Jean Reno: "Young women are the ones who will save us."

MadridJean Reno (Casablanca, 1948) was presented with inspiration in the form of a young, blond-haired, spectacularly beautiful woman. The French actor, of Spanish parents, has transformed her into the protagonist of his first novel, titled Emma under the sky of Oman (published in Catalan by Columna, translated by Marc Barrobés, and in Spanish by Planeta). "I wanted a romantic book and, above all, to write about her," she explains in an interview with several media outlets this Thursday in Madrid. That woman doesn't exist, Reno clarifies, denying that she was inspired by anyone in particular. That of a "blonde and single" woman is the image that emerged in her mind to narrate "how love changes life." "Finding someone changed my life, and I wanted to write this," she reflects.

In the case of the fictional character of Emma, ​​​​it is the fact that she meets the attractive son of an influential minister of the Sultanate of Oman at an exclusive thalassotherapy center in Brittany, France, that turns her life upside down and leads her to the Middle East. Reno reveals that these lovers in "mysterious lands" will become real people because a French production company has bought the rights to make an eight-part television series. The actor will not be involved in the adaptation, but has made it clear that Emma "can't be a brunette actress." "I have another brunette in mind, called Justine. Short hair and nothing to do with love," he says of the protagonist of a possible second novel, which he still doesn't know if he'll start writing because he can't dedicate time to it at the moment.

The writing ofEmma under the sky of Oman It was a way for him to entertain himself during COVID because he couldn't act. "I'm not a real writer, I tell stories," he maintains. He infused them with elements of his own experiences, such as his relationship with his third wife, massages, and a trip he took to Oman. "I find women more interesting than men," he says, referring to the fact that his creative impulse comes to him through female images. Reno also exemplifies this with anecdotes about his two youngest children, still teenagers, whom he says he doesn't understand. Generation Z, he laments, "pays less attention to talent." He does show a glimmer of hope for young women: "They're the ones who are going to save us. Women are the ones who move society."

"I would love to work with Almodóvar"

During the interview, Reno cites the flamenco dancer Rocío Molina, with whom he says he is fascinated, discovered her on one of his frequent visits to Andalusia, where his parents, Republicans exiled in North Africa, were born. "I would have liked my father to have seen the book published in Spanish," he says. However, Reno doesn't believe he would have connected with the story it tells. "He loved my mother, and when she died [the actor was a teenager], he broke in two. But he shut himself away. Emotions were a terrain he didn't venture into," he comments. The actor, who answers questions in Spanish, explains that he hasn't lost his connection to Spain despite having made a career in France and the United States—in films such as Mission: Impossible, Godzilla either The Da Vinci Code–. Although she's already participated in a Spanish production, she confesses that she has something pending: "I would love to work with Almodóvar. He's an extraordinary artist with immense talent. But there's never been any contact."