Most famous French actors – Part III

Alain Chabat is a  and director who appeared in “La Cité de la peur”, “Gazon maudit”, “The Taste of Others” and “The Science of Sleep”. His career took off in 1987 when he founded the comedy group “Les Nuls” with Bruno Carette, Chantal Lauby and Dominique Farrugia. Les Nuls’ first outing on French TV (on the paying channel Canal Plus) was a Sci-Fi spoof entitled Objectif Nul, which shares striking similarities with the British TV Series Red Dwarf, although both shows were released at roughly the same time and it is unlikely one influenced the other.
Either as a member of Les Nuls (in La Cité de la Peur) or in his own solo efforts as a director (Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, in which he also acted), Chabat is one of the scarce French comedians who has managed to successfully emulate the heavily referential, pop-culture-based writing style of the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker trio and adapt it to the tastes of the French audience.
Chabat also voiced the title character in the French dubs of all three Shrek films, replacing Mike Myers.
He won the César Award for Best Debut in 1998 for Didier.

• Bernard Giraudeau (born on 18th June, 1947 in La Rochelle)

is a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer.
Giraudeau was born in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a trainee engineer, qualifying as the first in his class a year later. He served on the helicopter carrier Jeanne d’Arc in 1964-1965 and 1965-1966, and subsequently on the frigate Duquesne and the aircraft carrier Clemenceau before leaving the navy to try his luck as an actor.

In 2000 he suffered a cancer which led to the removal of his left kidney, with a subsequent metastasis in 2005 affecting his lungs. He has said that the cancer led him to re-evaluate his life and understand himself better. He now devotes some of his time to the support of cancer victims through the Institut Curie and the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Paris.
Filmography :
* 1973 – Deux Hommes dans la ville, directed by José Giovanni – Frédéric Cazeneuve
* 1975 – Le Gitan, directed by José Giovanni – Mareuil
* 1976 – Bilitis, directed by David Hamilton – Lucas
* 1977 – Moi, fleur bleue – Isidore
* 1977 – Et la tendresse ? Bordel ! – Luc
* 1979 – Le Toubib, directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre – François
* 1980 – La Boum – Éric Thompson
* 1981 – Viens chez moi, j’habite chez une copine, directed by Patrice Leconte – Daniel
* 1981 – Croque la vie, directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella – Alain
* 1981 : Passione d’amore, directed by Ettore Scola – Capitaine Giorgio Bacchetti
* 1982 : Le Grand Pardon, directed by Alexandre Arcady
* 1983 : Le Ruffian, directed by José Giovanni – Gérard
* 1983 : Papy fait de la résistance, directed by Jean-Marie Poiré
* 1984 – Rue barbare – Chet
* 1984 – L’Année des méduses, directed by Christopher Frank – Romain Kalides
* 1985 – Les Spécialistes, directed by Patrice Leconte – Paul Brandon
* 1985 – Bras de fer, directed by Gérard Vergez – Delancourt
* 1986 – Les Longs Manteaux – Murat
* 1986 – Poussière d’ange – Inspector Simon Blount
* 1990 – La Reine blanche, directed by Jean-Loup Hubert – Yvon
* 1992 – Après l’amour, directed by Diane Kurys – David
* 1992 – Drôles d’oiseaux, directed by Peter Kassovitz – Constant Van Loo
* 1993 – Une nouvelle vie, directed by Olivier Assayas – Constantin
* 1994 – Elles ne pensent qu’à ça…, directed by Charlotte Dubreuil
* 1994 – Le Fils préféré, directed by Nicole Garcia – Francis
* 1996 – Ridicule, directed by Patrice Leconte – Abbé de Vilecourt
* 1997 – Marquise, directed by Véra Belmont – Molière
* 1997 – Marthe, directed by Jean-Loup Hubert – The Colonel
* 1998 – TGV, directed by Moussa Touré – Roger
* 1998 – Le Double de ma moitié, directed by Yves Amoureux – Thierry Montino
* 1999 – Gouttes d’eau sur pierres brûlantes, directed by François Ozon – Léopold
* 1999 – Une affaire de goût, directed by Bernard Rapp – Frédéric Delamont
* 2002 – La Petite Lili, directed by Claude Miller – Brice
* 2002 – Ce jour là – Emil
* 2003 – Je suis un assassin – Brice Kantor
* 2003 – Les Marins perdus – Diamantis
* 2004 – Chok-Dee – Jean
Filmography as Director:
1988 – La Face de l’ogre (film TV) 1991 – L’Autre (film, 1991), based on the novel of Andrée Chédid 1992 – Un été glacé (film TV) 1996 – Les Caprices d’un fleuve
Documentaries:
The travels of Bernard Giraudeau 1992 – La Transamazonienne 1999 – Un ami chilien 1999 – Chili Norte – Chili Sure 2003 – Esquisses philippines
Bibliography:
* 1992 : Transamazonienne, Editions Odyssée, photos Pierre-Jean Rey ISBN 2909478017
* 1996 : Les Caprices d’un fleuve, Editions Mille et Une Nuits, ISBN 9782842050559
* 2001 : Le Marin à l’ancre, Editions Métailié ISBN 284424389X
* 2002 : Les Contes d’Humahuaca, Editions Métailié / Seuil jeunesse ISBN 2020567369
* 2003 : Ailleurs, commentaire sur les peintures d’Olivier Suire Verley, Editions PC ISBN 2912683254
* 2004 : Les Hommes à terre, Editions Métailié ISBN 2864245825
* 2007 : Les Dames de nage, Editions Métailié ISBN 2864246147
* 2007 : “Le Retour du quartier-maître”, in Nos mers et nos océans, ouvrage collectif des Écrivains de Marine, Éditions des Équateurs, p. 75-106

• Gérard Lanvin (born on 21st June, 1950 in Boulogne-Billancourt)

Gérard Lanvin is a César Award-winning French actor. He stopped his studies when he was 17 to become an actor. He took on a role in “Vous n’aurez pas l’Alsace et la Lorraine” in 1977 on an offer from actor Coluche. He received the Prix Jean Gabin in 1982 for his role in “Une étrange affaire”. In 1995 he won a César Award for Best Actor with “Le Fils préféré”. Other appearances include “Une semaine de vacances” and “3 zéros”. During the 2000s, he returned to the big screen with popular comedies. In 2001, he received the César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role with “The Taste of Others” (Le Goût des autres).
Filmography:
* L’Aile ou la cuisse (1976)
* Vous n’aurez pas l’Alsace et la Lorraine (1977) by Coluche
* Extérieur nuit (1980)
* Une semaine de vacances (1980)
* Une étrange affaire (1981)
* Le Prix du Danger (1983)
* Marche à l’ombre (1984)
* Les Spécialistes (1985)
* Mes meilleurs copains (1988)
* La Belle Histoire (1992)
* Le Fils préféré (1994)
* Mon Homme (1996)
* En plein coeur (1998)
* The Taste of Others (Le Goût des autres) (1999)
* 3 zéros (2002)
* Camping (2005)
* Héros de la famille, Le (2006)
* Prix à payer, Le (2007)
* Mesrine: L’ennemi public n° 1 (2008)
* Secret défense (2008)
* Envoyés très spéciaux (2009)
* Kalach (2009)
* Des parents formidables (2009)
Marche à l’ombre :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DDU8waho1Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxahMx72m7M

• Jean Dujardin: (born on 19th June, 1972 in Rueil-Malmaison)

Jean Dujardin first reached public consciousness in the French talent show “Graines de star” in 1996 as part of the comedy group “Nous C Nous”, formed by members of the Carré blanc theater. From 1999 to 2003 he starred in the French version of the comedy television series “Un gars, une fille” before transitioning into a film career. In 2005, he starred as the titular character in the popular comedy film “Brice de Nice” and performed the soundtrack of the film, “Le Casse de Brice”. In 2006, Dujardin portrayed the character of Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies in a role that earned him a César Award nomination for Best Actor, something extremely rare for a performance in comedy.