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Overview (3) |
Mini Bio (1) |
Family (4) |
Trade Mark (1) |
Trivia (50) |
Personal Quotes (22) |
Salary (15)
Overview (3)
| Born | in Châteauroux, Indre, France |
| Birth Name | Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu |
| Height | 5' 10" (1.78 m) |
Mini Bio (1)
Gérard Depardieu was born in Châteauroux, Indre, France, to Anne Jeanne Josèphe (Marillier) and René Maxime Lionel Depardieu, who was a metal worker and fireman. Young delinquent and wanderer in the past, Depardieu started his acting career at the small traveling theatre "Café 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 de la 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>
Family (4)
| Spouse | Elisabeth Depardieu (11 April 1970 - 2 November 1996) (divorced) (2 children) |
| Children |
Guillaume Depardieu Julie Depardieu Roxane Depardieu |
| Parents |
René Maxime Lionel Depardieu
Anne Jeanne Josèphe Marillier |
| Relatives | Louise Depardieu (grandchild) |
Trade Mark (1)
His bulbous nose
Trivia (50)
Is an accomplished winemaker.
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 Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (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 1974-1975.
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.
He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.
Father of a son, Jean Depardieu (born July 14, 2006) with jewelery designer Helene Bizot.
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). Both films were based on The Vicomte of Bragellone. In Milady and the Three Musketeers (2004), his son, Guillaume Depardieu, played Athos--a role previously played by Ferrer.
Has supported Nicolas Sarkozy's 2012 presidential campaign.
On Thursday, January 3, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to Gérard Depardieu, whose bitter fight over taxes with France's government has led him to give up his passport.
In December 2012 Gérard Depardieu moved to Belgium as a self-exile to avoid French taxes. Depardieu has surrendered his French passport and social security card. In an open letter to the prime minister, Depardieu wrote he had "nothing to do in France," and moreover accused the current government of wanting to "punish" success. As of December 2012 about 500 French citizens are said to be waiting to be naturalized in Belgium mainly due to financial reasons.
He became a Russian citizen.
He appeared in five movies that won the César for Best Picture: The Last Metro (1980), Camille Claudel (1988), Too Beautiful for You (1989), Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) and Tous les matins du monde (1991). The last four were also consecutive winners.
He received more César nominations than any other actor (16).
Became attracted to acting while working as a beach boy in Cannes during the film festival and went to Paris to train.
Has played several characters from classic French literature. He has played the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo (1998), and Jean Valjean in Les misérables (2000).
Two of his literary characters are said to have influenced the French playwright Moliere. In Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), we are told that Moliere has plagiarized many of Cyrano's plays. In Alexandre Dumas's novel The Viscount of Bragelonne, Moliere, who is also a tailor, takes Porthos's measurements and is so inspired to create Monsieur Jordain. Depardieu played Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).
He has two roles in common with Frank Finlay: (1) Finlay played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (1967) while Depardieu played him in Les misérables (2000) and (2) Finlay played Porthos in The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989) while Depardieu played him in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).
In a March 2005 interview with "The Daily Telegraph" Depardieu said he used to drink six bottles of red wine a day.
Granfather of Billy and Alfred (Julie's sons) and Louise Depardieu.
Smoked three packs of cigarettes a day until his heart surgery in 2000.
To date, he and Catherine Deneuve have made 10 movies together: The Last Metro (1980), I Love You All (1980), Choice of Arms (1981), Fort Saganne (1984), Strange Place for an Encounter (1988), One Hundred and One Nights (1995), Changing Times (2004), Potiche (2010), Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia (2012) and Nobody's Perfect! (2017).
Personal Quotes (22)
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.
As soon as I had enough money, I bought a plane so I could go wherever I wanted. True luxury is to be free. It's not to carry a Vuitton handbag. What would I do with a Vuitton bag? I'd have a crap in it. My freedom has no price. I don't want to be waiting for the person in from of me to move. Luxury is to depend on no one but yourself.
I killed two lions once, and I understand why the lion is the king of the jungle. In legitimate self-defense. Imagine you're driving and your engine breaks down. You got out, and in your way are these animals. So you shoot, just to scare them. They don't move. I wasn't there for hunting. I was in Africa for Africa.
France is likely to become a Disneyland for foreigners, populated by imbeciles making wine and stinky cheese for tourists. There is no more freedom, people are being manipulated.
There is a world of entertainment and people, terrorized by the Americans, don't know any more which language to speak. There are 10 stars and they are all American. Their films are crammed with special effects and the rest of the world of cinema is struggling to exist.
Half of Europe - with its fear of migrants - that has become a bit fascist.
When I'm bored, I drink. Apart from compulsory moments of abstinence. After bypass surgery, and also because of cholesterol and stuff, I have to be careful. Anyway, I'm not going to die. Not now. I still have energy. But if ever I start drinking I can't drink like a normal person. I can absorb 12, 13, 14 bottles per day. I was asked to tell the doctor about my consumption. So I said, 'here it goes'. It starts at home with champagne or red wine, before 10am. Then again champagne. Then pastis, maybe half a bottle. Then food, accompanied by two bottles of wine. In the afternoon, champagne, beer, and more pastis at around 5pm, to finish off the bottle. Later on vodka and/or whisky.
[on being granted his Russian passport in 2013] I am very happy, it's very beautiful here. Beautiful and soulful people live here.
Salary (15)
| Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) | FRF3,000,000 + 1,800,000 of interest + 40% of the gross |
| Le Comte de Monte Cristo (1998) | $1,145,000 |
| Bimboland (1998) | €505,000 |
| Balzac (1999) | €762,000 |
| Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002) | €1,300,000 |
| Tais-toi! (2003) | €2,142,997 |
| San Antonio (2004) | €1,200,000 |
| 36 Quai des Orfèvres (2004) | €549,000 |
| Je préfère qu'on reste amis (2005) | €720,000 |
| Olé! (2005) | €1,370,000 |
| La Môme (2007) | €500,000 |
| Michou d'Auber (2007) | €500,000 |
| Astérix aux jeux olympiques (2008) | €1,440,000 |
| Babylon A.D. (2008) | €900,000 |
| Hello Goodbye (2008) | €900,000 |
