Biography for
Gérard Depardieu More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

27 December 1948, Châteauroux, Indre, France

Birth Name

Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu

Height

5' 10¾" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

Young delinquent and wanderer in the past, Gérard Depardieu started his acting career at the small traveling theatre "Cafe de la Gare", along with Patrick Dewaere and Miou-Miou. After minor roles in cinema, at last, he got his chance in Bertrand Blier's Going Places (1974). That film established a new type of hero in the French cinema and the actor's popularity grew enormously. Later, he diversified his screen image and became the leading French actor of the 80s and 90s. He was twice awarded a César as Best Actor for The Last Metro (1980) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), also received an Oscar nomination for "Cyrano" and a number of awards at international film festivals. In 1996, he was distinguished by the highest French title of "Chevalier du Légion d'Honneur". He married Elisabeth Depardieu in 1971, and they divorced in 1996; she appeared with him in Jean de Florette (1986) and Manon of the Spring (1986); their children Guillaume Depardieu and Julie Depardieu are both actors.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Yuri German <blsidt1@imf.org>

Spouse

Elisabeth Depardieu

(19 February 1971 - 1996) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Father of Guillaume Depardieu and Julie Depardieu.

Is an accomplished winemaker.

His daughter Roxanne, whose mother is Karine Silla, was born in January 1992.

Convicted of drunk driving in France in 1990. He was sentenced to 2 months jail (suspended) and loss of his license for 6 months.

Had a motorcycle accident and was hospitalized while filming Astérix et Obélix contre César (1999) in Paris.

Underwent emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery in Paris, France, following a heart attack (10 July 2000).

Guillaume Depardieu's wife Elise gave birth to a daughter, making Gérard a grandfather (January 2001).

He became so engrossed in his role of Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) that he refused to shave off his Cyrano beard for a long while after the film was completed.

When he appeared on the "So Graham Norton" (1998) in 2001, it was his first ever interview in the UK. He also confessed to traveling on his motorcycle to the hospital for his bypass operation.

Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).

Engaged to Carole Bouquet, who had been his longtime companion since 1997, from 2003 to 2005.

His former girlfriend Karine Silla, mother of his daughter Roxanne, is now married to actor Vincent Perez, Deaprdieu's co-star in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990).

Depardieu is a typical name from the center of France.

Time magazine ran a profile that mistakenly suggested that Depardieu might have "participated" in a rape at the age of nine. The claim was based on an interview carried out 13 years earlier and was the result of an incorrect translation. Depardieu is now careful about proper translation.

President of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992.

Born to René Maxime Lionel Depardieu called "Le Dédé", a metal worker and firefighter, and his wife Anne Jeanne Josèphe Marillier called "La Lilette", he was the third of five children.

Grew up in Châteauroux in the Indre region.

Left school at the age of 13 to be trained as a printer.

Owns two restaurants in Place Gaillon in Paris; they are called "La Fontaine Gaillon" and "L'Ecaille de la Fontaine".

Announced his intention to retire from acting in October 2005, saying he believed he had made enough films and wanted to concentrate on his other interests.

A friend of John Travolta, he was asked by Travolta to be his French voice in the dubbed version of Brian De Palma's movie Blow Out (1981).

He has been good friends with Robert De Niro for more than 30 years, since the two worked together in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 (1976) in 1974-75.

Was considered for the role of Max in Sergio Leone's gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Depardieu said he was willing to perfect an American accent in order to play the role, but instead James Woods was cast.

Speaks Italian fluently.

Favorite actor and close friend of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Owns vineyards in France, Italy, Argentina, Morocco and Algeria.

Admires bishop, theologian and philosopher Saint Augustin, living from 354 to 430 in the North African town of Hippo Regius.

Best paid French actor, earning EUR 800,000 per movie (2005).

Has lived together with Clémentine Igou since 2005.

Classmate of Claude Jade and Alain Doutey at the École d'art dramatique (1966).

He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.

His fourth child (b. July 2006) is named Jean (tribute to Jean Carmet).

His son Guillaume Depardieu died on October 13 2008 (aged 37) from complications from pneumonia.

He appeared with his wife Elisabeth in Le tartuffe (1984).

Was offered the main role in the action film Malone (1987) but turned it down. The part was later offered to Christopher Lambert, who turned it down too. The part was finally accepted by Burt Reynolds.

Has appeared in two remakes of films that previously featured José Ferrer. First, Depardieu succeeded Ferrer in the title role of Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). Ferrer later played the musketeer Athos in The Fifth Musketeer (1979), while Depardieu played the musketeer Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998/I). Both films were based on The Vicomte of Bragellone. In Milady (2004) (TV), his son, Guillaume Depardieu, played Athos--a role previously played by Ferrer.

Father of Jean Depardieu (b. July 14, 2006) with actress Hélène Bizot.

Personal Quotes

I never really like the characters I play. I only come to love them afterwards.

The relationship between an actor and a director is like a love story between a man and a woman. I'm sure sometimes I'm the woman.

I'm happy with very little on this earth, but I do like to have a lot in my glass. [on his love for wine]

I want to get more involved with the vineyards I have all over the world and to spend more time with the people who work in them. You need to be there to make yourself understood; you can't just tell people what to do from the end of a telephone line. My unrealized ambition is to tend my vines, produce wine and work like an artisan. I dream of rediscovering the old traditions and customs of wine growing, not necessarily to deny the technology which we have today, but to harness it and work in harmony with nature.

Authenticity is the ability to listen to what nature tells us. Listening isn't the same thing as never making a mistake, but the important thing is to learn.

I'd rather spend my time with grape growers than actors. In the film industry, all the money is focused on television and the stupidity of American cinema. There are fewer and fewer "films d'auteur" made by people like Ken Loach or Claude Chabrol. The cinema is dead; it's finished. Who goes to the movies now? It's children. People who are 30 would rather sit at home in front of the telly.

Cooking is not difficult. Everyone has taste, even if they don't realize it. Even if you're not a great chef, there's nothing to stop you understanding the difference between what tastes good and what doesn't. That's what's so terrible about the industrialization of agriculture and the food chain. There are children growing up today who don't know what a lamb, a pig or a rabbit looks like.

I'm about to stop filming! I'm a guy that is leaving. And for once, I'm not drunk! I've got nothing to lose. I did 170 films, and I've got nothing else to prove. I'm not going to keep up like this for ever. I finish in style with film director Thomas Gilou, who has made lots of successes, and has made a really good film with this Michou d'Auber (2007). I retire in style with this film. It's wonderful.

I don't care about Hollywood films. Hollywood films were very good before, in the 1950s. Now you see the English filmmakers are the best. Ridley Scott who did Gladiator (2000)...American Beauty (1999), the Oscar winner, came from London. Hollywood exists only for the B-movies. The best things are coming from Europe. We have all the talent here but we need American money!

When I'm stressed, I still drink five or six bottles of wine a day. When I'm relaxed, three or four, but I'm trying to cut down. You think alcohol calms you down, but you become addicted to it. [2005]

[on Juliette Binoche] Please can you explain to me what the secret of this actress is meant to be? I would really like to know why she has been so esteemed for so many years. She has nothing. Absolutely nothing! She is nothing. Compared with her, Isabelle Adjani is great even is she's totally nuts. Or Fanny Ardant - she is magnificent, extremely impressive. But Binoche? What has she ever had going for her? [2010]

[on The Lovers on the Bridge (1991)] Leos Carax needed six years to shoot his film with Juliette Binoche, which turned out to be not even a film but just a piece of shit.

I had wonderful companions during my life, and afterwards we separated - but not like enemies. We stayed friends. It was always a costly thing to get a divorce, for example, but it's just money. It's not important. I had children with really wonderful women. I still like them. I think we can learn everything from women. And I especially learnt from women who have been my lovers or my mistresses. But I also learnt a lot from female writers, like Virginia Woolf and Anaïs Nin. I prefer them to, say, Hemingway, and I would always prefer them. Although I very much like F. Scott Fitzgerald, I would prefer Colette, for example. Because we can learn from them. Also because these women are born mothers. They live as mothers. And they often wait; they wait for something in their life, especially if they're strong women. And these are the human beings that make me patient, make me want to wait and accept inertia.

It's the people you work with that matter. It's not the role. I don't give a shit about the role. I don't have any ambition or career plans. I never have. I'm living in the present. I have no ambition. It's true. But I want to live. I'm curious about people. That's what I've always done since I've been a small boy. I'm curious about others. I do this profession. I'm an actor. And it is, for me, a opportunity to meet people. One of the advantages of my profession is I come into contact with many people. [2011]

I'm not a monster, I'm just a man who wants to pee.

Salary

36th Precinct (2004)	€549,000
Ruby & Quentin (2003)	€2,142,997
Bogus (1996)	$2,430,000