Roles and rock

Emmanuelle Seigner stars in Julian Schnabel’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” She is a model, an actress and also a singer in the band Ultra Orange and Emmanuelle. She has two children with her husband, the director Roman Polanski.

Describe your music to me a little bit!

Well, it’s very much, very kind of Velvet Underground, it’s rock ‘n’ roll. There are 14 songs on the album and we do -- we did a rock ‘n’ roll version of “Rosemary’s Lullaby,” you know, from the movie. I really like it.

As a model, and now a rock star as well as an actress, have you gotten accustomed to the difficulties of being looked at?

Yes, yes, of course. Life has been giving me -- when I made that album it was very successful. I know it was dangerous. I could have been destroyed by the press. But they enjoyed the album. I take it as a joy and a luck that life gave me, more than anything else.

Do you feel like you when you’re in the band?

Oh, I feel much more like me. The role I would be playing would be chosen by me, you see? I feel like I’m my own director. But I really like acting too. I like both. This year I’ve been really lucky with “Butterfly” and “La Vie en Rose.” I must say it’s a good moment of my life.

And your children -- how old are they now?

My daughter is going to be 15 in January and my son is 9.

So they’re still pretty young!

It’s OK. Roman is looking after the children.

He’s the stay-at-home dad while you’re rocking out?

Exactly.

After the screening of the movie, someone said to me that Julian Schnabel is more French than American now.

I think he’s great! He does the movie a bit like he was painting. He’s inspired, and he lets you be very free. And he knows exactly what he wants. To me it was a great, great experience to work with him. I really loved it. I felt free and I could try things, and I think he’s a great director. I’m so proud to be in such a movie.

And after your tour, then what?

I don’t know! For the moment, I’ve been very picky on my movies and refusing a lot of offers in France. I’m waiting for something really great. I have so many concerts to do, I’d rather do that than a movie that’s not great. I’m waiting for the big thing.

You’ve worked a lot with your husband; will you do so again?

I’d love to work with him . . . but when I work with him the press judges me as a wife, not as an actress. It would have to be something so great that no one can say that. We haven’t been lucky enough to find that type of subject. But I hope one day we’ll do something great together.

Is your daughter old enough to think of what she wants to do? Will she be an actress?

I think she wants to, unfortunately. But she’ll do whatever she feels like.

You were in Jean-Luc Godard’s “Detective” in 1985.

That was so long ago. That was not such a great movie. My first really-movie was “Frantic.”

So you don’t see Monsieur Godard around?

No, I had a small role and it wasn’t very interesting. I’m proud I started with Jean-Luc Godard! It looks good on your resume. It’s very chic.

Is this the beginning of your American invasion!

I would love to work here.

Do you have an American agent?

I have a manager and a publicist, but I don’t have an agent yet.

Surely this movie will get you one?

I hope! I can feel the response is very good. People like me in the film. And in “La Vie en Rose” too. So . . . we’ll see, you know! We’ll see what happens.

Well, it’s a funny time in movies here.

I wouldn’t know. But you do have a lot of great movies. And now of course with the strike, it’s a bit more complicated.

It’s exciting in America for a strike to happen -- it is, of course, something Parisians are familiar with.

Oh, yes. So they’re going to have to use French actors.