Denis Podalydès

Biography: life and films

The actor Denis Podalydès was born in Versailles, just outside Paris, on 22nd April 1963. He grew up in Versailles, with his brother Bruno, who was also destined for a career in cinema, as a film director. Having graduated from the Paris Conservatoire of Dramatic Art, he made his first film appearance in Patrice Vivancos' Xenia (1989). This he followed by taking the lead role in his brother's short film, Versailles Rive-Gauche (1992), which first revealed his potential as a comic actor. The Podalydès brothers would work together on several subsequent films, most notably Dieu seul me voit (1998), Liberté-Oléron (2001) and Bancs publics (Versailles rive droite) (2009). One of their most successful collaborations was the comedy thriller Le Mystère de la chambre jaune (2003), in which Denis Podalydès resurrected a hero of the silent era, the journalist-sleuth Rouletabille.

Having established himself in the mid-1990s, Podalydès had no difficulty attracting offers of work, often from distinguished filmmakers such as Diane Kurys (Les Enfants du siècle, 1999), Robert Guédiguian (À l'attaque!, 2000) and Bertrand Tavernier (Laissez-passer, 2002). With his everyman persona and a penchant for subtle self-mockery, Podalydès was a gift for auteur filmmakers like Arnaud Desplechin (Comment je me suis disputé... (ma vie sexuelle), 1996), Pascal Bonitzer (Rien sur Robert, 1999), Michel Deville (Un monde presque paisible, 2002) and Michael Haneke (Caché, 2005). He is also impressive in straight dramatic roles, evidenced by his contributions to François Dupeyron's La Chambre des officiers (2001) and Yves Angelo's Les Âmes grises (2005).

Podalydès' role in Michel Blanc's comedy Embrassez qui vous voudrez (2002) earned him his first César nomination and it is for comedy that the actor is probably best-suited, never more so than in the films directed by his brother Bruno. In 2012 he was nominated for the Best Actor César for his far from flattering portrayal of Nicholas Sarkozy in Xavier Durringer's La Conquête (2011). In addition to pursuing a busy film career, Podalydès has also kept up his stage work, directing and appearing in several stage plays, including an acclaimed production of Cyrano de Bergerac (2006) which played to packed houses for two years.

Filmography