Jacques Villeret
Jacques Villeret (6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy Le Dîner de Cons. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious medal and title of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. Villeret was born Jacky Boufroura in Loches, Indre-et-Loire, France, to an Algerian father and a French mother. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSAD) in the same class as Louis Seigner, the grandfather of Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathilde Seigner. While he was most famous for his role as François Pignon in Le Dîner de Cons; both on the stage and in the film, his other celebrated roles included the extra terrestrial in La soupe aux choux, the autistic Mo in L'été en pente douce, and marshal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel in Papy fait de la résistance. At the time of making the film Un aller simple directed by Laurent Heynemann – a film about integration and racism and the clash of generations – he said that watching the young actors in the film, Barbara Schulz and Lorant Deutsch, reminded him of the insouciance he had had as a young man with his friends at the Conservatoire. When his career was at its height, with the success of Le Dîner de Cons, everything collapsed in a tragedy mirroring the plot of the film. Villeret separated from his wife and suffered an enormous financial downfall due to tax issues, plunging him into depression. Villeret turned to alcohol for comfort, and became an alcoholic. He isolated himself and hid away for long periods. He later said: Alcohol is a friend, but a friend who means you harm. Villeret's love of his profession helped to bring his career back from the brink. In an interview in 2001 he spoke of his admiration for performers like Johnny Hallyday and Jacques Brel for their level of commitment, and quoted the author Louis-Ferdinand Céline: When I write, I put my balls on the table. In 1979 Villeret married Irina Tarassov, an actress and writer. They separated in 1998. Tassarov wrote about their life together in her book Un jour, tout ira bien. (One day, everything will go well). In 2002 Villeret met Seny, a Senegalese-French widow descended through her grandfather, Mor Diarra N'Dao, from a long line of Sérès nobles of the ancient Kingdom of Saloum, and they fell instantly and deeply in love. They were partners for three years, and she was about to move to Paris to be with him when he died in Évreux in January 2005 of a liver haemorrhage. Seny wrote a memoir of their life together, Jacques Villeret, mon bébé blanc, which was published in Paris by Le Cherche Midi in 2005. Source: Article "Jacques Villeret" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Strange Gardens
as Jacques PouzayLucien, 14, can’t understand why his father, a serious and respected teacher, makes a fool of...
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The Dinner Game
as François PignonFor Pierre Brochant and his friends, Wednesday is “Idiots' Day”. The idea is simple: each person...
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The Cabbage Soup
as L'Oxien (La Denrée)Two buddy farmers are visited by aliens who like their domestic cabbage soup.
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Danton
as WestermannDanton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by...
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The Vultures
as BéralApril 5, 1943: a battalion of the Foreign Legion arrives in El Ksour, Tunisia, to escort a...
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The Antidote
as André MorinJAM (Christian Clavier), a French "master of the universe" is on the brink of a major takeover...
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Gramps Is in the Resistance
as Maréchal Ludwig von ApfelstrudelIt is 1943 in Paris. Like so many others, the Bourbelle family's home has been taken over by the...
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Bolero: Dance of Life
as JacquesThe film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and...
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Actors
as SelfLes Acteurs is the absurd story of Jean-Pierre Marielle desperately waiting for a cup of hot...
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Hold-up
as Jeremie Blanchet, taxi driverDressed as a clown, the clever rascal Grimm holds up the most secure bank of Montreal and takes...
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Malabar Princess
as GaspardA man leaves his 8-year old son with his father-in-law who lives near the glacier where the...
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The Children of the Marshland
as Henri Pignol, aka RitonThe film is set in Marais, a quiet region along the banks of Loire river in 1918. Riton is...
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Iznogoud
as Haroun El PoussahIn Baghdad the Magnificent reigns Haroun al Plassid, who is the Caliph. There also dwells...
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Malevil
as MomoIn southern France, in a quiet little town, the mayor, who also owns a castle with some cattle,...
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Waiter!
as Gilbert, l'ami d'AlexAfter a life of emotional and professional upsets, Alex finds himself headwaiter in a chic...
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Le Furet
as le FuretFrom his locksmith's shop, a simple guy dreams of becoming a crime boss, at the wheel of his...
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A Crime in Paradise
as Jojo BraconnierIn the 1980 French countryside, farmer Jojo and his ill-tempered wife Lulu hate each other,...
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The Favor, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
as Lingerie ManA farce, Hoskins plays a photographer who specializes in religious pictures who searches for a...
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Viper in the Fist
as Jacques Rézeau1920. Jean Rezeau and his elder brother were living happily in their family estate in Brittany,...
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La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
as Self (archive footage)In May 1974, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing became President of the Republic and wanted to bring about...
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Move Along, There Is Nothing to See!
as PelissierInspector Leroux is investigating the owner of a contemporary art gallery Helen Duvernet who is...
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Edith and Marcel
as Jacques BarbierThis tragic musical drama chronicles the star-crossed love between beloved French singer Edith...
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La Galette du roi
as Utte de DanemarkIn this conventional, broadly comic farce of greed and royal matrimony, nearly bankrupt...
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The Do-Gooders
as lucienThree former bank robbers are meeting after 25 years...
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588 rue Paradis
as AlexandreThis family drama is the sequel to director Henri Verneuil's autobiographical film, Mayrig. It...
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Another Man, Another Chance
as CustomerYoung Jeanne falls in love with photographer Francis, who soon takes her with him when he...
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L'été en pente douce
as Maurice Leheurt aka MoWhen he inherits the family house and property after his mother's death, aspiring novelist Fane...
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The Common Man
as GéraldGeorges Lajoie is a Parisian café owner. As every summer, Georges, his wife Ginette and grown-up...
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Mookie
as Frère BenoîtA talking chimp, a jolly monk and a boxer on the run make an unlikely team in this French comedy...
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The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck
as MartineauThis series of sketches introduces doctor Apfelglück and four of his patients... and their...
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The Joint Brothers
as MomoAfter he is dismissed from his umpteenth job, Momo is kicked out of the family home by his...
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Le bal des Casse-pieds
as Jérôme, le présentateur de la météoA tolerant veterinarian turns the other cheek when annoyed but changes his nature when he falls...
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Black Mic Mac
as Michel Le GorguesThis is a charming and successful farce from director Thomas Gilou, featuring a witty screenplay...
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The Good and the Bad
as JacquesThe film follows the exploits of Jacques, a car-mechanic turned pro-thief, and his Jewish...
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Nailcruncher
as SalomonAdapation of the fanciful comic novel by Albert Cohen.
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The Castaways of Turtle Island
as Petit NonoJean-Arthur has been working as a clerk in a travel agency. One day, he, along with his...
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The Mouth Agape
as (uncredited)Monique is dying of cancer, lying in bed in the apartment above the store her family owns. Her...
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Effraction
as Valentin Tralande, truand violentDuring a robbery that goes wrong, Valentin Tralande kills his accomplices and bank customers.
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Last Summer in Tangiers
as MarcusIn 1956, with the independence of Morocco, the Fedala conference in Tangier is set in a city of...
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Un amour de pluie
as GuillaumeElizabeth and her daughter Cecile spend their holidays at a lakeside resort in the French...
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Keep Your Right Up
as IndividualThis film is made up several sketches in which certain actors play several real or fictional...
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Dumb But Disciplined
as Jacques CardotJacques does his military service. Shy, round and clumsy, he is forced to agree to be the driver...
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Grey Souls
as Le juge MierckIn 1917, the old rivalry between a prosecutor and a judge resurfaces during a police...
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Heart to Heart
as Sitting studentThe independently-minded daughter of lower-middle class French shopkeepers, Brigitte, one of...
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The Big Brother
as Inspecteur ColeauThe plot in this story weaves around like a New Year's reveler at four in the morning, heading...
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Serious as Pleasure
as Le gendarme"In Serieux comme le plaisir, two men and a woman live quite happily together in a romantic...
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Out of Whack
as Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...Rien ne va plus is a series of comedy sketches of disparate quality, on the social, cultural,...
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A Second Chance
as L'agent immobilierImprisoned as an accessory to murder, Catherine gives birth to a son she conceived in prison....
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Us Two
as Tonton MusiqueFrançoise has gone into business seducing men whose wives want to divorce them, and who need...
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Robert et Robert
as Robert VilliersRobert #1 is played by Charles Denner, while Robert #2 is played by Jacques Villeret. Beyond...
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Le Dernier Été
as Georges MandelThe story of Georges Mandel, an anti-Nazi French parliamentarian who refused to abdicate to the...
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Golden Boy
as Antoine BonvoisinAntoine a Union representative works in a financially troubled factory. He's not the sharpest...
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Mountain Pass
as GeorgesSerge (Stevenin) is a dweller in the French provinces who happens upon Georges (Jacques...
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The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro
as Le batteurProbably no one in the public listening to the orchestra's rendition of Ravel's Bolero notices...
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Nothing to Report
as Soldat GirotIn 1956, the professional army of France lacks the manpower to keep the peace in Algeria, the...
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Un Balcon en forêt
as GourcuffAn adaptation of the novel of the same name by Julien Gracq. Four soldiers await a possible...
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One Way Ticket
as Jean-PierreJean-Pierre (Jacques Villeret), un attaché humanitaire qui travaille au ministère des Affaires...
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La Petite Amie
as Guillaume BertinMartin Morel wants to spend Sylvester with both his wife and family and his girlfriend Agnes. So...
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La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons
as Self
Georges Dandin de Molière
as Georges DandinThe adaptation of Molière's comedy-ballet in three acts.
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Three Years
as Alexandre GuillermenAfter the French defeat of 1870, Julia took three years to love Alexander, with whom she married...
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Les Folles Années du Twist
as M'sieur John WayneA small town in Algeria, in the years 1960-1962. Two young idle boys and rock fans, Boualem and...
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The Son of the Mekong
as DurieuxTran and three of his friends flee Vietnam by swimming across the Mekong river. They take refuge...
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Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
as SelfA talk show presented by Michel Drucker
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Midi Première
as SelfMidi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre...
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