Edouard Philipponnat is a French-Finnish actor. He was born in 1999 and raised with his older brother in Monaco and Finland. His father is a former French Foreign Legion Officer and a diplomat in the principality of Monaco, and his mother is a holistic healer.

Philipponnat’s passion for acting began at the age of 13, when he and his father went on a trip to Los Angeles. It was there he had his first acting class, and he hasn’t looked back since. He began auditioning for films that same year and was cast as a young squire in Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer’s Curse. Since then, Philipponnat has co-starred in several projects involving intense preparation, including learning Italian within a few weeks.h His latest project is the starring role in the thriller The Runner.

How did you grow up?

I was born in France and lived there for the first three months of my life. Later my family and I moved to Finland and lived there until I was 13. In Finland, we lived on a farm. My brother and I spent countless hours outside, running and playing in the woods with the cows. We would come up with hundreds of fictional characters that we would pretend to be, and use whatever was on the ground as our props.

As I grew older, I found myself traveling between my parents’ homes for the holidays. It was a fascinating time because I learned the most valuable lesson of my life, “Value and appreciate what you have.” My father lived in the south of France where the glamour is very well displayed. Growing up on a farm was an incredible juxtaposition. I’m glad I had the best parents in the world who kept both my feet on the ground.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

On my 13th birthday, my father told me he would take me on a trip. I could pick any place in the world, but  I would have to justify why I wanted to go there.

That night I was in bed watching Pirates Of Caribbean, and saw Johnny Depp. I thought to myself, “he looks like he’s having a good time, I want do do that.” So I called my father the next day and told him I wanted to go to Los Angeles. I took my first acting class and a few months later I was on my first film set. A memory I will never forget.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I’m about to start filming The Runner. It’s a true story. I star as Aiden, a high school student who is arrested for drug possession. As he battles his addiction and demons, he is forced to go undercover to expose a drug kingpin.

The tough aspect of this role is the weight loss. I started at 160 lbs and went down to 143 lbs. I had to change my daily routine. Not move too much. Eat smart. Train in the morning when I had the energy. The difficulty was not in eating little amounts of food, I have the discipline for that. The mental game was most difficult. You tell yourself not to eat, but at the same time you don’t want it to become a serious mental or health issue. Right now I’m 130 lbs and my lifestyle has changed. I don’t think about it. I’m eating 500 calories per day until we are finished filming.

What is your goal as an actor? Television? Theater? Movie?

I never try to close doors to anything. Currently, I am focused on film and television, and for no other reason than my passion and interest of it. This also has to do with my passion for Directing and Writing. I am in love with the entire aspect of creating not simply projects, but worlds in which audience members can emerge themselves.

I am interested in eventually doing theater. It is definitely something I will do at some point of my career.

Why is it important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

For me, allowing different perspectives is a huge component of diversity. Being able to see yourself and your culture represented and allowing yourself to see through the lens of others is a step towards equality.

Perspective is everything. It allows you to see someone or something either openly, or not. I speak several languages, and I’ve always been told that my ability to speak so many is the single greatest gift to have. I absolutely agree. As an actor, to be able to communicate and understand other cultures and traditions is my job and to understand their perspective of the world.

Aside from the entertainment industry, is there something you have a burning passion to do?

I want to work as an entrepreneur, aiming to find innovative business ideas, helping to transform the world to a more environmentally friendly and caring one. I am a big activist for veganism and climate change, and believe in finding new ways on how to educate and motivate change through everyday habits.

What have you learned from your Parents?

Both of my parents have always been incredibly supporting an loving. They have taught me to believe in myself and to pursue anything I want in life.

My mother has taught me to love myself. I was taught to not be dependent on others for the love I wish to receive. For someone else to love you, you must be able to love yourself. It may seem like a small thing, but it is a big part of me, and will remain so.

How has being able to speak 5 languages, (Finnish, Swedish, English and French) benefit you in roles?

Languages, for me, is a door to people, their societies and cultures. It has allowed me to not only communicate, but understand who I am depicting.

In 2016, I was cast in a TV show that was shooting in Italy. There was a miscommunication, and the producers thought I spoke Italian. They told me I had 3 weeks to learn it if I wanted to do the role. I remember spending 4-5h per day, whiles studying in a boarding school, to learn enough Italian to do the role. It was a challenge for sure, but I enjoyed it.

As an actor, the more you can bring forward, in terms of tools and skill sets, the better you will be to adapt to any situation or hurdle coming your way.

Where do you see yourself professionally, as your career develops?

I learned very early on in my life that dreams are the entire timeline of goals. If you want to achieve something, map it out, strategize, and make it a goal.

For the coming first years of my career I am focusing on acting. It is what I love and want to do. In the long run, I want to expand into my interests into directing, producing and writing as well.

I have hundreds of ideas, concepts and stories I want to tell, through different platforms and styles. I live to entertain, and so I will.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

They can always see what I am up to on Instagram: edouard_philipponnat