Stéphane Bak (born 19 September 1996) is a Franco-Congolese actor and comedian. He was showcased as "The youngest comedian in France," in 2012. As an actor his most notable film roles include Christopher Barratier's '' Team Spirit'', David Moreau's ''Alone'', and

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

’s award-winning '' Elle''. More recently, Bak has starred in

André Téchiné André Téchiné (; born 13 March 1943) is a French screenwriter and film director. He has a long and distinguished career that places him among the most accomplished post- New Wave French film directors. Téchiné belongs to a second generation ...

’s ''Farewell to the Night'' and

Joël Karekezi Joël Karekezi (born 12 December 1985) is a Rwandan screenwriter, film director and film producer. His short film ''The Pardon'', about reconciliation after the Rwandan genocide against Tutsi in 1994, won the Golden Impala award at the Amakula ...

’s ''

The Mercy of the Jungle ''The Mercy of the Jungle'' (French: ''La Miséricorde de la Jungle'') is a 2018 internationally co-produced film from Rwandan director Joël Karekezi. It tells the story of two Rwandan soldiers separated from their military unit at the beginn ...

''.

Early life

Bak was born in

Le Blanc-Mesnil () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, between Charles de Gaulle Airport and le Bourget Airport. Name The name Le Blanc-Mesnil was recorded for the first time in the 11th centur ...

, Seine-Saint-Denis. Bak is of Congolese origin; his father is a delivery driver and his mother is a receptionist, and he has four brothers and sisters. In 2011, he was expelled from high school and forced to take correspondence courses. He was authorised by the French Department of Social Affairs to start working at the age of 14.

Career

Bak started his career as a stand-up comedian in December 2010, performing in the small clubs of Paris, most notably at

Le Palace Le Palace is a Paris theatre located at 8, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement. It is best known for its years as a nightclub. Created by impresario Fabrice Emaer in 1978, intellectuals, actors, designers, and American and Europ ...

and at Théâtre Trévise. In 2011, he participated in the

Montreux Comedy Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

alongside the comedic duo Les Chevaliers du fiel. In September 2012, he performed at

Grand Rex Le Grand Rex is a Parisian cinema and concert venue. Location and access It is located at , boulevard Poissonnière in the 2nd arrondissement, on the grands boulevards. Its facades and roofs, as well as its hall and its decor have been lis ...

as part of the evening "Rire ensemble contre le racisme", broadcast on France 2 in prime time before two million viewers. He also appeared at Casino de Paris for "Le Concert solidaire" organized in September 2012 for the 30th anniversary of the organization Handicap International. Spotted by the creators of the show ''

Bref ''Bref.'' (stylized with a period; English: ''In short.'') is a French television series created by Kyan Khojandi, cowritten with Bruno Muschio, and produced by Harry Tordjman for My Box Productions. The first episode was released on Canal+ 29 Au ...

'' who took him under their wing, he participated in the episode "Bref. J'ai eu 30 ans", alongside

Kyan Khojandi Kyan Khojandi (born 29 August 1982) is a French comedian, actor and screenwriter born to a French mother and an Iranian father. He is best known for playing the main character in the television series ''Bref'', which was broadcast on Canal+ fro ...

. In 2013, he played the part of a dealer in the film ''

Les gamins ''Les gamins'' is a 2013 French comedy film. Plot Thomas is a young man who dreams of a career in music. Gilbert is the future father-in-law of Thomas, married to Suzanne for 30 years and father of Lola, the bride of Thomas. Tired of his life as ...

''; he also appeared in Pierre-François Martin-Laval, ''

Serial Teachers ''Serial Teachers'' (French title: ''Les Profs'') is a 2013 French comedy film directed by Pierre-François Martin-Laval. The film is based on the comics ''Les Profs'' by Pica and Erroc. It was the top-grossing French film of the year, with a to ...

''. Bak has participated in several television shows. During the 2012

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

, he intervened every day to present a minisketch for the show '' Grand Journal'' of Canal+. In 2014, he had a segment in the show ''L'Émission pour tous'' presented by

Laurent Ruquier Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone Be ...

on France 2. That same year he played the role of Max in '' Once in a Lifetime''. He is the main actor of the music video '' The Girl Is Mine'' by

99 Souls 99 Souls are a British house duo. They are best known for their 2015 single "The Girl Is Mine", a mash-up of Destiny's Child's "Girl" and Brandy and Monica's " The Boy Is Mine". The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart in Janua ...

featuring

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

and

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

. Released in November 2015, the video was nominated at the

2016 MTV Video Music Awards The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards were held on Sunday night, August 28, 2016 at 9:00–11:54pm EDT at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Adele's "Hello" was the most nominated video with seven categories. This marked the 33rd edition of the live b ...

in the "Best Electronic Video" category. In 2016, he appeared as Omar in

's '' Elle'', and as Jules in

Christophe Barratier Christophe Barratier (born 17 June 1963) is a French film producer, director and screenwriter, and lyricist. Early life and education Barratier is the son of the actress Eva Simonet and M. Barratier. He is the nephew of the film director Jacques ...

's '' Team Spirit''. In 2017, he played Dodji in David Moreau's ''Alone''. In 2018, Bak had his first lead role as Private Faustin, in

Joel Karekezi Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

's ''

'', which had its debut at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on September 8. Bak was selected as one of eight rising stars at the festival, through the yearly "TIFF Rising Star" programme. He also voiced Miles Morales / Spider-Man for the French dub of Peter Ramsey's '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse''. In 2019, he appeared as Bilal in

's drama ''Farewell to the Night'', which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on 12 February. That same year Bak starred alongside

Fionn Whitehead Fionn Whitehead (; born 18 July 1997) is an English actor. He portrayed the lead role in the 2017 film '' Dunkirk'' and the 2018 film '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch''. His first acting credit was in the 2016 ITV miniseries '' Him''. Life Whitehe ...

Sebastian Schipper Sebastian Schipper (born 8 May 1968) is a German actor and filmmaker. Life and career Sebastian Schipper studied acting at the Otto Falckenberg Schule in Munich from 1992 to 1995. He got his first film role in Sönke Wortmann's ''Little Sharks'' ...

's film '' Roads'', which was previously known as ''Caravan''. The film had its world premiere at the 2019

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

Filmography

Film

Music videos

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bak, Stéphane 21st-century French male actors French humorists French male film actors French stand-up comedians French people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent 1996 births Living people French male child actors French male television actors French male comedians People from Le Blanc-Mesnil