Celebrity
Canadian Actor and Film Director Julien Poulin Dies at 78
Canadian Actor and Film Director Julien Poulin died Saturday at 78. His agent, Eugénie Gaillard, confirmed the news Sunday. The cause of death is not known at this time.
While Julien Poulin’s career spanned decades, it was through his portrayal of Elvis Gratton that the artist and activist left his mark on Quebec’s collective imagination.
Born April 20, 1946, in Montreal, Julien Poulin has about a hundred films to his credit. He made his film debut in 1973, appearing in Réjeanne Padovani by Denys Arcand and in Tu brûles… tu brûles… by Jean-Guy Noël.
His political commitment was felt early in his career. We are particularly thinking of the short film on Algerian independence, À force de courage, released in 1977 and directed by Julien Poulin and Pierre Falardeau, his great friend and long-time collaborator.
The duo would do it again in 1979 with Pea Soup, a documentary in which the actor interviewed a young boy who eats Kentucky fried chicken—the “PFK kid” would leave a lasting impression to this day. In another short film by the duo, Speak White (1980), actress Marie Eykel reads Michèle Lalonde’s famous poem.
No performance by Julien Poulin would be as emblematic as that of Elvis Gratton, alias Bob Gratton, a caricature of Quebec society at the time, which he co-created with Pierre Falardeau. “I think that as long as I’m alive, [this role] will stick to my skin,” Poulin said in an interview with 24 Images magazine in 1999. The future would prove him right.
Julien Poulin’s Elvis Gratton
Elvis Gratton appeared in his first feature film in 1985, Elvis Gratton: Le King des Kings, a compilation of three short films. The first was released in 1981, in the wake of the 1980 referendum, a pivotal event that would inspire co-directors and co-writers Julien Poulin and Pierre Falardeau.
The Brossard mechanic who imitates Elvis Presley is thus intended to be a critical representation of the Americanization of Quebec and federalism, played in a comic and absurd tone that continued to seduce Quebec with the two film sequels led by the duo, Elvis Gratton II: Miracle in Memphis (1999) and Elvis Gratton XXX: The Revenge of Elvis Wong (2004).
Elvis Gratton became a cult figure in the Quebec imagination, from his infinitely recognizable “tabarnak” to his “big garage”. We will also not forget his legendary response when asked to explain his origins: “I am a Quebec Canadian. A French Canadian French. An American from the French North. A Quebec French-Canadian Canadian. A Quebecer of French-Canadian French expression. We are American Canadians, Francophones from North America. »
A television series written by François Avard and directed by Gabriel Pelletier, Bob Gratton: Ma Vie, My Life was first broadcast in January 2007 and concluded 41 episodes later in April 2009.
Award Winning Actor and Director
During his career spanning more than five decades, Julien Poulin has won two Jutra Awards (renamed Iris in 2017): Best Supporting Actor in 2000 for his role in Le dernier souffle by Richard Ciupka, and Best Actor in 2013 for his role in Camion by Rafaël Ouellet. More recently, he was in the cast of another Ouellet film, Arsenault et Fils (2022).
However, the awards were far from the actor’s primary motivation, as he continued to marvel at the magic of the 7th art, Rafaël Ouellet told Le Devoir. “He’s truly an outstanding creator,” the filmmaker says, an actor of remarkable professionalism and great erudition.
And while Julien Poulin had softened in the last years of his life, he hadn’t lost his activist side. “He was still outraged by the injustices of this world,” says Mr. Ouellet.
Among Julien Poulin’s other film feats, we can note his roles in Le matou, Séraphin: un homme et son péché, Monica la mitraille, Babine, Miraculum and Paul à Québec.
On television, he participated in a number of memorable series: Virginie, Les Bougon, Le négociateur, Les pays d’en haut, Unité 9, L’échappée and many others. He won the Gémeau for best-supporting actor for his work in the series Minuit, le soir, by Podz in 2007.
This is without forgetting his appearances in the theatre, from his beginnings in the 1960s alongside Paul Buissonneau to his work with the group La Veillée, founded by Gabriel Arcand in the 1970s. “His association with the Omnibus company and his work with Dominic Champagne are significant elements of his theatre career and are intended to be
