have become accustomed to his side of a rigorous, loyal and upright man who must also support the character of his wife Marianne, the fact of installing this doubt allows to show another side of this character but also of lead the viewer to another direction. It is really very interesting to play.

In general, what do you hope for the future of your character?

I hope that Renaud will be fed by contradictions and that he can deviate from his line of conduct from time to time. Renaud is a character who nevertheless guarantees a certain respectability. He and Marianne cannot get involved in a criminal intrigue overnight. In any case, I hope that the authors will put small grains of sand in the road of this couple in order to surprise the viewers a little bit as it is happening at the moment with this arch.

Despite the current context, do you have other projects outside of Tomorrow Belongs to Us that you can tell us about?

I have a lot of theater projects that are at a standstill right now. By the time we talk, I should be on tour for the play False note but she is stopped for the moment. If the Festival d’Avignon is maintained, I will resume this piece for the festival. For next winter and next year, there is a little traffic jam on some plays that were to be staged and I hope that all of this will resume its place as soon as possible.