Benjamin Voisin on reading sad philosophy and smoking heavily for The Stranger

Is this the French-est role any Frenchman could play? Benjamin Voisin can be seen as Meursault in The Stranger, François Ozon’s new film version of Albert Camus’ existentialist classic, which required him to do a hell of a lot of sitting around smoking. Something which, judging by the chain-smoking he’s doing on the end of our call, he didn’t have to work hard at. Indeed he says, “François tells me, ‘You already have something in you for the character,’ and I say, ‘Is it that I am naive or I don't trust in God?’ He says, ‘You're a smoker.’”