Benoît Poelvoorde (, ; born 22 September 1964) is a Belgian actor and comedian.

Early life

His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still a minor. He attended the Jesuit Boarding School of Godinne before he left home at 17 to take classes at the Félicien Rops Technical Institute in Namur (Belgium) where he met

Rémy Belvaux Rémy Nicolas Lucien Belvaux Caroline Hanotte''Rémy Belvaux'' CinéArtistes.com, Septembre 8, 2006. Retrieved on 11 September 2006. (10 November 1966 – 4 September 2006) was a Belgian actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He was the brot ...

. He developed a passion for theater and became noted for his atypical interpretations. Not only was he destined to become a draughtsman, he also developed professionality as a photographer. During his graphic design studies at the École de recherche graphique in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, he also became friends with André Bonzel and, together with Rémy Belvaux, directed in 1988 ''Pas de C4 pour Daniel Daniel'', his first movie, a student short film (which he co-directed and co-wrote). It was a stylized trailer for a mock-spy film.

Career

Benoit Poelvoorde 20071116 France Bleu Auxerre

In 1992, Poelvoorde, Belvaux and Bonzel wrote, produced and directed together their first long feature ''C'est arrivé près de chez vous'' ('' Man Bites Dog'' internationally) originally a low-budget school graduation project (1992) and a kind of cynical satirical "noir" movie, inspired from the famous Belgian series " Strip-Tease"'' ''which went on to become a critically acclaimed

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

movie. The film received the André Cavens Award for Best Film by the

Belgian Film Critics Association The Belgian Film Critics Association (, UCC) is an organization of film critics from publications based in Brussels, Belgium. History The Belgian Film Critics Association was founded in the early 1950s in Brussels. Its membership includes film r ...

(UCC). Poelvoorde subsequently starred in two series on the French pay-channel Canal+ and several movies such as ''Les Randonneurs'', ''Le Boulet'' and ''Podium'', which made him famous in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and Belgium. In 2001, he starred in ''Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert'', a movie about one of his passions, bicycling. In 2002, he received the Jean Gabin Prize, which recognized the most hopeful young talents. Poelvoorde became a member of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

Jury in 2004 by request of

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

, a big fan of ''Man Bites Dog'' who had presided over the Jury that year. In 2005 he ranked in 7th place in the Walloon version of the Greatest Belgian. In the Flemish version he came in at nr. 400 outside the official list of nominations. In 2008, his performance in the movie ''Astérix aux Jeux olympiques'' won him critical acclaim by both film critics and the public at large. His recurrent character as a pretentious person and a sore loser has drawn comparisons between him and the beloved French comedian Louis de Funès. Poelvoorde also played serious roles. He has starred in 2009 as Etienne Balsan in '' Coco avant Chanel'' by Anne Fontain, with

Audrey Tautou Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in '' Venus Beauty Institute'' (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Awa ...

; as Jean-René in 2010 with Isabelle Carré in a comedy by Jean-Pierre Améris ''Émotifs anonymes'' about two extremely shy persons who fall in love, and also as August Maquet in ''L'autre Dumas'' by Safy Nebbou, alongside

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

and Dominique Blanc, a movie about the creative ghostwriter, Maquet, who played a crucial role in the production of French writer

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

' ''Three Musketeers''. For his work in '' A Place on Earth'' (2013), Poelvoorde received a Magritte Award for Best Actor. He played God in the satirical movie '' The Brand New Testament'' (2015).

Personal life

In November 2008, the actor suffered from depression and was briefly hospitalized at his request in the psychiatric unit of the CHR of

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. The actor revealed in interviews that he suffers from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

. In 2019, during the shooting of the movie ''Raoul Taburin a un secret'', based on the book by Jean-Jacques Sempé, Poelvoorde had a bicycle accident and received 17 stitches.

Selected filmography

Voice acting

* 1996 : ''

Les Guignols de l'info ''Les Guignols'' (, ''The Puppets''), formerly ''Les Guignols de l'info'' (, ''The News Puppets''), is a popular satirical latex puppet show on the French television channel Canal+. The show, which ran daily, was created in 1988 and drew insp ...

'':

Alain Madelin Alain Madelin (; born 26 March 1946) is a French politician. Politician Madelin was minister of Industry in Prime Minister Jacques Chirac's cabinet from 1986 to 1988, a minister of Business in Prime Minister Édouard Balladur's cabinet f ...

(1 episode) * 2009 : '' A Town Called Panic'' * 2024: '' Savages''

Short films

* 1997 : '' Le Signaleur'' * 1988 : '' Pas de C4 pour Daniel Daniel'' by

and André Bonzel

References

External links

* *
Theatre acting career summary
(fro
''L'Annuaire du Spectacle''
on th
''Centre de recherche et de documentation littéraires et théâtrales de la Communauté française de Belgique'' web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poelvoorde, Benoit 1964 births Belgian male actors Belgian male comedians Belgian film directors Living people Magritte Award winners People from Namur (city) People with bipolar disorder Walloon people Belgian male film actors 20th-century Belgian male actors 21st-century Belgian male actors Belgian satirists Belgian comedy film directors Belgian satirical film directors