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Cotillard Talks 'Public Enemies'

....Even in a shoot-'em-up there's got to be a girl. In "Public Enemies," she's played by Marion Cotillard, an Academy Award winner in 2008 for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose." Cotillard takes on another actual person: Billie Frechette, who was Dillinger's girlfriend and drove a getaway car for him.

Growing up in Paris and Orléans, Cotillard had never heard of Dillinger.

"I only knew Bonnie and Clyde because of the movie," she said.

The "Public Enemies" trailer shows Frechette meeting Dillinger much like Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow.

"What is it exactly you do for a living?" Frechette asks.

"I rob banks," Dillinger replies.

"I think she was scared when he said that, but she was in love with him and, you know, almost at first sight," said Cotillard, who did extensive research on Frechette. "The guy was very charismatic."

She dismisses rumors that Dillinger beat up Frechette.

"I cannot picture him doing those kind of things," she said. "He was a real gentleman."

Listening to her praise Depp to the skies - "generous," "amazing," "a passionate actor" - it's possible she may be blurring her co-star with his role.

As an example of Depp's generosity, she talked about how supportive he was during scenes together when she was struggling to achieve a proper accent. Frechette was half French and half American Indian - so Cotillard could get away with a little bit of a French accent, but nothing as pronounced as the way she normally speaks.

"I needed many takes to have the accent right, and I was very stressed out about the whole thing because it was my first movie after 'La Vie en Rose,' " she said. "Johnny was very nice and reassuring."

Mann encouraged his cast to do research, sending Cotillard to the Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin, where Frechette had grown up, and Depp to places in the Midwest that Dillinger had passed through. The director gave Depp toiletries and shirts that Dillinger had abandoned in a close escape. In one hotel, the actor was able to touch the same doorknobs Dillinger had.