Anthony Kavanagh, joker daddy

Anthony Kavanagh: a young dad at the Olympia

On the stage of the Olympia from February 8 to 12, comedian Anthony Kavanagh confides in Infobebes.com about his career and his fatherhood …

You are back on stage with your show “Antony Kavanagh comes out”. Why did you choose this title?

It is first of all a way of saying that I take responsibility for what I think, and therefore what I am. For a long time, I dared not say things. I was doing the wrong things in the room, but I didn’t allow myself to give my opinion, because I am from Quebec. I did not want to pass for the foreigner who criticizes French society.

I’ve been making a career in France for 12 years now and, when I reached my forties, I said to myself stop. I have the right to speak. As an artist, if you don’t say what you think, you die.

My previous show, “Ouate Else” was a transition. I gradually started to let go. We saw that it was taking well, so we continued. I decided to change my tone.

I also chose this title because, in my beginnings, I heard many times: “Anthony Kavanagh is gay”. However, at the time, not at all! (laughs). As soon as a man is a little neat, sports a metrosexual look, he sets off rumors. In this show, there is a skit where I wonder how I would react if my son told me he was gay. In this scene, I also imagine the reaction of my father if I had told him that I was homosexual …

And how would you react if your son told you the same thing?

I want my son to be happy. At the time, I would be surprised. But it’s not my life, it’s his, it’s his body, his choice. All I want is to be a guide for my son. On the other hand, if I had made an announcement like this to my father, who was Haitian, he would not have wanted to hear it …

You are a comedian, singer, actor and TV host at the same time. What role are you most passionate about?

I am someone who gets bored easily. It’s hard to choose, but humor is my first love. I knew he could be a springboard for me to do a lot of other things. The song is another passion. But if I had to choose, that would be the stage for the contact that we can have with the public. It is unique!

You played in the films “Antilles sur scène” and “Agathe Cléry”, notably with Valérie Lemercier. Cinema, do you think about it?

Yes I think about it, it is rather the others who do not think of me (laughs). In fact, either the roles that I am offered do not interest me, or they are the roles of the “black” on duty, and in this case, I always refuse.

More difficult to make films in France when you are black?

In France, things are moving very slowly. It is a country of revolutions, we have to wait for events to gain momentum, explode, like in a pressure cooker, for that to change. Things are going to move, but it is true that things are not going fast enough. Me, I am for more diversity on the screen above all. I would like to see more leading roles for women, without them being reduced to the stage of vases. France is a Latin country, still macho. There are also few disabled people, Asians, obese people on the screen… all those who represent France. And in this register, there is still a lot of work to be done …