Marie-Claude Dussault fulfilled a long-time dream by participating in the game show Jeopardy last winter. After two months of waiting, the Quebecer will be able to break the silence surrounding her passage to the legendary American quiz since it will be broadcast Thursday on NBC.
To mark the occasion, Marie-Claude Dussault decided to gather family and friends and organize a viewing in a pub in the Mile End district of Montreal. In an interview, the 39-year-old woman admits that she intends to take advantage of the event to see her loved ones, but also to refresh her own memory in relation to the course of the show. “I’ll be honest: I half remember the categories and the questions!” I remember a few answers I gave, but it goes by so quickly. I was so in a daze… I feel like finally I’m going to be able to live the game that I played! »
“It was so surreal,” she adds. I was behind the podium, I saw the decor from another angle. »
She tried her luck for the first time in 2020. Like 400,000 people each year, she took the qualification test on the internet, which includes 50 general knowledge questions. Once this first round was over, the producers invited her to retake a similar test on Zoom. Then came the remote interview, then the virtual audition, during which, along with eight other candidates, she played a “real” part. Because she delivered a compelling performance, her name ended up in a bank of potential contestants for 18 months, but she was never contacted.
She tried again in 2022, went through all the preliminary steps again, and this time, after six months of radio silence, her phone rang.
“The first time they called me and I saw the California state area code 310, with Culver City on the caller ID, I understood right away,” she says. . I was extremely feverish. My boyfriend took out his phone to film the conversation… And I have no desire to see this video! »
“I always wanted to go to Jeopardy thinking it was never really going to happen,” she continues. It’s a bit of a dream come true. »
Obviously, Marie-Claude Dussault cannot say anything about the outcome of the match she played on February 27, at Sony Pictures studios, in the United States. She can, however, disclose her stress level at the time of taping the show: high.
Apart from an error by the host Mayim Bialik, who called her “Marie” at the start of the program before correcting the situation after a commercial break (“It didn’t destabilize me”, specifies the main concerned), Marie- Claude Dussault claims to have had a “formidable” adventure, in part thanks to the competitors she rubbed shoulders with.
“It was really fun. You spend a day with 10 other nerds, who are your new friends, but who are also your competitors. »
Unlike the players who accompanied her, Marie-Claude Dussault has not been a faithful viewer of Jeopardy since “her very young age”. She rather discovered its existence during her twenties, when Alex Trebek hosted it. Since then, she has never missed a game.
“In Quebec, all quizzes have a gimmick,” she says. Jeopardy is just 60 general knowledge questions. There are no twists, no stars. Knowledge comes first. I like the formula. »
Marie-Claude Dussault had only participated in one TV game before Jeopardy: Alexandre Barrette’s deceased Pay Taxi, broadcast on V from 2009 to 2018. She would like to live the experience of Next with Stéphane Bellavance on HERE TV, but she never applied. Twice a month, she takes part in quiz nights at Colonel Moutarde, a cocktail bar in Plateau-Mont-Royal. This is also where we sketched his portrait on Tuesday.
“I’ve always been an all-around person and I have a good memory. It’s always been helpful to me. »
