My name is Maude Richard
I am a Belgian actress, script writer, painter, musician…

Photo credits: Marie-Hélène Tercafs

What is the best thing that I love about my work? What nourishes me and what I seek in all my artistic experiences is transformation. It doesn’t matter what the medium is: when I play, when I write, when I paint, I like to rely on chance or accident to surprise and challenge me. I never know where I am going. (Of course, the work beforehand is useful. The more we master our tools, the more we can let ourselves be transformed. Our tools are our references, our foundation from which we start). 

What is my idea of happiness? Happiness is mostly in the acceptance of what is as the best thing to happen at the very moment. We are constantly having pleasant and unpleasant experiences. One is not better than the other. And they do not define us. They both teach us differently.

We can’t do anything against events. We must try as much as possible to stay in tune with ourselves in peace and in the joy of heart, no matter what happens. Put your hand on your heart and show your mind the place where you can reset any situation.

What is my greatest fear? I can’t name it. Name it would give life to it.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? I am very demanding with myself. I have a hard time recognizing my qualities and my victories. As if all success and merit were not mine. Or as if I didn’t have the right to be proud of myself. I would like to hug myself more often and say: you are wonderful, as I do for my loved ones and anyone who makes my life better…I am working on it.

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire?

Without hesitation, any woman who works for equality between men and women, any woman who tries to change the idea that a woman is an object in the service of beauty, sex, motherhood, marriage or all at once. There are a few known women who are fighting for our rights.

I admire Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (New York Times) and all the actresses who had the courage to confront a world with an unacceptable reality and injustice. What they have done has already changed our safety, our integrity as women, and begun the process of changing minds. This starting point gave voice to women around the world or the legitimacy to denounce.

What is my greatest extravagance? I have balls!

On what occasion would I lie? I hate lying. I only do it when there are no consequences. I could do it to protect those I love from a system or a plot.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? I hate engaging in any form of sales method. However, most of my creations must find financial and intellectual support to exist (novel, film, paintings, musical compositions…). I prefer that artistic or professional encounters happen by chance than having to knock on doors and force attention to my work. Even though I’m proud and very passionate about it, I hate selling or selling myself.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work? The most coveted moment for me is that moment of grace, as I name it, that I experience when I am simultaneously in the heart and in the service of creation. Something magical happens, I forget myself and I feel like I am just a channel for a powerful energy. I’ve had it a few times while playing, writing, or singing…It’s something difficult to define. There is necessarily the conjunction of two states: to be in the heart (to be exalted by what one is busy doing), to forget oneself mentally and physically and to put oneself at the service of a creation. It is like an orgasm of the mind.

If I could, what would I change about myself? I doubt myself a lot. I am still working on gaining confidence in myself.

What is my greatest achievement in work? I don’t know. I always go further, higher. I am proud of everything I have undertaken and created: my music, the roles I have played, my monumental paintings, my scripts, novel…For me, the most beautiful achievement will be my own film(s). Bringing all my talents and passions together in the same work would be a sign that I have finally come together. But every step that takes me there makes me happy. (and I don’t talk about my private secret life as a mother).

Where would I most like to live?

I have a special bond with New York. Maybe it’s its multiculturality that I love. I don’t feel like a citizen of my country, I feel like a citizen of the world. I need silence and contemplation to write or paint. But I will tell you something, I have humanity in my heart because I am a part of it and it is a part of me. To me, we are all intertwined. So when you’re able to connect to the world inside of you, you can live anywhere. My only necessity is to have a physical connection with nature.

What is my most treasured possession? For years, I found my idealism to be my downfall. Today, I think it is my treasure. Because thanks to it, I can turn water into wine. I have this mental capacity to transform what is negative to me into positive. It is a creative idealism and I have fun transforming everything that does not suit me, including myself. Who says that what you are experiencing is real? If reality can fool you, why not fool reality? That’s idealism, it’s believing in a better world.

What is my most marked characteristic? I think it is my creativity.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city? Fields. All these open spaces are inspiring because they open up horizons, because the view is unlimited, because you can see the birds, because you can merge with the sky, merge with freedom.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city? I am quite picky about where I go to eat for the simple reason that I love to cook and have done so quite well since childhood. I almost never go out to eat because the restaurants I target are a bit too expensive (and rightly so) for me. But I love going to “L’air du temps” of San Degeimbre (https://airdutemps.be/). As with everything, I’m all about the experience. You could say that I am never disappointed at San.

What books influenced my life and how? I am not a big reader of novels, strangely enough. But I read a lot of things because I need to learn and evolve constantly. I’m not saying that a novel can’t teach you. It’s probably a bad reflex on my part. So I go more spontaneously to personal development readings. I was very inspired by Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of the Present Moment”, which I recommend. It gives keys to acceptance and understanding of what is. And I keep in my heart Bernard Tirtiaux’s novel “Le passeur de lumière”, as moving as poetic.

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? Wow! Music is my best medicine. How to choose only one?! I probably would listen to “Exit music (for a film)” of Radiohead.

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? I love “Cole” (Haley Joel Osment) in “The sixth sens” of M. Night Shyamalan. Yes, this boy is my hero because he has to struggle with something that anyone couldn’t understand and see: his own universe, his own truth, his loneliness. It is like he is between two worlds: the immaterial’s one and the material’s one. And he does it like a hero!

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? I love children. I envy them as I want them to stay the way they are. Regaining the poise and faith I had as a child is one of my quests. As a child, you are as invincible as you are vulnerable. It’s piercingly powerful.

Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? Of course, one of my favorite is “Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain” of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. But I’m a big fan of all Jaco van Dormael’s films because we’re also in the world of dreams, of childhood, of tales, of the idealism I mentioned above.

What role play stories in my life and work? A big one! As Amélie Poulain, I am the kind of woman who lives in her imagination. Sometimes I really wonder if I am real because I dream life! I can’t wait to share my stories with you (through my movies…etc).

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me?

I invent a life for myself. Obviously, I can’t control all the events but I can choose all the options and paths. I try to choose by listening to my heart. Sometimes I make mistakes. I never regret. I choose. And I choose to be happy and who I want to be.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? My husband means a lot to me. He has the anchorage and stability that I sometimes lack. I think that without him, I would fly a bit too high sometimes. And if you fly and lose touch with the Earth…you get lost!

Which people or companies would I like to work with? Definitely I would love to have a rôle in a Jaco Vandormael’s film. But I’d also love to work as an actress for Mathieu Almaric, for Louis Garrel, for Nicolas Bedos, for Bouly Lanners as a director too, for Christopher Nolan, David Lynch…I would be so happy to work with Virginie Eifira, Laure Calamy, Noemie Merlant, Veerle Baetens, Louis Garrel as an actor, Bouly Lanners as an actor, Timotee Chalamet, James Thierrée, Joaquin Phoenix… I can’t name them all…

What project am I looking forward to work on? I am always happy to work on any movie as an actress… But I am very excited to make my own films as a director. I wrote two scripts and they are in their way to production. To be continued!

Where can you see me or my work? The best way to check in which film or series I will appear, is on
my website http://www.mauderichard.com . (I am not always on time for its update) You can also discover my own artistic universe. Now, I spend all my time on acting and developing my own films.

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? I am only made of passions. If I don’t feed them, I die. It’s as simple as that.

Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story?
Isabelle de Hertogh (actress)(https://www.facebook.com/ isabelle.dehertogh)
Julie Oz (singer)(https://www.facebook.com/julieoz76)
Véronique Heuchenne (script director)(vheuchenne@gmail.com)
Agnès Nègre (lyric singer, therapist) (https://agnesnegre.com/)
Marie-Hélène Tercafs (photographer) (https://www.facebook.com/ mariehelene.tercafs)
Chloé Coomans (sculptor)(https://www.facebook.com/ chloecoomans)
Julie Schotsmans (actress) (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090510831422)
Olivia Auclair (actress, singer) (https://www.facebook.com/ oliviaauclair)
Aurore Shottey-Picavet (actress) (https://www.facebook.com/ aurorepicavet)
Elise Mc Leod (film director) (https://www.facebook.com/elise.mcleod)

How can you contact me? maude.richard@gmail.com