Jacques Villeret
73 movies · 1 TV show
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 6, 1951
- Died
- Jan 28, 2005 (age 53)
- Place of birth
- Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France
- Also known as
- Jacky Boufroura
Biography
Jacques Villeret (6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy Le Dîner de Cons. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious medal and title of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.
Villeret was born Jacky Boufroura in Loches, Indre-et-Loire, France, to an Algerian father and a French mother. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSAD) in the same class as Louis Seigner, the grandfather of Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathilde Seigner. While he was most famous for his role as François Pignon in Le Dîner de Cons; both on the stage and in the film, his other celebrated roles included the extra terrestrial in La soupe aux choux, the autistic Mo in L'été en pente douce, and marshal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel in Papy fait de la résistance.
Read the full biography
At the time of making the film Un aller simple directed by Laurent Heynemann – a film about integration and racism and the clash of generations – he said that watching the young actors in the film, Barbara Schulz and Lorant Deutsch, reminded him of the insouciance he had had as a young man with his friends at the Conservatoire.
When his career was at its height, with the success of Le Dîner de Cons, everything collapsed in a tragedy mirroring the plot of the film. Villeret separated from his wife and suffered an enormous financial downfall due to tax issues, plunging him into depression. Villeret turned to alcohol for comfort, and became an alcoholic. He isolated himself and hid away for long periods. He later said: Alcohol is a friend, but a friend who means you harm.
Villeret's love of his profession helped to bring his career back from the brink. In an interview in 2001 he spoke of his admiration for performers like Johnny Hallyday and Jacques Brel for their level of commitment, and quoted the author Louis-Ferdinand Céline: When I write, I put my balls on the table.
In 1979 Villeret married Irina Tarassov, an actress and writer. They separated in 1998. Tassarov wrote about their life together in her book Un jour, tout ira bien. (One day, everything will go well).
In 2002 Villeret met Seny, a Senegalese-French widow descended through her grandfather, Mor Diarra N'Dao, from a long line of Sérès nobles of the ancient Kingdom of Saloum, and they fell instantly and deeply in love. They were partners for three years, and she was about to move to Paris to be with him when he died in Évreux in January 2005 of a liver haemorrhage. Seny wrote a memoir of their life together, Jacques Villeret, mon bébé blanc, which was published in Paris by Le Cherche Midi in 2005.
Source: Article "Jacques Villeret" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Profiles IMDb
Known for
Jacques Villeret: movies and TV shows
Acting (74)
- 2022
- 2005 The Do-Gooders
as lucien
- 2005 Grey Souls
as Le juge Mierck
- 2005 The Antidote
as André Morin
- 2005 Iznogoud
as Haroun El Poussah
- 2004 Viper in the Fist
as Jacques Rézeau
- 2004 Malabar Princess
as Gaspard
- 2003 Le Furet
as le Furet
- 2003 Strange Gardens
as Jacques Pouzay
- 2001 One Way Ticket
as Jean-Pierre
- 2001 A Crime in Paradise
as Jojo Braconnier
- 2000 Actors
as Jacques Villeret
- 1999 The Children of the Marshland
as Henri Pignol, aka Riton
- 1998 Mookie
as Frère Benoît
- 1998 The Dinner Game
as François Pignon
- 1997 Le Dernier Été
as Georges Mandel
- 1997 Georges Dandin de Molière
as Georges Dandin
- 1996 Golden Boy
as Antoine Bonvoisin
- 1994 Wacko
as Le pompiste
- 1992 The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro
as Le batteur
- 1992 The Son of the Mekong
as Durieux
- 1992 Le Bal des casse-pieds
as Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo
- 1992 588 rue Paradis
as Alexandre Pagès
- 1991 The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
as Lingerie Man
- 1991 The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck
as Martineau
- 1990 Three Years
as Alexandre Guillermen
- 1989 Un fil à la patte
as Bouzin
- 1988 La Petite Amie
as Guillaume Bertin
- 1988 Nailcruncher
as Salomon
- 1987 Keep Your Right Up
as Individual
- 1987 L'été en pente douce
as Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
- 1987 Last Summer in Tangiers
as Marcus
- 1987
- 1987 C'est encore mieux l'après-midi
as Georges Pigier
- 1986 The Joint Brothers
as Momo
- 1986 Black Mic Mac
as Michel Le Gorgues
- 1986 Les Folles Années du Twist
as M'sieur John Wayne
- 1986 La Galette du roi
as Utte de Danemark
- 1985 Hold-up
as Jeremie Blanchet, chauffeur de taxi
- 1985 Drôle de samedi
as Maurice, the butcher
- 1985 Dialogue de sourds
as The blind
- 1984 The Vultures
as Brigadier Béral
- 1983 First Name: Carmen
as The Man Who Eats Yogurt
- 1983 Waiter!
as Gilbert, Alex's friend
- 1983 Gramps Is in the Resistance
as Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel
- 1983 Move Along, There Is Nothing to See!
as Pelissier
- 1983 Effraction
as Valentin Tralande, truand violent
- 1983 Danton
as François-Joseph Westermann
- 1983 Edith and Marcel
as Jacques Barbier
- 1982 The Big Brother
as Inspecteur Coleau
- 1982
- 1981 The Cabbage Soup
as L'Oxien (La Denrée)
- 1981 Bolero
as Jacques
- 1981 Malevil
as Momo
- 1979 Out of Whack
as Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...
- 1979 Dumb But Disciplined
as Jacques Cardot
- 1979 Us Two
as Tonton Musique
- 1979 Heart to Heart
as Sitting student
- 1978 Mountain Pass
as Georges
- 1978 Mon Premier Amour
as Jacques Labrousse
- 1978 Robert et Robert
as Robert Villiers
- 1978 Un Balcon en forêt
as Gourcuff
- 1978 Le Rabat-joie
as Léon
- 1977 Another Man, Another Chance
as Customer
- 1976 Nono Nénesse
as Nono
- 1976 The Castaways of Turtle Island
as Bernard Dupoirier, dit « Petit Nono »
- 1976 A Second Chance
as L'agent immobilier
- 1976 The Good and the Bad
as Jacques
- 1975 The Common Man
as Gérald
- 1975 Serious as Pleasure
as Le gendarme
- 1974 The Mouth Agape
as (uncredited)
- 1974 Loving in the Rain
as Guillaume
- 1973 Nothing to Report
as Soldat Girot
- 1972 Detective Story
as Le photographe
Talk shows and appearances (17)
- 2025
- 2023
- 2022 Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
1 episode
- 2022
- 2015
- 1998 Vivement dimanche
2 episodes
- 1987 Sacrée soirée
1 episode
- 1987 Nulle part ailleurs
1 episode
- 1987 Matin Bonheur
2 episodes
- 1982 Champs-Elysées
9 episodes
- 1978 Ciné regards
2 episodes
- 1975 Numéro un
12 episodes
- 1975 Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
5 episodes
- 1975 Midi Première
1 episode
- 1974 Spécial cinéma
1 episode
- 1972 Le Grand Échiquier
4 episodes
- 1959 Discorama
1 episode