Charlotte Gainsbourg thought Lars von Trier would fire her from 'Melancholia'

Charlotte Gainsbourg was melancholy on the set of "Melancholia" by Lars von Trier.

Von Trier's longtime collaborator touched on the 2011 feature film starring Kirsten Dunst as an unhappy wife who descends into depression as the end of the world approaches. Two years after working on the "highly demanding" film "Antichrist" also under von Trier's direction, Gainsbourg anticipated she would have a "special relationship" with the director on "Melancholia," but her expectations were quickly dampened.

"I walked into the set thinking, 'I know Lars, I'll have this special relationship with him,' and he totally pushed me aside," Gainsbourg said during a masterclass at the Festival du film from Zurich, where she received the honorary Golden Eye Career Award (via Deadline).

"At one point, I went to the producer and said, 'I think he wants to fire me, he's not happy,'" Gainsbourg explained. "At the end of the shoot, she came up to me and said, 'I'm sorry I can't reassure you because Lars didn't want me to. He wanted you in this uncomfortable place.'" Related Related

She added, "I was really unhappy, and it's the movie I'm most proud of."

From 2009 to 2013, Gainsbourg starred in four von Trier films, including "Antichrist", "Melancholia" and the two-part "porn movie" "Nymphomaniac".

"For me, there is a before Lars and an after Lars," said Gainsbourg. "He taught me so many things and different things with each film."

As for the “Antichrist,” she said, “it was very demanding. I was completely intrigued by what he was asking. crying – all kinds of different emotions for the same scene. I went to him after a day of shooting and said, 'I don't understand what I'm doing. You're asking for all kinds of directions.' says, "Believe me, that's how I work."

Von Trier announced he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease earlier this year ahead of the long-awaited Season 3 premiere of his series 'The Kingdom' in Venice in 2022. The 'House That Jack' director Built" announced that he was going to "take a short break" from acting to focus on his health.

"I really hope my condition will improve," von Trier said. “It's a disease you can't take away; you can work with the symptoms, though. I just have to get used to shaking and not being ashamed in front of people. And then move on, because what else should I do?"

He added, "It meant that I hadn't lived up to what I wanted to be as a director, because I was sick. And that's a shame for the cast of ['The Kingdom Exodus'], but I think they did well."

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