Exclusive interview with Raphael Luce, French-American actor

By Jean-Paul Eliard
The 18 September 2025

Hi Raphael, I'm glad to do this interview.
 

What did you like about your character, Clerk Simon? And what was your reaction when you read the script for Dracula?

My character is an assistant, he’s there to please and execute tasks.
I like how he is often clueless and out of the loop, yet he desperately wants to be included and feel part of the group.
He’s a bit clumsy, even when he tries to go with the flow. I think a lot of people can relate to him, he’s just a kid trying to find his place, trying to fit into the adult world while doing his best.
I find him unintentionally funny.

When I read the script, I giggled a lot. The character’s awkwardness struck me as funny but also very endearing.

How did you prepare for your role?

I watched shows that feature a lot of assistant roles, medical dramas like Grey’s Anatomy, for example.

My audition was fun: I had to improvise a scene as a young medical student assisting in surgery for the first time, except he couldn’t stand the sight of blood. Of course, he faints, very dramatically.
We laughed a lot shooting it.

I think they chose that audition scene because of the moment where the clerk is asked to give a bit of blood from his finger to the vampire.
He struggles with the sight of blood but tries to play it cool and stay serious.
I really liked that the doctor seemed concerned for the young clerk in that scene.

To prepare, I read my scenes over and over, experimenting with them in many ways.
I made little notes on my script for actions I wanted to attach to each sentence. It’s not a big role, and I don’t speak much, but I wanted each moment to be meaningful.
The Clerk represents innocence, willingness, servitude, trust in superiors, youth, and naïveté.
You want all of that to come through in small ways, so you have to find the right movement, breath, or look to convey those feelings.

How was shooting with Christoph Waltz, Caleb Landry Jones, Matilda De Angelis,....... and director Luc Besson?

Working on a Luc Besson film was an incredible treat for me. I’ve always been a fan of his masterpieces like The Professional, The Fifth Element, The Big Blue, and Nikita.
He hasn’t directed much lately, though he’s produced a ton, so I felt privileged to be part of one of his films, especially since it’s such a classic story.

Luc is very direct, no time wasted. His team is always on top of things, and he’s very hands-on. He’s almost always behind the camera himself, rarely in video village, always right there on set with the actors.
When he isn’t, he’s still constantly speaking to the actors through a microphone. I tried to always stay nearby, in his line of sight, ready to jump in.

I’m still early in my career, so I learned so much from working with such professionals.

Christoph Waltz is a legend. Working with him was amazing. We had long conversations over lunch, he’s approachable and fascinating.

Caleb was in character the entire time. Honestly, I’m not sure what his real voice even sounds like, because every time we spoke, he used his Romanian accent. He’s quite a character, and I loved working with him, he’s incredibly talented.

Matilda was great too. Her character is so over-the-top, and I really enjoyed watching her work.

I also got to work closely with French actor Guillaume de Tonquédec, who played Dumont. Just shadowing Christoph and Guillaume on set taught me so much.

This was my first feature in France, and it was fascinating to see the differences in working styles between French and U.S. sets.
The movie was shot in English, and later I did my own French dubbing. At one point there was talk of filming in both languages, but that ultimately would have been too complicated.

Where was the movie shot?

It was shot in France, mostly at Luc Besson’s studios near Paris. Some of my scenes were filmed in Senlis, which is very close to where I used to spend time with my grandparents in Chantilly.
We also shot near Notre Dame in Paris.

I love every opportunity to work in Paris.
The studio sets were incredible; I’m always impressed by how the set decorators can create such detailed worlds in such a short time and make them look completely real.

Raphael’s whole family works in the movie industry as actors or stunt performers. What do you like about being both an actor and stunt performer?

I grew up with artistic parents who worked in entertainment and film.
They met while performing with Cirque du Soleil, and my dad is a world-renowned high-wire walker. Both also work as stunt performers.

I was trained from a young age to try everything, music, art, sports, stunts.
I’ve always loved stunt work the most. I’ve learned to high-fall into airbags, stage fight, climb, get lit on fire, be catapulted by air rams… and more recently, I’ve started training in stunt driving. Drifting is my favorite.

But acting is just as much of a passion for me.
My dream would be to land a big action role, ideally one with lots of driving!
I would have loved to be in Fast & Furious, or in Brad Pitt’s new Formula 1 movie. Not that Spider-Man or something similar wouldn’t also be a dream.
I’m just getting started, so I’m still allowed to dream big!

When and why did you choose to be an actor?

I grew up in France until I was 10 years old, and that’s when I told my parents
I wanted to be an actor.

We lived in the middle of nowhere in southern France, in an old monastery my parents turned into a paradise and art retreat, with my younger sister Jophielle and brother Gabriel. My parents traveled regularly to L.A. for stunt work.
They didn’t want to feel like they had denied me opportunities, so they decided it was time for all of us to move back to L.A. and commit to the industry as a family.

We crossed the ocean, bought a bus, drove it cross-country for an adventure, and settled in L.A. I got an agent and started auditioning.

Now, all of us work on set.
My younger sister was three when she booked her first role, and she’s doing very well.
I got my part in Stranger Things when I was 12, which gave me a boost. Now
I just want to keep working, anywhere and anytime.
We’re not afraid to travel wherever the work takes us. I work on both continents now, and I love it, it makes life more interesting and adventurous, even if it’s more complicated. That’s just how we’ve chosen to live.

What is your next challenge/project?

I recently had the pleasure of acting in a small TV series project with my closest friends in L.A. called Road to Healing.
I can’t say much about it yet, but we had a blast filming it.

I’ve also started venturing into modeling.
I just signed with Elite Paris in France and Next Management in the U.S., and I’m excited to see where that takes me.
After doing photoshoots with amazing photographers for Esquire, Behind the Blinds, and GQ, I caught the bug.

Let’s see where this adventure leads, because in the end, it’s all about living a fun, creative life: meeting great people, collaborating to make films and images, traveling, and feeling great doing it.

Do you wish to add something?

Just this: if you have a dream, don’t waste too much time. Go live it or die trying. Life doesn’t always have to be so serious.

Thank you very much for your interview Raphael, I wish you all the best
 

More information about Raphael on Instagram, on Facebook, on TikTok and on IMDb