Are you really such a scatterbrain or are you just playing around?
I never exaggerate, I really am a sort of blunderer. Nobody believes me at first, but they soon get to see how I really am. They definitely should all take out a life insurance policy
(joke). My designers even refuse to film with me on a Friday the 13th. One of my latest blunders happened when I was playing Mölkky and I managed to crack open the head of one of the cameramen!
You are a very well-known and extremely popular face on TV, but you also have other strings to your bow; host, author, actor… Is there some other challenge you might be interested in?
This summer I took a 40-day alcohol-free challenge along with a number of colleagues and friends. I even managed to go on for 60 days after friends challenged me to go even further. I often get the idea of a challenge when I’m sleeping or simply bored! This time it was for me, not because I have a health issue but rather to prepare for the coming year, like an athlete. The year promises to be very busy and complicated and I need to be in a position to see it through.
Actually, I did thank about signing up for a triathlon next year to maintain my stamina and well-being. As you probably know I am a top-level sportsman – joke – so after the New York marathon in 2019, why not a triathlon…
Do you not find it hard to reconcile your life on stage, your real-estate business and your media obligations?
It all comes down to being well organised and having the right people to work with and delegate to. I do delegate but always check everything. I don’t get that much sleep but I have learnt to cope with the rhythm and it doesn’t worry me.
What do you like most about your programmes on M6 television? What is it that motivates you from one season to the next?
What I appreciate and what motivates me each new season is that I make the people I get to meet happy. I light up their lives by helping them out. I am a sensitive person, even if I don’tshow it, and I don’t like seeing people in despair or who are sad. So if I can help them and put a smile on their faces, I do whatever I can. The format of the programmes proposes a combination of everyday life and advice concerning decoration and property. Today, thanks to the programmes, property has become something big and everyone wants to be a real estate agent or interior designer. It’s both flattering and something I am proud of.
You appeared in Laurent Ruquier’s comedy «Un Couple Magique» alongside Jeanfi Janssens and Valérie Mairesse. How does one get to appear on stage? Was it difficult?
I’m still doing it actually and will soon be on tour for 75 dates then back to Paris for another 60 starting in March 2023. When I started out in the real estate business I secretly took drama lessons each Thursday evening. I always loved the theatre. You won’t know this but Marthe
Mercadier introduced me to the theatre. She always took me with her to see plays. Then I met Catherine LOMBARD, my theatre mum as I call her. She helps me and coaches me for each new play. She’s like my lucky charm, even if she can be pretty tough at times (joke). She does have a bit of an old-school approach. I work twice as hard to do my very best and not to disappoint, even if my private life sometimes takes a hit.
So just who is Stéphane Plaza? How would you describe yourself in three words?
UFO – Challenger – Happy
Do you think real estate could become your one and only focus in life? Would you be prepared to drop everything else to concentrate exclusively on it?
I am a UFO. From one day to the next I was in the real estate business and I will leave it in the same way, when people least expect it.
What would you like to wish LiFE magazine readers as the year draws to an end?
To readers of LIFE magazine, I wish them the best of health above all else, and a wonderful festive season and lots of love.
And remember to follow my Instagram account: stephaneplaza.off
