Chevalier is a beautifully crafted film that shines a light on a largely forgotten musical great. Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was born to an enslaved 16-year-old mother, only to rise to prominence in the court of Queen Marie Antoinette before eventually fighting against the monarchy in the French Revolution. A prodigious fencer, violinist, and composer, Bologne was robbed of a fair chance to be ed in the same breath as Mozart and his other contemporaries by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte; not only were many of Bologne’s works destroyed as Napoleon rose to power, but Bonaparte banned performances of the surviving pieces.
Chevalier is a long-awaited recognition of Bologne’s life and mastery, which is brought to life in captivating fashion thanks to a strong script, modern direction, and beautiful music, both original and written by the Chevalier himself. One of the standout aspects is the tour-de-force performance by Kelvin Harrison, Jr. in the leading role. While the actor had previously spent some time studying the violin, Harrison took on a rigorous practice schedule to ensure he could actually perform the Chevalier's masterful works on set. The actor often practiced six hours per day to achieve the level of performance the role required, even as he honed his fencing skills and dove into the character of Joseph Bologne.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. spoke with Screen Rant about mastering the violin, relating to Joseph Bologne, and more.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. on Chevalier
Screen Rant: You practiced violin, you've said, for six hours a day most days, but even in addition to that, you had to learn how to fence and get your lines down. Did you worry that other parts of your performance were going to suffer because you had to spend so much time on the violin?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I think I was concerned about that because there [was] not a lot of time. When [I got] the script, what my process was, was like, "I'm going to prep the script in its entirety. I'm gonna try to learn everything." Now, as you heard from the Q&A (the night before), they kept changing the script. That's where things got tricky for me because then full scenes are gone, full moments are not there anymore, and I still have to find the connective tissue to make it work.
Stephen said he wanted to have the greatest hits; he didn't want to have too much fluff in it. As an actor, you're trying to find ways [to make the character come through], because we love private moments. We love these little small things that give you a little insight into a character. So, was there a lot of time? No, but you just have to not sleep. You have to not sleep; that's all.
And while you were spending all that time on the violin, do you feel like the time you spent by yourself practicing helped you relate to Joseph Bologne? Did you picture that he was doing the same thing at some point in his life, spending all that time with his instrument?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: Yeah, but I picture that he loved it. That was the difference. I was like, "I really don't get it." I think what kept me focused, though, is the fact that it was going to incite so many other things. The violin playing was going to tell me about the physicality. Certain lines in his music transfer into thoughts, actually. Being a virtuoso means there's a quick thinking, so conversationally, I wanted to make sure it was like I was always a little bit ahead on what I wanted to say. He's listening, and still responding, and then also omitting. He's constantly editing. That's what I was trying to process; how does this affect the speech pattern? How does it affect everything else? I was looking at how to bring it back to my acting, because that's the thing I'm ionate about.
There's this line you say in the film that I love, which is, "The more I excelled, the less I was alone." Given that that's how he was thinking, how do you feel this man navigated being a part of the society that he was in?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: That was the fascinating thing that I had to constantly investigate every day when playing him. What I loved about the script was the fact that I had no clue. Stefani does such a good job of giving us a heartbeat in watching him actively work towards a goal, but there are so many disrespectful things said to him. There are so many just isolating moments where you truly feel like no one gets it, no one sees you, no one cares about you. [He dealt with] friendships being abandoned, betrayals, all these things. It's like, "How do you psychologically process that?" and the only thing is you being like, "I'm so focused on getting back to the love."
I think his love was that violin when he was on that plantation when he was a kid. That's when he first was introduced to real love and community. Love is so powerful; we will do anything for it. We will fight for it till the end, and that was the thing that kept driving him forward, and that's the thing I wanted to focus on. It's like, "I don't know if it's through Josephine. I don't know if it's my friendship with Antoinette. I don't know if it's with my mom. I don't know. Maybe it's becoming the director of the Paris Opera. All I know is I want to get back to that feeling I had when I was seven, and that ion for something felt like everything."
You got this gig while you were shooting Elvis. [I've heard you mention] Austin Butler said something offhand, but did you have any talks with him about being front and center in a film like this?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: Yeah. I called him in the middle of it because I got really overwhelmed and a little bit discouraged because I was struggling a bit in the middle of the production [with] how time-consuming everything was, and how fast it moved. I was really concerned I was messing it up, and I called him, and he was so sweet.
He's just so funny, because he's such an optimist 24/7. He just he related to me. He was like, "It is hard, and right now you're suffering imposter syndrome. Ultimately, with any artist in that phase of the process, they're also feeling like an impostor." He said, "So lean into it, trust it, and don't necessarily try to fight it. That's part of the storytelling." That's how I moved forward from there. He was really, really cool about just being my bro when I needed him.
The opening scene is insane; the duel between [the Chevalier] and Mozart?. Was that the hardest scene to shoot, and how long did that take?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It wasn't the hardest scene to shoot, strangely enough, it was just the longest scene to shoot. It took all day, and there were a lot of different camera movements. You get to a point where you've really locked down the performance; you can play the song front ways and back ways. It was just the stamina. No one really recommends playing the violin that long, especially in the way that Joseph was playing it. It becomes [this thing where] your fingers are bleeding. Your nail beds are just filled with blood at a certain point, and your hands are tired, and you're in that costume, and you're in the wig, and you're trying to get the choreography right, and if you miss a beat, then you have to start over a little bit. Or you have to figure out how to find your way to pick back up in the middle of it in order to make sure that there are some cut points. It was a stamina game.
You play piano in this also. As someone who can play violin, guitar, [and] piano, of those three, what's the ranking?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: Violin was my first love because I started that when I was seven. I quit right afterward; I didn't quit, (Hurricane) Katrina happened, and then I lost my violin. I started playing piano and trumpet, and that's when that journey started. I would say piano is the most useful, and I'm a man of function. I'm not a man of, like, "Just do something just for the sake of," I'm like, "What does it give me? What does it offer me at the end of the day?"
I like piano because you can be a composer. You can write. You can accompany anyone. There's so much range in it, and also you can get gigs anywhere. If all fails and my acting career falls apart, maybe you'll see me in the local pub or something hitting the keys.
What do you feel like, if anything, you learned just about yourself as an actor [and] as a creative person looking back and realizing that you just were even capable of putting the amount of work in that you did on this film?
Kelvin Harrison Jr.: Process works. Even if sometimes you're not in love with the results of certain things, at the same time there's a version of it where you might not be able to accomplish it at all. I have to keep that in mind. It was a big feat to say, "I'm going to try to play Joseph Bologne, and I'm going to play the violin in real-time, and I'm going to play the harpsichord, and I'm going to learn how to fence, and I'm going to do the acting to the best of my ability." All of it is to the best of my ability. The only way you can do that is if you come up with a plan, and you stick to the plan, and you trust the plan.
As an actor, I've learned preparation is everything, and I just enjoy the process. I don't question the process, and I allow it to be [such that] whatever will be on that screen will be on that screen. If people don't like it, that's their problem, because I gave everything I had, and I don't know what else to tell you. It's not working for the result, but for the journey.
About Chevalier
Inspired by the incredible story of composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. The illegitimate son of an African slave and a French plantation owner, Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr. in a tour de force performance) rises to improbable heights in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer, complete with an ill-fated love affair and a falling out with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) and her court.
Check out our other Chevalier interviews:
- Ronke Adekoluejo (Nanon)
- Samara Weaving (Marie-Josephine)
- Stefani Robinson (Writer)
- Stephen Williams (Director)
Chevalier will be released in theaters on April 21.
