Being Karl Lagerfeld Franklin Théodore Pellerin Became Top Character Actor

Théodore Pellerin, who is already on a screen near you (trust us, you’ve seen him before), says his journey to becoming Canada’s top character actor points to an early three-indie-movie collaboration with Quebec auteur Sophie Dupuis.

“It was the first time that I really felt like I was — you know, I don’t want to sound too woo, woo — but I felt like I was flying when I was acting and I felt truly liberated,” Pellerin tells The Hollywood Reporter about his 2019 lead role in Dupuis’ drama Family First.

The lanky Quebec native recalled his performance as the head-butting, out-of-control character of Vincent at times messing with his head on the Family First set. “There were moments where I remember being a little bit scared because it’s a violent character, and it’s a character who enjoys being violent,” he says. “I just felt at moments, ‘OK, I have to now step back because I can feel the sadistic urges are still there, even after a cut.’ ” 

But where that inner turmoil led was to roles in Netflix’s There’s Someone Inside Your House; AMC’s On Becoming a God in Central Florida, where he appears opposite Kirsten Dunst; Apple TV+’s Franklin; and Becoming Karl Lagerfeld on Disney+.

Between those Hollywood gigs and back in Montreal, Pellerin starred in another two Dupuis French-language movies, 2020’s Underground and 2023’s Solo, a collaboration that he insists launched his career beyond Quebec, including into France.

“This was truly such an important and foundational meeting in my life,” he recalls.
“I was 19 when I shot my first film with Sophie. It felt like a world opening up because the part was so exciting and she was so incredibly loving, and she gave such a great sense of freedom to her actors.” 

As Jacques de Bascher in Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, Pellerin played a man at the fashion designer’s side for nearly two decades. The role required the actor to tap into two different sides of himself. 

“I really loved doing that show,” he says. “It was a fascinating character, Jacques de Bascher. He was a fascinating person, and always polarizing, a mix of an angel and a demon. I think both very much co-existed.”  

Sharing the screen with Dunst in On Becoming a God in Central Florida at age 21 and speaking in English, his second language after French, got Pellerin out of his comfort zone.

“It was a big American TV show with Kirsten Dunst, and it was the first time I had left home to go and shoot something for so long,” he says. “I had done movies for a month or two, but to leave for six months in the States, in Louisiana, where we shot? And I wasn’t very comfortable with English yet. That was a big part of the danger element of doing it.”

In Franklin, where he appeared onscreen opposite Michael Douglas, Pellerin recalls dressing as a French aristocrat in elaborate costumes, a process that he says helped his performance immeasurably. 

“The costumes were extraordinary and a huge part of how I felt myself and my body and how I was going to stand and move,” he recalls. “And when you love a costume designer, and you love to work with them and see what they bring, it’s incredibly inspiring and really gives a lot of depth and dimension to getting ready for a film.” 

That also held true in Solo, Pellerin’s third movie for Dupuis, in which he played a drag artist in Montreal, a physical role that demanded he wear wigs, lavish costumes and even high heels — but Pellerin embraced the opportunity. 

“What was really interesting in that process was trying to connect to my own femininity and not have something be imposed,” he explains. “Because this is a character who is at their best, at their most confident, when onstage and they are in a wig and makeup and in a tight dress. I had to be incredibly comfortable being very feminine. And so it was a process of creating or reconnecting with that comfort and that enjoyment.” 

Now comes Lurker, Alex Russell’s debut feature, which is landing in Berlin after a world premiere in Sundance. In the drama, Pellerin plays Matthew, a geeky fan who infiltrates the inner circle of an emerging pop star, Oliver, played by Archie Madekwe.

In his Sundance review, THR film critic David Rooney wrote: “Proximity gives Matthew — played by Théodore Pellerin with an evil innocence from which you can’t look away — the illusion of being a best friend, a bro, a creative collaborator to the mononymous singer. Everyone in his entourage wants to bask in Oliver’s glow, but nobody wants it as badly as Matt.”

Pellerin’s second screening of Lurker at the Berlinale could offer some relief as he admits to not enjoying watching himself on the big screen. “It’s a very strange thing because it’s such a medium of projection, right? And we then project things on the actors onscreen. So the first time I watch a movie that I’m part of, it’s hard because I can’t receive the movie. It’s impossible. I think that I’m a little bit able to see the movie for what it is when I watch it for the second time or maybe the third time.” 

Next up for Pellerin is Nino, a first feature from director Pauline Loquès that wrapped shooting in December in Paris. While he still lives in Montreal and tries to do one or two projects there every year, Pellerin accepts that upcoming projects these days will take him elsewhere, which he says is fine because it’s all about the material. 

“That’s the priority,” he says. “It’s not about the territories. It’s about the writing and the people. And whether that be in Quebec or elsewhere, that’s what really matters.”