She was the original Girl on the Train.
Movie-goers in the ’90s couldn’t help but fall in love with Julie Delpy the moment they locked eyes on her in 1995’s sunrise,
The French-American actress played Celeste, a student travelling home on a train when, by chance, she meets a charismatic American named Jesse, played by Ethan Hawke,
The pair decide on a whim to disembark together and spend 24 hours in Vienna, and an iconic movie trilogy is born.
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Hawke was already a Gen X screen icon when the Richard Linklater-directed movie was released, and Delpy quickly reached the same status.
sunrise became an instant cult hit, and its sequels sunset (2004) and before midnight (2013) only helped to cement Celeste and Jesse into the hearts of the millions of fans who’ve matured alongside them.
So, to mark the 20th anniversary of sunset‘s release, let’s take a look at Delpy’s career in the leadup to the Before series, and since.
A star goes global
Delpy had already carved out a name for herself in the film world before the Sunrise trilogy.
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She was discovered by iconic French director Jean-Luc Godard at age 14, landing a role in his 1985 movie Detective,
More roles followed, but it was in the 1990s Europe Europe that put her on the map globally.
This was also the year Delpy moved to the US. She became a naturalised US citizen in 2001 but also retains French citizenship.
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Other notable roles that came after sunrise includes An American Werewolf in Paris, ER and Avengers: Age of Ultron,
Her most recent movie credit is 2023’s The Lesson.
Off-screen
Delpy has also branched out into work behind the scenes in directing and writing, with several films to her name, including The Countess,
she also co-wrote sunset and then sunset with Hawke and director Linklater, earning Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for both movies.
As if her acting and filmmaking talents weren’t enough, Delpy is also a musician, releasing a self-titled album in 2003 and writing songs for the soundtrack of two movies.
the end of the Before
There were talks about a fourth Before movie, but it didn’t get off the ground.
“I know people think I’m the one who ended it, but I was disappointed we didn’t do another one,” Delpy said in 2023.
“I remember getting an email from Richard one day with an idea for a fourth film that would have been about my character, Celine, dying of cancer.
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“I just thought it was so wrong that it didn’t even occur to me to acknowledge it, if I’m honest. I thought it would have been the wrong message to send, especially in that series.
“To me, it seemed like too Hollywood of an idea, like, ‘OK, the woman is 50, now she has to die!’ … Is that all we have to offer actresses who are 50 and over? They’re either dying or already dead?”
‘My idea of success is not just fame’
Delpy has said in interviews that she has no interest in “playing the game” and pursuing celebrity status in Hollywood.
“For me, it’s a no-brainer. I’m not planning on worrying about ageing or celebrity stuff,” she told W magazine in 2021,
“I was raised by super-duper hippies that placed no value in fame. Being famous is not their idea of success.
“My idea of success is to be good at my job, to do what I love, to be a good wife, friend, mother, cook, gardener. It’s not just fame. It’s more important for me to work.”
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