An Interview with the Fabulous Jean-Marc Barr

We had the opportunity to have an interview with Jean-Marc Barr, who is an alumnus of Mission Bay High School. I wanted to interview him because he is French and American and very famous in France because of his role as a French diver in the movie The Big Blue, which was the most financially successful film in France in the 1980s. Most of the French people have seen that movie and loved it and still do now.

Jean-Marc Barr was born on September 27, 1960 in Bitburg, Germany. His mom is French and his dad is American and worked in the U.S. military. He can speak French and English fluently.

Like most of children from a dad who works in the U.S. military, he moved a lot throughout the United States. That’s why he lived for a little while in California (he arrived in San Diego in 1974) where he studied at Mission Bay High School and then studied Philosophy at the University of California. His parents wanted to give him a very strict education because they wanted him to go in the U.S. forces just like his dad did. But he refused to do that and left the United States to go to France to keep on studying Philosophy in Paris at the Sorbonne and the Conservatoire where he studied theatre. After that, he moved to London to pursue an education in drama at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Then, his career began in France 1986. He started to have some little roles in theatre and television.

His success began with the movie “The Big Blue” (directed by Luc Besson) which earned a nomination for the Cesars in the Canne’s Festival in France.

He would play in lots of movies from all around the world. In 1991, he would meet Lars Vone Trier, a film director, who would then give him his first role in the movie, Europa. It was the beginning of a friendship between them and they kept on working together in other movies.

He played in “Breaking the Waves” in 1996, in “Dogville” in 2003, in the “Sexual Chronicles of a French family” in 2012, and in “Big Sur” in 2013, but for most of the people he is still the beautiful diver from the “The Big Blue” even though he played in other movies. As an actor, he varies the choice of his films. He can play in Thrillers, Romantic comedies, and Drama.

In 1999, he started to direct movies by himself, to produce movies, and also work in photography. Jean-Marc is a very simple person. He wants to feel free in his personal and professional choices; he doesn’t care if he is famous or not because all he cares about is to do what he loves to do, like acting.

Now, here is what Jean-Marc Barr wanted to share with us:

The Beachcomber: How did you become an actor?

JMB: I went to a play one night in Paris and fell in love with the ritual of acting; it sparked a passion.

BC: Have you always wanted to become a famous actor?

JMB: Being famous wasn’t important for me, learning about culture and celebrating humanity interested me more.

BC: I know that you are bilingual, but are you more comfortable speaking English or French?

JMB: My first language is English, but I’ve learned to perform well in both.

BC: What do you like the most in the French culture and the American culture?

JMB: It’s growing ethnic diversity, in France and the US, and how their cultures are changing radically.

BC: Did you spend all your high school years in Mission Bay High School?

JMB: Yes.

BC: Did you like this school? How was it (did you play any sports….)?

JMB: It was still a little bit like American Graffiti, I was the football team captain, wrestled, and took out the Homecoming Queen.

BC: What’s your best memory about this school?

JMB: Everybody knew everybody; there was community, plays, a great jazz teacher - Mr. Vinolli.

BC: Did Mission Bay High School help you for your future?

JMB: Of course, there are different steps in one’s life, and school should be a place of hope and dreams. Mission Bay was like that.

BC: What advice would you give to students?

JMB: Follow your hearts. Don’t become mutants but individuals concerned about their world. It needs to be saved.

BC: You became an actor a while after high school, so what was your dream back then? And if you weren’t an actor, what would you have wanted to do?

JMB: I didn’t know much in high school; I was trying to please my parents. It was when I left home that I could start to think for myself, start talking to my heart.

BC: Are you working on a movie right now? Would you like to tell us about it?

JMB: A new film is coming out by Lars Von Trier called Nymphomaniac. I’m leaving to shoot a TV series in France.

BC: Thank you for having spent some time answering these questions Mr. Barr!

I have seen the “The Big Blue”, it was pretty good and interesting, so I think it would be totally worth it to take time to discover some of his movies.

Thanks a lot to Jean-Marc Barr who took time to answer to our interview and who was so simple and accessible. We loved his philosophy of life and work: keep the same and be free in your choices. Thanks to Veronique who helped us with this interview.