his past

Unveiling Michael's past, we find an idealistic young man, fighting oppression inside of a group of young activists. While devoted to his cause, he is also preoccupied by his sister's welfare after their parents passed away. This young man is not the real Michael as yet. We believe he is Michel. We know very little about him but he is dear to us. His brotherly devotion, the friendship which we call noble and strong links, his integrity, his energy will lead us to a perfect picture. Splendid! See how his friend René looks at him in the episode Half Life. He looks at him with great admiration and with sincere friendship in his eyes. Michael will confirm this, in his upset face looking at René, dead, taking with him his own disillusion of what is now become Michael.

Paris, 1984. Demonstrations, riots, police arrests. Michael has disappeared. No trace of him. They bury Michael and Section One creates Michael. They must had a tough time taming him. He was 19. Of what we know of him today, we understand that they must have had a hard time. He must have fought back like a trap animal.

The results of this reform although a great success, is also a great sadness. A few pieces of Michel now rest at the bottom of Michael. By adding a single letter to his name, Michael has lost more than two French syllables. Referring to René again, who was the only one that called him Michel...reflecting as in a mirror, Michael's past, which he was trying to forget. Michel... I love Michael, because I believe that without this small part that was left in him, full of love, compassion, empathy, with this small entity that Section One has never destroyed, Michael's character would not be human. Before Nikita had the chance to know him thoroughly, she also revolted against his insensibility. She was saying in War: " I finally get it, I finally know...what attracts me to you...It's the character you pretend to be...The real Michael, would disgust me, I'm sure.

The enigma

Then Michael's secret remains unrevealed. If I try to discover his mysteries, I feel like a camera scanning him at 360 degrees. That's the way Michael is. Standing up, immobile, dressed up in black with an impassive face, a look washed out all emotions, but a pure look in his eyes. Out of reach, unshakable, the light going through him has no reflection, a one way look. He stands there alone...and I, like the camera, go around him in search of the secret, looking for a trace, a trail to have access the inaccessible.

Why are we so much in love with a character who in fact won't let us approach him..

Michael is a very demanding character. He does not leave much room to Roy to play the role. A secretive character is as hard to play than a very exuberant one. In his case it is the constant self-control which is disconcerting...Michael exercises a very strict control of his feelings, he never deviates...he's perfect in that matter. He is almost an android. He is way over his human condition, and you must look for details that will reveal a few moments of humanity.

Now comes back to my mind, an interview given by Roy to Julie Snyder in May 1999 on NIKITA stage. He had this remark, wanting to confess a necessary truth: " But in real life, I am not like Michael...". He had a need to say it; we knew that very well. But for him to admit it, was reassuring me. Michael is out in left field, all by himself. Of all the characters that he ever played, Michael is one of inner emotions. Michael is the opposite of Jay, Yves or Ovila and miles away from Michel. Michael never screams, he is never found in a panic mood; he may be sad, but never anguished, lost, without any recourse. Even when he loses his own son, he will be deeply afflicted but will recover relatively fast...

Sometimes, it is beneficial for a hero to slip down or lose face, that will make us appreciate him more. I don't mean that Michael is not an important character in our own little universe. The short period when he became amnesic ( Not was) was like a break for me during the second season and although I did not feel at ease with his anti-hero behavior, but so human and real, I then felt good seeing him vulnerable. Since the 4 season is began, Michael behaves much more in a human way...very close to his feelings and emotions...In that way, we love him even more.

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