Everyone knows there are stars and superstars at Cannes. But there are also lesser known and totally unknown actors, who come to the festival to self-promote, hustle up contacts and get ahead in a notoriously tough business. One of those people is 30-year-old Tony Mpoudja, a black, Paris-born actor, musician and writer, who made his début in the 2001 inner-city crime saga “La Squale” (directed by Fabrice Genestal) and followed it up with a handful of supporting roles – including a small part in Claire Denis’ very moving father-daughter drama “35 Shots of Rum”. Mpoudja talked to us about what he’s up to on the Croisette, his ambitions, his upcoming projects, and the challenges of being a black actor in France...[continued]
