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Pierre Niney

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Pierre Niney
Niney in 2016
Born (1989-03-13) 13 March 1989 (age 36)[1]
Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France[1]
OccupationActor
Years active2007–present
PartnerNatasha Andrews (2008–present)
Children2

Pierre Niney (French: [pjɛʁ ninɛ]; born 13 March 1989) is a French actor.[1] He made his acting debut in the two-part miniseries La dame d'Izieu in 2007, followed by films such as LOL (Laughing Out Loud) (2008), The Army of Crime (2009), Romantics Anonymous (2010), and Just Like Brothers (2012). In 2014, Niney starred as fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in a biopic, for which he won a César Award for Best Actor. He also co-created, co-wrote and starred in Netflix's Fiasco (2024), and was Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo (2024).

Early life

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Niney was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France.[1] His family is of Sephardic Jewish (Turkish-Jewish) and Catholic background.[2] His father, François Niney [fr],[3] is a film professor at Normale Sup, La Fémis and Sciences Po.[4] His mother was born in Belgium[5] and is an author of creative leisure manuals.[4]

He grew up in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, and began acting when he was eleven. He studied at the lycée Claude-Monet[4] and after completing his baccalauréat littéraire, took a course with the Compagnie Pandora during which he worked on stage direction with Brigitte Jaques-Wajeman and François Regnault. After one year he auditioned for the Cours Florent where he remained for two years; in 2009 he entered the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in Paris.

Career

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As the youngest male member of the Comédie-Française aged 21, he gained his first experiences in the theatre[4] under directors such as Julie Brochen at the Cartoucherie de Vincennes, Vladimir Pankov at the Théâtre Meyerhold in Moscow, and Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota. After small roles in television films and shorts, his first cinema roles were as the son of Michel Blanc's character in Nos 18 ans, a lycée student in LOL Henri Keltekian in Robert Guédiguian's L'armée du crime selected for Cannes in 2009, and alongside Benoît Poelvoorde and Isabelle Carré in Les Émotifs anonymes. His first leading role was in the 2011 film J'aime regarder les filles, which resulted in his nominationa for a César de la meilleure révélation masculine in 2012;[6] he was nominated for the same award for Comme des frères the following year.

In 2014, Niney starred as fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the biopic of the same name directed by Jalil Lespert, for which he won a César Award for Best Actor.[7][8] Niney commented that he faced three challenges: that he had "to play a manic depressive", that he aged in the film "from around 18 to 46 years old" and lastly "not to lose the link between all the faces of the character. He is changing so much from the little boy at the beginning of the movie, then the hippies in the 70s with the long beard and the long hair and then older again".[9] This role marked his first portrayal of an openly gay character and earned him widespread critical acclaim.[10][11] He was also nominated for best actor as Frantz (2016), as Mathieu Vasseur in Boîte noire (2022) and in the title role of Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (2025).

In preparation for films, for Frantz he learnt German and playing the violin,[12] and for Sauver ou périr undertook daily training for fire-fighters for four months, gaining nine kilos in muscles for his leading role as Franck, a fireman.[13]

In 2024, Niney portrayed Edmond Dantès in the film The Count of Monte Cristo, a major hit at the box-office[14] The Sight and Sound reviewer commented that in "the casting of Pierre Niney ...as its vengeful, oft-disguised hero Edmond Dantès", Niney, "Not an actor previously inclined toward macho derring-do, [] has a haunted, slightly fey chill that works rather well for a character whose elaborate project of retribution ...can tip over into perversely obsessive territory. As played by Niney, ...this Dantès is sympathetic but never fully readable".[15] He also starred in Fiasco, a 7-episode comedy miniseries that he co-created and co-wrote with Igor Gotesman for Netflix.[16][17] Late that year it was announced that Niney will be collaborating with the team from The Count of Monte Cristo for an ambitious new adaptation of Maurice Druon's The Accursed Kings novels. The series takes place during the 14th century succession crisis among the Capetian dynasty but Niney's role was not disclosed upon announcement.[18]

Personal life

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Since 2008, Niney has been in a relationship with Australian actress and photographer Natasha Andrews,[19] with whom he has two daughters: Lola, born in 2017 and Billie, born in 2019.[3]

Filmography

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Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 La Consolation François Short film
2008 Nos 18 ans Loïc
LOL (Laughing Out Loud) Julien
2009 The Army of Crime Henri Keltekian
Réfractaire Armand
2010 Romantics Anonymous Ludo
La fonte des glaces Gabriel Short film
2011 The Snows of Kilimanjaro Waiter at the bar
18 Years Old and Rising Primo Bramsi Nominated – César Award for Most Promising Actor
2012 Just Like Brothers Maxime Nominated – César Award for Most Promising Actor
Nominated – Lumière Award for Best Male Revelation
2013 It Boy Balthazar Apfel Cabourg Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2014 Yves Saint Laurent Yves Saint Laurent César Award for Best Actor
Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Lumière Award for Best Actor
2015 A Perfect Man Mathieu Vasseur
Inside Out Fear French dub
2016 Altamira Paul Ratier
Five Samuel
Frantz Adrien Nominated – César Award for Best Actor
Nominated – Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor
The Odyssey Philippe Cousteau
2017 Promise at Dawn Romain Gary
2018 Through the Fire Pasquier
2019 Someone, Somewhere Mathieu Bernard
2020 Lovers Simon
2021 OSS 117: Alerte Rouge en Afrique Noire OSS 1001
Black Box Mathieu Vasseur Nominated – César Award for Best Actor
2022 Goliath Mathias Rozen
Masquerade Adrien Saillard
2023 The Book of Solutions Marc
2024 The Count of Monte Cristo Edmond Dantès Nominated – César Award for Best Actor
Maya, Give Me a Title Narrator
2026 Guru

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 La dame d'Izieu Théo Reis Miniseries; 2 episodes
2009 Folie douce Arnaud Television film
2010 L'autre monde Yann
Les Diamants de la victoire Boivin de Bièvre Television film
Marion Mazzano Yann Vérac Main cast; 6 episodes
2013 Casting(s) Himself Main cast; also co-creator and writer
2020 La Flamme Dr. Bruno Juiphe 4 episodes
2022 Le Flambeau, les aventuriers de Chupacabra 4 episodes
2024 Fiasco Raphaël Valande Main role

Accolades

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Year Awards Category Work Result Ref.
2012 César Award Most Promising Actor 18 Years Old and Rising Nominated
2013 César Award Most Promising Actor Just Like Brothers Nominated
Lumière Awards Most Promising Actor Nominated
2015 Lumière Awards Best Actor Yves Saint Laurent Nominated
César Award Best Actor Won
Globes de Cristal Award Best Actor Won
2024 French Association of Series Critics Awards Best Performance Fiasco Pending [20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Pierre Niney". Première (in French). 13 March 1989. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Ils ont marqué 2012 : Pierre Niney, le jeune premier" (in French). 31 December 2012. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2018. Soixante-huit est passé par là, envoyant par-dessus bord les carcans familiaux, « catho à fond, un peu Paris 16e » du côté maternel, « paysan juif égyptien, croyant » du côté paternel..
  3. ^ a b Hochberg, Juliette. "Pierre Niney, l'acteur à qui tout réussit". Marie Claire (in French). Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Simon, Nathalie; Lutaud, Lena (26 November 2012). "Pierre Niney, le jeune premier qui ira loin". Le Figaro (in French). Dassault Group. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Pierre Niney révèle être à moitié Belge et surprend tout le monde" [Pierre Niney reveals to be half Belgian and surprises everyone]. Paris Match (in French). 12 March 2023. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  6. ^ Sandra Mézière, Interview de Pierre Niney nommé comme meilleur espoir masculin aux César 2012 pour « J'aime regarder les filles » de Frédéric Louf, In The Mood For Cinema, 27 janvier 2012.
  7. ^ Sowray, Bibby (8 January 2014). "Pierre Berge's praise for YSL biopic". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Kristen Stewart Among France's Cesar Awards Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 January 2015. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  9. ^ Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Niney Interview. Gentleman's Journal. accessed 31 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Pierre Niney on Playing Yves Saint Laurent". Tribeca. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Pierre Niney Nude Scene in Yves Saint Laurent". MenCelebrities. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  12. ^ Julien, Pauline (8 September 2016). "Frantz : Pierre Niney a appris le violon et l'allemand pour le film". Orange Cinéma. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Comment Pierre Niney a pris 9 kg de muscles pour le film "Sauver ou Périr" ?". Vogue Paris. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  14. ^ "« Un p'tit truc en plus », « L'amour ouf », la folle année du ciné français". 20 Minutes (in French). 24 December 2024. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  15. ^ Lodge, Guy. The Count of Monte Cristo: the latest adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s novel is a grand, robustly entertaining spectacle. Sight & Sound review, 30 August 2024 accessed 26 October 2025.
  16. ^ Guichard, Albane (24 February 2023). "" Fiasco " en tournage pour Netflix avec Pierre Niney et François Civil". HuffPost (in French). Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Calendrier de sorties - Séries (France)". Netflix (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  18. ^ "The Count of Monte Cristo Team Launches Ambitious Adaptation of The Accursed Kings - Interview". entrevue.fr. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  19. ^ Déniel, Orlane (13 March 2022). "Pierre Niney : qui est Natasha Andrews, sa compagne et mère de ses deux filles ?". Gala.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  20. ^ "10e Prix de l'Association des critiques de séries : les nominations". Association française des Critiques de Séries (in French). 17 September 2024.
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