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Life’s a ‘Beach’ for
By Tim Ryan
French beauty
Star-BulletinThe first time we see Virginie Ledoyen in the upcoming film "The Beach," the 23-year-old French actor walks down a Bangkok hotel hallway, in a figure-flattering white dress, toward an instantly smitten Leonardo DiCaprio.
It's a memorable entrance. And no wonder Ledoyen, a veteran actress, is being called the new Brigitte Bardot.
But Ledoyen says her most precious compliment came from "The Beach" author Alex Garland, who said she is exactly how he imagined her character when he wrote the novel. As in this excerpt from "The Beach":
"Her legs were brown and slim, her skirt short. She delicately padded through the cafe. We all watched her ... we all saw the way she moved her hips to slide between the tables and the silver bracelets on her wrists. When her eyes glanced around the room we looked away, and when she turned to the street we looked back."
For an interview at the Ritz Carlton hotel on Maui, Ledoyen is dressed in a white camisole and tan trousers, hair tied back severely, no make-up, and glasses. Cigarette in hand, she is polite, but a bit guarded. That's not surprising considering that during filming of "The Beach" media reports first had her in an affair with DiCaprio then carrying his baby. Yet even a guarded Ledoyen has the same charm and sensuality of French sirens before her.
"Well, of course, these untrue stories are upsetting," says Ledoyen, who has a long term relationship with a French boyfriend. "But I wasn't going to get paranoid about something that's so preposterous. I try to keep a distance from these unpleasant things to protect myself. The best thing to survive is simply not to take notice, laugh it off."
"The Beach" has DiCaprio playing an American backpacker in Thailand searching for a mythical island paradise. To travel there, he hooks up with a young French couple. That's where Ledoyen comes in.
She is considered one of France's brightest young acting talents. Ledoyen's film debut was in the French comedy "Les Exploits d'un Jeune Don Juan" in 1987, followed by "Cold Water" in 1994, "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries" in 1998, and last year's "Late August, Early September."
Born in Paris, Ledoyen is the daughter of a businessman.
"I wasn't poor, but certainly not from a bourgeois family," says Ledoyen, who left home at 16. "I was always independent and wanted to live on my own."
There were three reasons Ledoyen wanted to do "The Beach": To work with director Danny Boyle, to work with DiCaprio, and "I 'loved' the story."
"There's this contradiction in the movie between the cliche of a paradise where everybody thinks living on this beautiful island with green water and a perfect beach, tall trees, and nice people solves all your problems. Not so. I liked the way the story spoke about the true nature of human beings."
And Boyle, who also directed"Trainspotting," "really loves actors," she said.
"He treats you the same whether you're an actor who gets five days of filming or have the lead part," Ledoyen said. "He never transferred his pressure and stress to us."
As for "Titanic" heartthrob DiCaprio, Ledoyen calls him "one of the best actors I've ever met, so generous with other actors, and always trying new things."
Ledoyen first met DiCaprio on the beach in Thailand. (DeCaprio's character, Richard, in the book lusts after her but the relationship is never consummated. In the film the pair become lovers.)
"I was surprised by Leo's enthusiasm," she said. "When he's acting you can't stop him. Danny would say cut and Leo always wanted to do it again and better."
Then Ledoyen is quiet for several moments.
"He is a very human, nice guy; playful, sweet. ... I don't think he likes all the things that go with being a star."
Her romantic scenes with DiCaprio -- including one where she is topless -- were "very intimating," as it is with all actors, Ledoyen said. "Leo and I tried to have fun doing these scenes," she said. "The love scenes underwater where we're kissing were especially tough. I had a hard time holding my breath.
"All I could think about really was not drowning. When you kiss an actor in a scene, Leonardo DiCaprio or whomever, it's not like kissing your boyfriend."
When Ledoyen was 2 years old a photographer friend of her mother's chose her for an advertising shoot. Afterward, the toddler got more modeling work and commercials. At 9, Ledoyen won the lead role in "Les Exploits d'un Jeune Don Juan." By 12, she was attending auditions on her own.
Interestingly, at L'Ecole des Enfants du Spectacle school in Paris, Ledoyen says she was too shy to participate in school plays though she loved wearing make-up and costumes.
"I just couldn't bring myself to do it."
But films were another matter. She spent summers acting in films, including starring roles in "Mima" in 1991 and "Le Voleur d'Enfants" in 1991. She still never considered acting as a career because it was so much fun.
"Work was supposed to be much harder."
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