Jérémie Laheurte returns to Paris Police 1905 to reprise his role as Inspector Antoine Jouin, an ambitious policeman who is investigating a series of crimes in the 1900s. During this time, he comes across an array of interesting and suspicious characters.
In season one, Jouin was assigned to investigate the dismembered torso of a young woman found in a suitcase floating down the Seine, where he encountered many of the characters that became series regulars.
Now, as he returns to the role for season 2, which is being shown on BBC Four, Jérémie Laheurte spoke to What to Watchabout what we should expect, working with Orphan Black star Évelyne Brochu, and the one thing that annoyed him about playing Jouin.
What should we expect from Paris Police 1905?
"With a five year jump, Antoine Jouin has changed in a lot of ways so hopefully we're giving viewers a deeper insight into his life now a few years have passed.
"Moving to 1905 enables us to really make an evolution. And then it's like, you know that this guy did all this stuff in season one, but now what? Now you can learn more about his private life, why he's doing this job, there's more intimacy and familiarity. So it's very rich for us to explore Jouin in this way."
Antoine Jouin is based on Louis-François Jouin, who was a real investigator at the time. How do you prepare for this role?
"Research-wise I used movies, documentation, I read up on as much as I could. Obviously, you don't have access to any videos or recordings because they didn't exist. What I like, is you can look at pictures and it's a snapshot but you don't know what happened before or after. So it's already the beginning of the creative work of the actor, to imagine.
"I tried to attach myself to the story and be as sincere as you should, even though it's a story set in the 1900s I approached it in a very modern way because it was almost mirroring what we were living."
Is there anything you particularly like or dislike about Jouin?
"In season one, I would always struggle because I needed to be more quiet and reserved, and not really able to speak my mind. Jouin always had so much weight on his shoulders, and his superiors would often take over on cases.
"When we were shooting I'd be like "can I not say something here?" and was told "no you've got to be quiet for now, but remember we'll make a switch in season 2". So in this season, I was able to evolve and grow and Jouin is a lot more confident now he has more experience in the field. All of this original quietness became part of my character and his overall growth."
What's it like working with Évelyne Brochu?
"So far we haven't shot together, but it's something that we really want to do in upcoming seasons. However, we do know each other very well and it's fun being around her on the Paris Police set.
"In fact, she really helped me because I was on set almost every day. So she was observing what I was doing and giving me all these pointers. On top of this, she's very impressive, because in real life, she has a strong Canadian accent. But when she acts in French, it's like she presses a button, boom, switches to French, instantly, you couldn't tell!"
Do you know much about season 3? Will there be another time jump?
"It's something that we're working on. [It has not been officially renewed] Yes, I think there'll be another time jump and Fabien Nury [series creator] has teased Évelyne and I will finally get some scenes together. Unfortunately, I can't say much more than that."
Paris Police 1905 airs on BBC Four at 9 pm on Saturday, March 4. Episodes will also be available on demand via BBC iPlayer.
