hey ! I found this about the movie. I don't know if you already have it.
Fu'ad is talking about his role. http://www.festival-cannes.com/assets/Image/Direct/021381.pdf
Enjoy, s.afeworki

No, we did not already have it :)  many thanks, s.afeworki ! All offerings welcome :)

It's a good read - all of it. Fu'ad starts his interview on page 9.....

"When I first met Catherine Breillat, I had only ever seen one of her films, ROMANCE. Whether you like her films or not, you cannot deny they are all full of genuine sincerity. That affects me and gives me the impression of understanding her world a little and makes me feel that there is a place for me there."

"Having the leading role in a big production film is pretty exciting. I do not think I will have the opportunity to play such high level and intense characters very often. Wherever my career takes me in the future, at least I have that experience. Ryno de Marigny is a wonderful role that made me feel I was telling my own story through my character. The plot brought back the memory of an important love story that took place a while ago that I had never told anyone about. The film gave me the opportunity to use and express the related emotions that were bottled up inside me."

"The further the costumes, hair styles and make-up are from the real me, the easier can I throw myself into the character. My personal aim is to feel at ease with myself in the role. And the less the role resembles me, the more can I throw myself into it. Although I cannot really explain why, I feel very close to Ryno. He can only really be himself and throw off the ropes of his society when he is with his old lover who has already freed herself from that. These rare moments of truth explain the strength of their relationship."

"Four months before shooting, I started rehearsing my lines. Mastering the language from another era was one of the difficulties of the film. At the time I lived in Lille (northern France) and I used to go out every evening and shout my lines on motorway parking areas to get familiar with each and every detail. I wanted to sound natural."

"I'll never forget the first day on the set. We were in Brittany, in the courtyard at Lalatte Fort. There was an extraordinary atmosphere and the smell of wet soil. We wound up with the scene where Roxane arrives on horseback, crying, and I take her in my arms. Although my first lines were quite simple,I was blocked. I just couldn't get the words out in front of the camera. Luckily things got better after that."

"I put a lot of my true self into the character and then I let Catherine be my guide. Sometimes, I had prepared the scenes from a certain angle and she saw them from a completely different one. And each time, I noticed she was right. I trusted her entirely. I like the high standards she sets herself. I have always felt we had things to exchange. We are both convinced about what we have to do."

"In this film, I act with women practically all the time; Claude Sarraute, the Marquise, and Roxane, who plays my wife, were excellent partners, but most of my scenes were with Asia Argento. We got along fine; she really helped me a lot and always knew how to make me feel confident."