Christian Jean-Marie Clavier (; born 6 May 1952) is a French actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. He became widely popular after starring in two hit comedy series:

Patrice Leconte Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter. Life and career Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Insti ...

's ''

Les Bronzés ''French Fried Vacation'' (french: Les Bronzés, link=no, ) is a cult French comedy film directed by Patrice Leconte. The film satirizes life resorts such as Club Med. It is one of many films by the French comedy group Le Splendid. Josiane Bala ...

'' and ''

Les Visiteurs ''Les Visiteurs'' (; en, The Visitors) is a French fantasy comedy film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré and released in 1993. In this comedy, a 12th-century knight and his squire travel in time to the end of the 20th century and find themselves adr ...

'' directed by

Jean-Marie Poiré Jean-Marie Poiré (; born 10 July 1945) is a French film director, and screenwriter. He is the son of the producer Alain Poiré. Filmography As director * ''Les petits câlins'' (''The Little Wheedlers'') (1978) * ''Retour en force'' (''Return i ...

. He furthered his popularity by taking a role of

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

in the screen adaptations of the comic books by

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration with ...

and

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

. He is the brother of French

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

Stéphane Clavier Stéphane Clavier (born 14 March 1955) is a French screenwriter and film director. Personal life Stéphane is the brother of actor Christian Clavier Christian Jean-Marie Clavier (; born 6 May 1952) is a French actor, screenwriter, film produce ...

Life and career

After his high class studies at the Neuilly Lycée Pasteur—though asserted here and there, he never studied at ''

Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

(Sciences Po'') —he started his actor career with the

comedic Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

''troupe'' Splendid, which had hits with films like ''

Les Bronzés font du ski ''French Fried Vacation 2'' (''Les Bronzés font du ski'') is a classic 1979 French comedy directed by Patrice Leconte. It is a sequel to ''Les Bronzés'' (1978), and it was followed by '' Les Bronzés 3 : Amis pour la vie'' (2006). Plot Th ...

'' and ''

Le Père Noël est une ordure ''Santa Claus Is a Stinker'' or ''Le père Noël est une ordure'' is a French comedy play created in 1979 by the troupe Le Splendid and turned into a film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré in 1982. Plot Pierre, a stuffy and self-righteous volunteer ...

''. His most notable success without the Splendid group, and by far his biggest hit to date, was in the 1993 film ''

les Visiteurs ''Les Visiteurs'' (; en, The Visitors) is a French fantasy comedy film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré and released in 1993. In this comedy, a 12th-century knight and his squire travel in time to the end of the 20th century and find themselves adr ...

'', where he played a character known as Jacquouille la Fripouille; the character's cry of "Okkkayyy!!" became a popular exclamation after the movie's success. After ''

'' he was a star, participating in big-budget films like '' Astérix et Obélix contre César'', '' Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre'', and the sequel and remake of '' Visiteurs''. He also played several dramatic roles on television, including M. Thénardier in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' (2000 television version) and

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in a biographical television film. In 2018, he returned to the character of Asterix, this time by providing the character's voice in the animated film '' Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion''. Succeeding the character's original voice actor, Roger Carel, it was his first role in an animated movie. Clavier has played in notable duos with: *

Jean Reno Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French actor. He has worked in American, French, English, Japanese, Spanish and Italian movie productions; Reno appeared in films such as ''Crimson Rivers'', ''Godzilla'', ''The Da Vinci Code'', '' Mission: ...

in ''

'' (the Visitors) and the US remake, Just Visiting, ''

L'Opération Corned-Beef ''L'Opération Corned Beef'' is a French film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré. It was filmed during the summer of 1990 and released on 6 February 1991. It was the fifth collaboration between screenwriters Jean-Marie Poiré and Christian Clavier. Th ...

'' and ''

L'Enquête Corse ''The Corsican File'' () is a 2004 French comedy film directed by Alain Berbérian. It is based on the comic book of the same name, one of the stories from the '' Jack Palmer'' series by René Pétillon. The film was produced by Gaumont and Leg ...

'' (The Corsican investigation). *

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 alm ...

in '' Astérix et Obélix'' (Asterix and Obelix) and ''Les anges gardiens''. He also runs a production company, Ouille Production. He was made ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

on 13 June 1998, and promoted ''Officier'' (Officer) in 2005. He was made ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 2008. He is a friend of former French président Nicolas Sarkozy, and in 2012 emigrated to The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He denies this was as a result of Francois Hollande's punitive tax policy.

Filmography

Actor

Producer

* '' Les Visiteurs 2 : Les Couloirs du temps'' (1998) * ''

Les Visiteurs en Amérique ''Just Visiting'' is a 2001 action film, action comedy film that is an American remake of the French film ''Les Visiteurs''. It stars Jean Reno, Christina Applegate, Christian Clavier, Malcolm McDowell, Tara Reid, and Bridgette Wilson. It follow ...

'' (2001) * ''

Le Cœur sur la main ''The Heart on the Sleeve'' (French: ''Le Coeur sur la main'') is a 1948 French comedy film directed by André Berthomieu and starring Bourvil, Michèle Philippe and Jacques Louvigny. It had admissions in France of 3,657,951. It was shot at th ...

'' (2001) * ''

Lovely Rita, sainte patronne des cas désespérés ''Lovely Rita, sainte patronne des cas désespérés'' is a French film directed by Stéphane Clavier in 2003. The film stars his brother, Christian Clavier. Synopsis Accounts expert, Edgar Lamark, is auditing the naval base of Thierry Ferrand ...

'' (2003)

Box-office

Movies starring Christian Clavier with more than a million of admissions in France.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clavier, Christian 1952 births 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur French film directors French film producers French male stage actors French male film actors French male television actors French male screenwriters French screenwriters Living people Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni Male actors from Paris Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite