Napoleon Bonaparte interrogates Captain Hippolyte Charles under the guise of seeking marital and sexual advice regarding his inability to conceive an heir. The scene is a high-stakes power play where Napoleon uses intimate, uncomfortable questioning to unsettle a man he suspects of having an affair with his wife, Josephine.
NAPOLEON: Captain Charles, come in.
HIPPOLYTE: [Salutes] Yes, your Majesty.
NAPOLEON: Captain Charles, in which division do you serve?
HIPPOLYTE: The Nineteenth, Majesty.
NAPOLEON: Leclerc’s division. In Haiti. Yellow fever is a dishonorable and painful way to die.
Format: Duologue · Genre: Historical Drama · Source: Napoleon · Author: David Scarpa · Characters: Napoleon, Hippolyte
This compelling duologue from Napoleon features a high-stakes interrogation disguised as a personal confession between Emperor Napoleon and Captain Hippolyte Charles. The scene immediately establishes an unsettling atmosphere, with the implied threat of a firing squad outside setting a tense precedent for the conversation. Napoleon's intense and deeply personal questioning of Hippolyte rapidly escalates, creating a palpable sense of discomfort and danger.
Napoleon is presented as a master manipulator, using his position and psychological tactics to destabilize Hippolyte. His tone shifts between intimate and absurd, demonstrating a desperate need to control the narrative and uncover the truth about his wife's fidelity. Hippolyte, on the other hand, is trapped in an impossible situation: he must navigate Napoleon's erratic demands while trying to maintain his composure and conceal his involvement with Josephine.
This scene is an excellent choice for auditions as it provides both actors with rich, complex material to explore. The dynamic between Napoleon and Hippolyte offers a powerful display of a power struggle, featuring significant shifts in tone from humorous and absurd to deeply anxious and desperate. It allows actors to showcase their ability to handle subtle subtext, high tension, and a wide emotional range within an intimate dialogue.
This duologue is ideally suited for male-identifying actors in their 30s to 40s who can convincingly portray characters with gravitas and hidden vulnerabilities. It’s perfect for those comfortable with historical drama and showcasing an "Authority Figure" or "Leading Man" archetype while also leaning into intense and sophisticated character work. This scene would excel in a drama school audition, a self-tape submission, or as a challenging general practice piece.
For Napoleon, focus on the underlying desperation and the calculated nature of his seemingly absurd questions. His objective is to unsettle Hippolyte, so carefully calibrated pauses and shifts in eye contact will be crucial. For Hippolyte, the key is to convey suppressed fear and anxiety while maintaining military decorum. Show the internal struggle between loyalty, self-preservation, and the uncomfortable truth, making every slight hesitation and careful answer reveal the depth of his predicament.