Andy Gillet (born 8 July 1981) is a French fashion model and actor primarily known for his work in European Auteur cinema in such films as

Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the post-World ...

's ''

Romance of Astree and Celadon ''The Romance of Astrea and Celadon'' (french: Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon) is a 2007 historical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer and starring Andy Gillet and Stéphanie Crayencour. Based on Honoré d'Urf ...

'' (2007) or

Andrzej Żuławski Andrzej Żuławski (; 22 November 1940 – 17 February 2016) was a Polish film director and writer. Żuławski often went against mainstream commercialism in his films, and enjoyed success mostly with European art-house audiences. In the late 1 ...

's ''

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

'' (2015). As a model Gillet represented numerous brands for their

ad campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conce ...

s including

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

, Valentino or

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessories, ...

; the last two having been shot by

Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva OBE HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in magazines such as ''Vogue, V Magazine,'' '' Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ.'' He has also cre ...

and he was the face of the fragrance 'Kenzo Power' by

Kenzo Takada is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

Early life and education

Gillet grew up in

Sallanches Sallanches (; frp, Salenches) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department of France. Located close to the Mont Blanc massif, many visitors pass through the town en route to well-known alpine resorts such as Chamonix, Megève and Saint-Gervais-le ...

Haute Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

, the son of a policeman and a secretary, he has a younger brother. He completed his studies at Nancy Business School and moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Career

Before he could manage to make a living from acting, Gillet was a theater usher but didn't have enough money to enroll in the 'Eva-Saint-Paul Drama School'. Due to his

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...

beauty, Gillet was then sent to Japan by an agency for four months to land modelling contracts but once in Tokyo, he found no work or relationship and felt lost in translation. From this failure, Gillet drew motivation declaring:

"This period of hardship I went through there forced me to reflect and made me mature. I returned to France with the 'niaque': no more dilemmas, I want to play. I changed my life."

He first appeared on stage in the title role of ''

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

'', in a celebrated staging by

Charles Berling Charles Berling (born 30 April 1958) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. Life and career Charles Berling, son of a navy doctor, is also the nephew of the literary critic Raymond Picard. His mother, Nadia, "only daughter of (French) se ...

. He made his television debut in 2005, in the role of

Hugh Despenser the Younger Hugh le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despenser (c. 1287/1289 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the Younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the Elder Despenser), by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, ...

in the remake miniseries ''

Les Rois maudits ''The Accursed Kings'' (french: Les Rois maudits ) is a series of historical novels by French author Maurice Druon about the French monarchy in the 14th century. Published between 1955 and 1977, the series has been adapted as a miniseries twice ...

'', based on the French novel series of the same name by

Maurice Druon Maurice Druon (23 April 1918 – 14 April 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Française, of which he served as "Perpetual Secretary" (chairman) between 1985 and 1999. Life and career Born in Paris, France, Druon was the s ...

. He also appeared in series such as ''Éternelle'' and ''Un village français''. His debut in cinema came in 2006, with '' Nouvelle chance'' by

Anne Fontaine Anne Fontaine (born Anne-Fontaine Sibertin-Blanc; 15 July 1959) is a Luxembourger film director, screenwriter, and former actress. She lives and works in France. Life and career Born Anne-Fontaine Sibertin-Blanc in Luxembourg, sister of actor Je ...

and ''L'homme de sa vie'' by

Zabou Breitman Zabou Breitman (born Isabelle Breitman; 30 October 1959), or simply Zabou, is a French actress and director. She is the daughter of actors Jean-Claude Deret and Céline Léger. At the age of four, she appeared in her first movie. Since 1981, Za ...

. The following year, he appeared in acclaimed director

Eric Rohmer The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

's final film, ''

Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon ''The Romance of Astrea and Celadon'' (french: Les Amours d'Astrée et de Céladon) is a 2007 historical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer and starring Andy Gillet and Stéphanie Crayencour. Based on Honoré d'Urf ...

''.

Private life

Gillet publicly shares on social media that his partner is musician, singer and actor Brice Michelini from

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

who appeared in

Rebecca Zlotowski Rebecca Zlotowski (born 21 April 1980) is a French film director and screenwriter. Education A former student at prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure, Rebecca Zlotowski received her teaching qualification in French modern literature in 2003. ...

's '' Planétarium'' (2016). When asked why he chose to write the song ''Andy, I Love You'' (French: ''Andy, Je T'aime'') and have him acting in the music video, Michelini declared:

"Because I love Andy. Andy, he's the man I love. This name came to me before I even made music. Andy is a muse: not just mine, a lot of people's muse. For me it was a waste to live with a muse and not do anything with it."

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillet, Andy 1981 births Living people People from Saint-Denis, Réunion French male models French male stage actors French male film actors