Gérard Jugnot

Biography: life and films

Gérard Jugnot was born in Paris on 4th May 1951. At the high school he attended in Neuilly-sur-Seine he met Michel Blanc, Christian Clavier and Thierry Lhermitte, with whom he would form the popular comedy troupe Splendid. Although Jugnot's film career dates back to the mid-1970s, when he appeared in minor roles in such films as Yves Robert's Salut l'artiste (1973) and Bertrand Blier's Les Valseuses (1974), it was not until the early 1980s that he was established as an actor and comedy performer, through his films with the Splendid team: Les Bronzés (1978), Le Père Noël est une ordure (1982) and Papy fait de la résistance (1983). Jugnot's physique and naturally diffident persona made him perfect for the Monsieur Tout-le-monde (Mr Average) roles that came his way in the subsequent decades, and he proved to be just as adept at playing straight dramatic roles as comedy. In 1998, he received his first Best Actor César nomination for his performance in Patrice Leconte's Tandem, and in 1984 he made a respectable directorial debut with Pinot simple flic (1984). Although his subsequent directing efforts included some notable misfires, his fourth film Une époque formidable (1991) was well-received by critics and audiences. Jugnot's biggest success to date was his portrayal of the sympathetic choirmaster in Christophe Barratier's Les Choristes (2004), which earned him another César nomination. Despite his busy career, Jugnot somehow finds the time to lend his support to humanitarian causes and is a prominent supporter of multiculturalism and gay rights in France (even though, as he says, he is neither homosexual nor Jewish - well, nobody's perfect...).

Filmography