Benoît Poelvoorde
 Benoît Poelvoorde presenting his film "Les Deux mondes" in 2007 |
|
| Born | 22 September 1964 Namur, Belgium |
| Occupation | Actor |
Benoît Poelvoorde (born 22 September 1964, in Namur, Belgium) is a Belgian actor and comedian who often associates cynicism, humour and drama in his movies. His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still young. He studied at the Jesuit boarding school of Godinne) and then left home at 17 to take classes at the Félicien Rops Technical Institute in Namur (Belgium) where he met Rémy Belvaux. He developed a passion for theater and became noted for his atypical interpretations. Not only he was destined to become a draughtsman, he also developed a second activity as a photographer. During his graphic design studies at the Ecole de la recherche graphique in Brussels, he also became friend with André Bonzel and, together with Rémy Belvaux, realized in 1988 Pas de C4 pour Daniel Daniel, his first movie, a short student film (which he co-directed and co-wrote). It was a stylized trailer for a mock-spy film.
In 1992, Poelvoorde, Delvaux and Bonzel directed together their first long feature C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog internationally) originally a low-budget school graduation project (1992) and a kind of cynical "noir" movie, inspired from the famous Belgian series "Strip-Tease" which went on to become a critically acclaimed cult movie.
Poelvoorde subsequently starred in two series on the French pay-channel Canal+ and several movies such as Les Randonneurs, Le Boulet and Podium, which made him famous in France and Belgium. In 2001, he starred in Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert, a funny and touching movie about one of his passions, bicycling. In 2002, he received the Jean Gabin Prize, which recognized the most hopeful young talents. Poelvoorde became member of the Cannes Film Festival Jury in 2004, on Quentin Tarantino's request, a big fan of Man Bites Dog, who presided over the Jury, that year.
In 2005 he ranked in 7th place in the Walloon version of the Greatest Belgian. In the Flemish version he came in at nr. 400 outside the official list of nominations.
In 2008, his performance in the movie Astérix aux Jeux olympiques won him critical acclaim by both film critics and the public at large. His recurrent character as a pretentious person and a sore loser that he masters to perfection has drawn comparisons between him and the beloved French comic Louis de Funès. Poelvoorde does not confine himself to goofy characters, he also played tortured roles. He has starred in 2009 as Etienne Balsan in Coco avant Chanel by Anne Fontain, with Audrey Tautou; as Jean-René in 2010 with Isabelle Carré in a charming comedy by Jean-Pierre Améris Émotifs anonymes about two extremely shy persons who fall in love, and also as August Maquet in L'autre Dumas by Safy Nebbou, alongside Gérard Depardieu and Dominique Blanc, a movie about the creative ghostwriter, Maquet, whose played a crucial role in the production of French writer Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers. In 2011, he won the Audience Award at the Magritte Awards.
The actor mentioned in interviews, including in the Belgian newspaper Le Soir (February 6, 2010 "Oui, je suis bipolaire") that he suffered from bipolar disorder.
Contents |
[edit] Filmography
- 2011 : Mon Pire Cauchemar by Anne Fontaine
- 2010 : Romantics Anonymous by Jean-Pierre Améris
- 2010 : Nothing to Declare by Dany Boon
- 2010 : Mammuth
- 2010 : Dumas
- 2009 : La guerre des miss by Patrick Leconte
- 2009 : Coco avant Chanel by Anne Fontaine
- 2008 : Asterix at the Olympic Games by Thomas Langmann and Frédéric Forestier
- 2007 : Louise Michel by Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine
- 2007 : Les Deux mondes by Daniel Cohen
- 2007 : Cowboy by Benoît Mariage
- 2006 : Selon Charlie by Nicole Garcia
- 2006 : Jean-Philippe by Laurent Tuel
- 2006 : Du jour au lendemain by Philippe Le Guay
- 2005 : Entre ses mains by Anne Fontaine
- 2005 : Akoibon by Édouard Baer
- 2004 : Podium by Yann Moix
- 2004 : Narco by Tristan Aurouet and Gilles Lellouche
- 2004 : Cinéastes à tout prix by Frédéric Sojcher
- 2004 : Atomik Circus by Didier Poiraud and Thierry Poiraud
- 2004 : Aaltra by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern
- 2002 : Rire et châtiment by Isabelle Doval
- 2002 : Le Boulet by Alain Berbérian
- 2002 : La Vie politique des Belges by Jan Bucquoy
- 2001 : Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert by Philippe Harel
- 2000 : Les Portes de la gloire by Christian Merret-Palmair
- 1998 : Les Convoyeurs attendent by Benoît Mariage
- 1997 : Les Randonneurs by Philippe Harel
- 1992 : C'est arrivé près de chez vous (Man Bites Dog) by Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel
[edit] Voice acting
- 2009 : A Town Called Panic
