Jamel Debbouze

Jamel Debbouze
Born	Jamel Debbouze
Years active	1992-Present
Website	http://www.jameldebbouze.fr/

Jamel Debbouze (Arabic: جمال دبّوز) (born June 18, 1975 in Paris) is a French actor, comedian and producer of Moroccan descent.

Biography

Debbouze is the oldest of five brothers. He was born in 1975 in Paris, but his family moved to Morocco the following year. They returned in 1979 and settled in Trappes, where Jamel spent the rest of his childhood. On 17 January 1990, while crossing the tracks at the SNCF station in Trappes, he was struck by a train travelling from Paris to Nantes at 150 kmh. As a result of this accident, Jamel lost the use of his right arm. In the same incident, his friend Jean-Paul Admette was killed. After this accident Debbouze met Alain Degois, his mentor, and began his career as a comedian/actor.

On 29 March 2008, Debbouze became engaged to French news reporter Mélissa Theuriau; the two married on 7 May 2008. The couple had a son, Léon, on December 3, 2008.

Career

First Works

In 1990 Jamel met Alain Degois, an educator who organized theater improvisation workshops, and joined his troupe. With this troupe, he took part in the French Championship of Improvisation in 1991 and toured Quebec and Morocco. In 1992 he got his first part in a film called Les Pierres Bleues du Désert. After this film, Jamel wanted to work as an actor and create his own show. This happened in 1995 with the show C'est Tout Neuf which had been enjoyed a lot. Then he had an approximative role on the radio program Radio Nova and took part in the television program Nova Premiere where he was noticed by Canal+ . It was the beginning of a successful career.

Jamel's Various Shows

In 1998 a new humorous series appeared on Canal+, called H. It was a sitcom in an hospital featuring a medical team. Jamel played Jamel Dridi, an operator in the hospital. Eric and Ramzy, two well known French comedians, were also in this series. The series ended in 2002 and Jamel had achieved national recognition.

In March 1999, Jamel started his new show Jamel en Scène. In this show, Jamel talked about his beginnings, his childhood and show business. The show played at La Cigale and then at the Bataclan in Paris. He went on tour throughout France in 2000. At the end of the year, he returned to Paris with his show at the Olympia for three weeks.

In 2002 Jamel returned with a new show, 100% Debbouze. For three years this show played in the top Parisian theaters: the Casino de Paris, the Bataclan, the Zenith, and the Olympia. He then toured France and also Morocco, Tunisia, Switzerland and Belgium. When the DVD of this show went on sale in 2004, more than 1 million copies were sold.

In 2006 Jamel became the presenter of a new program, Jamel Comedy Club. The principle is very simple: every week for half an hour Jamel presented the new generation of French humorists. The program looked like an American stand up show. With this troup, Jamel came to the Casino de Paris in 2007 for a new show, le Jamel Comedy Club Envahit le Casino de Paris. This show was very successful, its run was extended and it also played in Canada.

Cinematic works

In 1992, the seventeen-year-old Debbouze appeared in his first film, Les Pierres Bleues du Désert. The film tells the story of a young boy who is persecuted because he believes in the existence of blue stones in the desert. It was the first of numerous film roles for Debbouze. In 1996 he played a small part in Les Deux papas et la maman, a film by Jean-Marc Doval with Smaïn and Arielle Dombasle. Three years later he received his first big role in a feature film called Le Ciel les oiseaux et ta ... mère! (Boys on the Beach). This comedy was successful, with more than one million tickets sold. Over the next two years he continued his stage shows, before returning to film with the highly-successful Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain. He was nominated for his part in this film for the César Award of the Best Supporting Actor in 2002. In 2002 Debbouze appeared in another big French film, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra directed by Alain Chabat. This successful film was seen by 14,000,000 spectators. In 2005 he had the leading role in Luc Besson's new film Angel-A.

In 2006 Debbouze played one of the most important parts of his career in the film Indigènes (Days of Glory in the United States). The film told the story of four African soldiers who participate in the liberation of France during World War II. Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila and Roschdy Zem shared the prize for the best male performance at the Cannes Film Festival.

Television work

In 1996 he took part for the first time in a TV show called Nova première on Paris Première. He was noticed on this show by some producers from Canal+ who hired him to present a show called Le cinéma de Jamel. For New Year's Eve in 2000, Jamel created a TV show for this occasion called the Jamel show. Numerous French comedians such as Bruno Solo, Alain Chabat, Elie and Dieudonné appeared in this show. In April 2003 he took part in 6 commercials for Orangina.

Filmography

• Why I Did (Not) Eat My Father - (2009)
• Parlez-moi de la pluie - (2008)
• Asterix at the Olympic Games - (2008) - Numerobis
• Indigènes - (2006, also a coproducer)
• Angel-A - (2005)
• She Hate Me - Doak (2004)
• Les Clefs de bagnole - Voice of the modelling-clay dog (2003)
• Le Boulet - The Malian guard (2002)
• Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cléopatre - Numerobis (2002)
• Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain - Lucien (2001, English title: Amélie)
• Granturismo - François (2000)
• Elie annonce Semoun - Various characters (2000)
• Les Petits souliers - Zinedine Haouita (1999)
• Rêve de cauchemar - Saïd (1999)
• Le Ciel, les oiseaux et... ta mère! - Youssef (1999, English title: Boys On the Beach)
• Un pavé dans la mire - The prison guard (1998)
• H - Jamel Dridi (1998-2004, TV Series)
• Zonzon - Kader (1998)
• Y a du foutage de gueule dans l'air - (1996)
• Les Deux papas et la maman - (1996, English title: Two Dads and One Mom)
• Les Pierres bleues du desert - (1992)

External links

• Official site
• Article on islamonline.net
• Jamel Debbouze at IMDb
• La Beurgeoisie (in French)