GERARD DEPARDIEU
"The New York Times" Vincent Canby called him "the greatest, most enthusiastic film actor in France," and he has also been described as "a one-man new wave" and "more a phenomenon than a performer." Throughout the over eighty films he has made since 1965, Depardieu has demonstrated a remarkable range of characters, from the working class louts of "Going Places" and "Loulou" to historical figures like the hero of Wajda's "Danton" and sculptor Auguste Rodin in "Camille Claudel."
Depardieu's signature quality is his ability to blend a roughhewn physicality with a disarming vulnerability and gentleness. Among his other noteworthy roles are: a naive farmer in "Jean de Florette," a man who tries to cure his wife's melancholy by finding her a lover in Bertrand Blier's "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs"; a mysterious 16th century peasant in "The Return of Martin Guerre"; a timid factory worker in Alain Resnais' " Mon Oncle d'Amerique"; an actor involved in the anti-Nazi resistance in Francois Truffaut's "The Last Metro"; Robert De Niro's peasant friend in Bernardo Bertolucci's "1900"; and a tormented priest in Maurice Pialat's "Under Satan's Sun."
Born in the country town of Chateauroux in central France, Depardieu was the third of six children of a poor family. He dropped out of school at twelve, and soon began traveling. He worked as a crewman on a boat, as a beachboy on the Riviera, had several brushes with the law, and eventually landed briefly in jail. In his early teens, Depardieu mysteriously lost his ability to speak for almost two years. A speech therapist suggested drama classes, and later Depardieu gravitated to acting classes at the Theatre Nationale Populaire. There he met Elisabeth Guignot, a classmate. They later married and have a son, Guillaume, and a daughter, Julie.
From his first appearance in Roger Leenhardt's "Le Beatnik et le Minet" in 1965, Depardieu's role in films, theatre and TV grew steadily in prominence. A particular breakthrough was Bertrand Blier's "Going Places," for which he won the Gerard Philipe prize in 1973. Since then, he has worked with some of the leading filmmakers, often repeatedly. Depardieu has made six films with Bertrand Blier ("Going Places," "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs," "Buffet Froid," Menage," "Too Beautiful for You" and "Merci la Vie"); four with Marguerite Duras ("Nathalie Granger," "Woman of the Ganges," "Baxter, Vera Baxter" and "The Truck"); three with Alain Resnais ("Stavisky," "Mon Oncle d'Amerique" and "I Want to Go Home"); five with Claude Berri ("Jean de Florette," "Manon of the Spring," "I Love You," "Uranus" and "Germinal"); and two with Francois Truffaut ("The Last Metro" and "The Woman Next Door"). He has also starred opposite Pierre Richard in a trio of hit comedies directed by Francis Veber, "La Chevre," "Les Comperes" and "Les Fugitifs."
In 1984, Depardieu was named Best Actor by the National Society of Film Critics for his work in "Danton" and "The Return of Martin Guerre." He has recieved the Cesar (France's Oscar) for "The Last Metro" and Cyrano de Bergerac, a 'super Cesar' for 'Best Actor of the '80s' as well as more than 10 other Cesar nominations for Best Actor, including for "Les Comperes" and "Camille Claudel." Depardieu also garnered Best Actor prizes at the Montreal Film Festival for "Danton" and at the Venice Film Festival for "Police." He also served as Jury President at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
Among his other film credits are Claude Sautet's "Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others," Claude Goretta's "The Wonderful Crook," Barbet Schroeder's "Maitresse," Marco Ferreri's "The Last Woman" and "Bye Bye Monkey," Luigi Comencini's "Traffic Jam," Alain Corneau's "A Choice of Arms," Jean-Jacques Beineix's "The Moon in the Gutter" and Daniel Vigne's "One Woman or Two," which co-starred Sigourney Weaver. In 1984, Depardieu also directed himself in stage and screen versions of Moliere's "Tartuffe."
Since making his American film debut with the hit comedy "Green Card," Depardieu has starred as Columbus in Ridley Scott's "1492: Conquest of Paradise" and in Steve Miner's "My Father, the Hero" (a remake of his 1991 French film "Mon Pere Ce Heros"). His other recent films include Alain Corneau's "Tous les Matins du Monde" (which features the film acting debut of his son, Guillaume), Claude Berri's "Germinal," Jean-Luc Godard's "Helas Pour Moi," Francois Dupeyron's "La Machine," Jean Becker's "Elisa," Jean-Marie Poire's "Les Anges Gardiens," and Yves Angelo's "Colonel Chabert."
The busy actor also has his own wine label, Chateau de Tigne, has set up a company to distribute foreign films in France (personally dubbing Kenneth Branagh for the Gallic release of "Henry V"), and has produced many of his recent French films, as well as Satyajit Ray's 1991 "Branches of the Tree."
2/15/07
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