Denis Podalydès (born 22 April 1963) is a French actor and

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

of Greek descent. Podalydès has appeared in more than 140 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in '' The Officers' Ward'', which was entered into the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

Career

He is a former student of the Paris Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique, and became a pensionnaire of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real ...

in 1997, and then a sociétaire in 2000, now considered as one of their major actors.Du rififi au Français, France Culture, Revue de presse culturelle 16 January 2012.
/ref>Le Parisien: L'argent fâche la Comédie Française (13 January 2012).
/ref> He became the 505th sociétaire on 1st January 2000. Before joining that company he had appeared in '' Sophonisbe'' by Corneille (1988), ''

L'Épreuve ''L'Épreuve'' is a one-act play by French playwright Pierre de Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. He is considered on ...

'' and ''

Les Sincères ''Les Sincères'' is a comedic play by French playwright Pierre Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. He is considered one ...

'' by Marivaux (1989), '' La Double Inconstance'' by Marivaux and ''

Ruy Blas ''Ruy Blas'' is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only averag ...

'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

(1990), '' Le Misanthrope'' by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

, and '' Bérénice'' by Racine (1992), '' Les Fausses Confidences'' by Marivaux (1992), and '' Anatol'' by

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarch ...

in 1995.

Director

From 2006, he began directing for the stage, with several classics: ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th c ...

'' by

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

, then in 2008 ''Fantasio'' by

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

. In 2011, with

Emmanuel Bourdieu Emmanuel Bourdieu (born 6 April 1965 in Paris) is a French writer, playwright, film director and philosopher. He is the youngest son of Marie Claire Brizard and sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Biography While a student at Lycée Henri-IV, he ...

and

Éric Ruf Éric Ruf (born 21 May 1969), is a French actor, set designer and theatre director. He appeared in more than thirty films since 1995. He joined the Comédie-Française in 1993, became a member in 1998 and took the role of managing director in 201 ...

, staged ''Le Cas Jekyll'' by

Christine Montalbetti Christine Montalbetti is a French novelist, playwright and professor of literature at the University of Paris. In her writing, Montalbetti practices what Warren Motte calls "intrusive narration," or a narrative style that engages the reader direc ...

In 2012, he directed the opera ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Paves ...

'' by

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style dur ...

at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while ...

. In February 2013, he directed ''L'Homme qui se hait'', by Emmanuel Bourdieu at the Théâtre national de Chaillot. Podalydès directed the 2017 production of Rossini's ''

Le Comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera ''Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X of France, Charles X. The French ...

'' at the

Opéra Comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

, Paris.Blanmont, Nicholas. Report from Paris. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

'', March 2018, Vol.69 No.3, p296-7.

Filmography

Theater

He was a Sociétaire of the Comédie-Française from 1997 to 2000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Podalydes, Denis 1963 births Living people French male film actors People from Versailles French people of Greek descent Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors French National Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Cours Florent alumni French male screenwriters French screenwriters Audiobook narrators