Romain Duris

Biography: life and films

Romain Duris is a French film actor. He was born in Paris, France on 28 May 1974. It was purely by chance that he became an actor. A lapsed arts student, he was spotted in the street one day by a casting director who persuaded him to audition for the part of Tomasi in Cédric Klapisch's film Le Péril jeune. Although he had no interest in becoming an actor, Duris took the role and, as a result of the film's popularity, became an overnight star. He appeared in several of Klapisch's subsequent films, notably the phenomenally successful L'Auberge espagnole (2002). Another filmmaker who helped Duris to find his feet as an actor was Tony Gatlif - they worked together on several acclaimed films, including Gadjo dilo (1997). Duris garnered critical acclaim and a César nomination for his part in Jacques Audiard's De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (2005) and since he has become one of French cinema's most bankable stars. By dividing his time between mainstream crowd-pleasers (of varying quality) such as Pascal Chaumeil's L'Arnacoeur (2010) and intimate auteur studies like Christophe Honoré's Dans Paris (2006), Romain Duris manages to have his cake and eat it, being both a high profile star and a committed screen actor. Serendipity can be a marvellous thing.

Filmography