Interview with THE NUN’s Jonas Bloquet

While much of the attention on The Nun has been focused on Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir, and Bonnie Aarons, Jonas Bloquet is an integral part of the story and has a fun role as “Frenchie,” balancing between comic relief and capable, demon-fighting hero. I recently had a chance to catch up with Jonas, who told me about his love of The Conjuring series, joining the cast, and filming in Romania:

How did you get involved with The Nun? How did the script come your way and what did you think when you read it?

Jonas Bloquet: For years, my manager kept telling me, "You have to come to Los Angeles. I want to introduce you to the casting directors." A year and a half ago I came to Los Angeles and I had one audition, and that one audition was for The Nun. It went great. I had to self-tape back in France, I met Corin [Hardy] on Skype, and that was it.

Had you seen The Conjuring and Annabelle movies before you got involved?

Jonas Bloquet: I'm a big fan of The Conjuring. I’ve loved James Wan's work, from his first movie, Saw. The Conjuring movies are, for me, the best horror films in the last decade.

I saw both of them twice at the theater and I have the DVDs at home. We watched it five or six times with my girlfriend and we love the movie, so when I heard I got in The Nun, I was so excited, I ran in the streets in Paris, and I yelled like a crazy person.

Were you a big fan of horror movies growing up? What are some of your favorites?

Jonas Bloquet: Not really growing up, because I was very scared when I was little. I remember my mom took me to see The Mummy in the theater. I was 11, and we had to leave the theater because I was crying. I think I became a horror fan maybe when I got to 15 or 16. Now, it doesn't scare me, but it amuses and it creates an emotion that other types of films don't create.

I know Corin Hardy is a collaborative director with his actors. When it came to your character, as it was written in the script, did you have any input, and did you make any changes? How did you develop your character?

Jonas Bloquet: I didn't make [major] changes. When I met Corin for the first time, I just told him, "I don't want Frenchie to be just the funny guy," because we see that a lot in horror films. I just told him, "I want to put some nuances in that guy, and I want him to be a little bit more emotional." We talked about the relationship between Father Burke and Frenchie, and Sister Irene and Frenchie. We spoke about that trio, and I wanted it to be like one father, one daughter, and the boyfriend. So we worked on that, and that's what we tried to do.

What was it like working with cast members Taissa Farmiga and Demián Bichir in the movie?

Jonas Bloquet: They were great! I was a bit afraid because it was the first time I worked in a foreign country, in Romania with only English-speaking actors. We had a great time, the three of us. Demián is so cool and he had so much experience to joke about, and I learned a lot from him, and Taissa is just the sweetest girl on the set.

What was it like working in Romania? There's a lot of history there, and also, there's a lot of superstition. I know that Corin mentioned that he had a supernatural experience while filming. What was it like for you being there?

Jonas Bloquet: First of all, shooting in Romania and real locations changed it all because you can feel the tension. You can feel the atmosphere. Yeah, I didn't experience a [supernatural] thing, but when we got off the Abbey for lunch, there was a Romanian priest standing up in front of the castle. So we were all around him, and we just listened to him even if we couldn't understand a word he said. That was pretty amazing.

Actually, we stayed at a little hotel near a lake. That lake has a lot of history, too. Apparently, there was a city under it, and when you go take a swim in that lake, you don't come out of the water. You just die…

What were some of your favorite scenes to film? Can you talk about a favorite memory from being on set?

Jonas Bloquet: Actually, my favorite scene was the scene where I meet Sister Irene and Father Burke in my house, with my pigs and sheeps and all. That was really fun to shoot. Maybe the favorite scary scene was the one with the nuns with all the sheets on their heads.

Aside from The Nun, do you have any other projects coming up that you'd like to tell our readers about?

Jonas Bloquet: Well, I just started my first feature film [as a director]. It's in French, so I'm talking to producers right now, and it is going pretty well. So, I hope I'm going to shoot my first feature film as a director maybe next year.

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In case you missed it, check here to catch up on our previous coverage of The Nun, including reviews, interviews, and Daily Dead's trip to the immersive experience in Mexico!