Samuel Theis played the deceased man around whom the lawsuit in Anatomie d’une chute revolves. — © AP
French actor and director Samuel Theis (45), who stars in Golden Globe winner ‘Anatomie d’une chute’, has been accused of rape. Theis says that the facts happened with the consent of the crew member of his new film.
Bron: Libération, Guardian, IndependentGisteren om 06:20
Samuel Theis played the deceased man around whom the lawsuit in Anatomie d’une chute revolves. After the Palme d’Or in Cannes, that film also won two Golden Globe awards on Sunday night, for best foreign-language film and best screenplay. Screenwriter Justine Triet mentioned most of the actors by name in her thank you speech, but conspicuously did not mention Theis. According to the newspaper Libération, the actor was accused of rape in July.
The incident is said to have happened in the early morning of July 1 at a rental apartment after a party for cast and crew members, when Theis was directing the film Je Le Jure. A young crew member allegedly drank so much that he stayed overnight. He claims that Theis then raped him. According to Samuel Theis, there was mutual consent, but the young man said he was too drunk to give consent.
Samuel Theis. — © AFP
The film’s producer, Caroline Bonmarchand, was notified and hired an independent investigator. Filming continued, but after consultation with the cast and crew, it was decided that Theis should remain absent from the set while the investigation was ongoing and continue to direct the film remotely.
“No assault”
The crew member reportedly left the production and filed a formal complaint, but Theis’ attorney states he was not contacted by police or charged. “The only investigation into this case was conducted by an independent organization on behalf of the production,” it said. “The report was delivered in September and was 300 pages long – the conclusion is that there were no elements that qualify what happened as sexual assault.”