Save or perish: how Pierre Niney took 10 pounds of muscle for his role as a firefighter

The actor worked hard to put himself in the shoes of a fire soldier.

Where Christian Bale, Tom Hard and other Jake Gyllenhaal are used to putting their bodies to the test, few French actors to make real sacrifices for the needs of a role. In French cinema, a physical transformation often comes down to changing haircuts or growing a mustache or beard. It's good enough, but not always enough.

For Save or perish, where he camped a firefighter disfigured after an intervention on a fire, Pierre Niney broke this shot by training thoroughly, which allowed him to barder muscles in a few months and to display a physical connection completely with the profession of his character. The result is seen on the screen and greatly contributes to the success of Frédéric Tellier's film, released Wednesday. For example, we can see how to perform the mythical exercise of the board, that the firefighters must succeed every morning on pain of staying at the barracks.

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At the microphoneAllociné, the actor detailed a few days ago the program he had followed:

"The daily firefighter of Paris is very demanding physically. I followed them for 4 months, I trained with them. I was followed by a nutritionist, firefighters from Paris, a coach … The goal was to be able to climb the rope, carry the material for a long time because we had big fire and action sequences to shoot, and the rise of the board, which is a very symbolic physical test of the firefighters of Paris. By the force of things, trying to follow them every day in their training for 4 months, I took 9-10 pounds of muscle. I really changed my face and it helped me a lot to get into the character's skin. I liked this challenge and the physical rigor that was asked for the role."

As can be seen in this little promo clip, Pierre Niney, whose physique is naturally slender, has worked hard to expand his build and appear credible as a soldier of fire. He had to quickly lose this weight to stick with the evolution of his character and the vicissitudes of the film.