Daniel Emilfork(1924-2006)

A high forehead, a bald head, a long emaciated face, wrinkled eyes, oversized fangs, an ogre's voice tinged with a weird accent, a terribly skinny figure... Is that the description of Murnau or Herzog's arch-vampire Nosferatu ? Well, it might be. But the description also applies to Daniel Emilfork, an actor whose ghoulish physique obviously did not predispose to play young leads or unblemished heroes. But if "ugliness" repels, it can also attract - if only in a pervert and morbid way. It naturally took Emilfork time and efforts to come to terms with this "peculiarity", but he did learn how to play with it - to a great advantage as an actor and to our great pleasure as spectators -, making his persona fascinating instead of repulsive. Well served in terms of eccentric characters by the theater, he gave his full measure as a companion to such great authors as Shakespeare, John Ford, Tchekhov, Kafka, Wedekind, García Lorca. Television also gave him access to major authors like Sheridan, Dostoyevski, Kafka, Dürrenmatt, Dominique Fernandez. Emilforrk was unfortunately was singularly less well treated by film producers, who cast him all too often as the villain on duty in run-of-the-mill products. Not that his big screen appearances were not enjoyable. Quite the contrary, for the eccentric thespian invariably brought an uncanny dimension to his characters, one-dimensional or not, creating fear or suggesting unease and ambiguity by his mere presence. It goes without saying that, when he appeared in a major work, his amazing performance gave an already good body of work even additional value. Not hostile in the second half of his career to experimental cinema, he is fondly remembered by the general public for at least two (frightening) roles, Kanak, the cannibal doctor imagined by Gaston Leroux, in the television series "Chéri Bibi" (1974) and Krank, the thief of children's dreams from "The City of Lost Children" (1995). Emilfork can also be seen in international productions playing for example the role of Colonel Hakim in Cukor's "Travels with My Aunt", of the the eccentric (how could it be otherwise?) marquis of "Fellini's Casanova" (1976) or the secretary in Roman Polanski's "Pirates" (1986). Daniel Emilfork remained active until his death in 2006, in films, on television, in radio and on the stage, not to mention his activity as the manager of Patrice Chéreau's drama school at the Théâtre des Amandiers. He was widower of the actress Denis Péron whom he had married in 1951 and father of the actress and stage director Stéphanie Loïk.