DEPARDIEU, GÉRARD

Depardieu, Gérard: translation

(1948- )

Actor and director. Gérard Depardieu is France's — and perhaps Europe's—most internationally recognized actor of the 1970s and beyond. Depardieu dropped out of school at an early age and started in the theater in the 1960s, then moved to a film acting career with Roger Leenhardt's shortLe beatnik et le minet(1965). In 1971, he acted inMichel Audiard'sLe Cri du cormoran le soir au-dessus des jonquesandJacques Deray'sUn peu de soleil dans l'eau froide. He worked inMarguerite Duras'sNathalie Granger(1973) andLe Camion(1977) and rose to stardom withBertrand Blier'sLes Valseuses(1973). He acted again for Blier inPréparez vos mouchoirs(1978),Buffet Froid(1979),Tenue de soirée(1986),Trop belle pour toi(1989),Merci la vie(1991), andLes Acteurs(2000).

Depardieu has starred in international blockbusters such asClaude Berri'sJean de Florette(1986) and is likewise recognized for his work withauteurdirectors such asAlain ResnaisinL 'an 01(1973),Mon Oncle d'Amérique(1980), andI Want to Go Home(1989) andFrançois TruffautinLa femme d'à côté(1981) andLe Dernier Métro(1980), for which he was awarded aCésarfor Best Actor. His performance inMaurice Pialat'sPolice(1985) won him a Best Actor Award at Venice. Pialat also chose him for leading roles inLoulou(1980),Sous le soleil de Satan(1987), andLe garçu(1995).

Depardieu is adept in multiple genres. Several of his successful comic roles were in films by Francis Veber:La Chèvre(1981),Les Compères(1983),Les Fugitifs(1986), andLe Placard(2000).He also played Obélix inClaude Zidi'sAstérix et Obélix contre César(1999), animating one of the most beloved of France's comic-book heroes.

Depardieu has done a number of what could be consideredheritage films, including Daniel Vigne'sLe retour de Martin Guerre(1982), Alain Corneau'sFort Saganne(1984) andTous les matins du monde(1991), Depardieu's ownLe Tartuffe(1984), Bruno Nyutten'sCamille Claudel(1988), Berri'sUranus(1990) andGerminal(1993), Yves Angelo'sLe Colonel Chabert(1994), and Josée Dayan's television seriesBalzac(1999). One of his most acclaimed heritage roles was inJean-Paul Rappeneau'sCyrano de Bergerac(1990), for which he won Best Actor at both the César Awards andCannes. Another acclaimed heritage performance was in Andrzej Wajda'sDanton(1982), for which he won the National Society of Film Critics Award and the Best Actor Award at the Montreal World Film Festival.

Depardieu appeared in other notable French films, includingAndré Téchiné'sBarocco(1976) andLes temps qui changent(2004),Claude Miller'sDites-lui que je l'aime(1977), Jean-Marie Poiré'sLes anges gardiens(1995), Jean Becker'sÉlisa(1995), and Anne Fontaine'sNathalie(2004). He has also acted in several Anglophone features, including Peter Weir'sGreen Card(1990), for which he received an Oscar nomination, Ridley Scott's1492:Conquest of Paradise(1992), Randall Wallace'sThe Man in the Iron Mask(1998), Roland Joffé'sVatel(2000), Matt Dillon'sCity of Ghosts(2002), Wayne Wang'sLast Holiday(2006), and Sam Weisman'sKnights of Manhattan(2006).

Other international films in which Depardieu has appeared include Bernardo Bertolucci's1900(1976), Luigi Comencini'sL'Ingorgo:una storia impossibile(1979), Guiseppi Tornatore'sA Pure Formality(1994), and Brad Mirman'sWanted(2003). Depardieu directedUn pont entre deux rives(1999) with Frédéric Auburtin. An actor who has excelled at embodying an impressive range of characters — literary heroes, historical legends, canonical writers, macho criminals, romantic sensitive leads, and closet homosexuals, among many others—Depardieu was awarded a Career Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1997.