Mélanie Laurent

Mélanie Laurent (; born 21 February 1983) is a French actress and filmmaker. She has received two César Awards and a Lumière Award. Internationally, Laurent is known for her roles in ''Inglourious Basterds'' (2009), '' Now You See Me'' (2013), '' Operation Finale'' (2018) and '' 6 Underground'' (2019).

Laurent began acting at age sixteen, cast by Gérard Depardieu in a small role in the romantic drama ''The Bridge'' (1999). She gained wider recognition for her supporting work in several French films, including the comedy '' Dikkenek'' (2006), for which she won Étoiles d'Or for Best Female Newcomer. Her breakthrough role came in the 2006 drama film '' Don't Worry, I'm Fine'', for which she won the César Award for Most Promising Actress and the Prix Romy Schneider. Laurent made her Hollywood debut in 2009 with the role of Shosanna Dreyfus in Quentin Tarantino's blockbuster war film ''Inglourious Basterds''. Her performance won the Online Film Critics Society and the Austin Film Critics Association Best Actress Awards.

While she has worked mainly in independent films, including ''Paris'' (2008) and ''Enemy'' (2013), Laurent also appeared in commercially successful international films, including the comedy drama '' Beginners'' (2011), and the caper film '' Now You See Me'' (2013), the former earning her a nomination at the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other notable works include the art-house drama '' The Round Up'' (2010), the comedy drama '' The Day I Saw Your Heart'' (2011), and the mystery thriller '' Night Train to Lisbon'' (2013). She is also known for voicing Mary Katherine and Disgust in the French dubs of ''Epic'' (2013) and '' Inside Out'' (2015) respectively. Additionally, she starred in Chris Weitz's 2018 drama '' Operation Finale'', telling the story of the capture of Nazi Adolf Eichmann.

In addition to her film career, Laurent has appeared in stage productions in France. She made her theatre debut in 2010 in Nicolas Bedos's ''Promenade de santé''. The short film ''De moins en moins'' (2008) marked her debut as a filmmaker. Her feature film directorial debut is '' The Adopted'' (2011). '' Respire'' (2014), her second production as a director, was screened in the Critics' Week section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. She made her singing debut with a studio album '' En t'attendant (Waiting For You)'' in 2011.

Early life

Laurent was born on 21 February 1983 in Paris, France the daughter of Annick (a ballerina) and Pierre Laurent (a voiceover actor, who dubs the character Ned Flanders in the French version of ''The Simpsons'').
Her father is from Nancy and her mother is Jewish, of both Ashkenazi Jewish (Polish-Jewish) and Sephardic Jewish ( Tunisian-Jewish) descent. Her grandfather was deported from Poland during the Nazi occupation, but survived. Her maternal grandparents were film poster editors.
She grew up in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

Laurent visited the set of '' Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar'' with her friend and the latter's father. Actor Gérard Depardieu, seeing Laurent there, asked her if she wanted to be in films. Laurent replied, "Why not?". He strongly advised her not to take acting classes because he believed she already had the necessary skills. When Laurent was 16, Depardieu gave her a part in '' The Bridge'', a drama he starred in and co-directed with Frédéric Auburtin. Laurent played the role of Lisbeth Daboval, the daughter of one of the protagonists of the film, Claire Daboval. Laurent also worked as a voiceover actor, dubbing the character Satsuki in the French version of ''My Neighbour Totoro'', as well as the younger version of Madame de Fleurville in an animated adaptation of '' Sophie's Misfortunes''.

Career

2006-2008: debut and early success

Laurent played minor roles in a number of films early in her career. She appeared in Michel Blanc's drama '' Summer Things'', Jackie Chan's comedy-drama '' Rice Rhapsody'', Jacques Audiard's drama '' The Beat That My Heart Skipped'' and the war film '' Days of Glory'' about the Free French Forces.

Laurent's breakthrough role came in 2006, when she played a sullen 19-year-old who longed for her lost twin brother, in Philippe Lioret's '' Don't Worry, I'm Fine''. She won a César Award for Most Promising Actress for her performance. In a review for '' Variety'', Ronnie Scheib praised Laurent and wrote that she, "makes her vibrant character's downward spiral totally believable without indulging in moody sullenness". That same year, she and Belgian actor Jérémie Renier were awarded France's Romy Schneider and Jean Gabin Prizes for most promising actor and actress. Laurent then starred in the Franco-Belgian '' Dikkenek'', a comedy directed by Olivier Van Hoofstadt that has attained a cult film over the years owing to its Belgian-style humour, in which she co-starred alongside Marion Cotillard, Jérémie Renier, Jean-Luc Couchard and Dominique Pinon. For her performance in the film, Laurent won the Étoiles d'Or for Best Female Newcomer.

In 2007, Laurent appeared in films including '' Le tueur'' and '' Hidden Love''. She was nominated for the Lumière Award for Best Actress for her performance in ''La Chambre des morts''. Laurent next appeared in Cédric Klapisch's 2008 comedy drama ''Paris'', a French film concerning a diverse group of people. The film has an ensemble cast including Laurent, Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, and François Cluzet. The film was well received and praised for the cast's performances.

2009-2010: Hollywood debut and breakthrough

Laurent was scheduled to direct her first play, ''Mi-cuit cœur pistache'' (the name of a dessert she particularly likes) in January 2009 at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris. She had to abandon the project when she was cast as Shosanna Dreyfus, a Parisian who seeks revenge on Nazis in the Quentin Tarantino film ''Inglourious Basterds,'' alongside Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger and Christoph Waltz. It was a French-language role for which she learned to speak English for a few scenes. The film was a big commercial and critical success, grossing over $321 million in theaters worldwide. Laurent's performance was praised by several critics. Kyle Buchanan of '' Movieline'' wrote: "Mélanie Laurent provides ''Inglourious Basterds'' its heart and soul. It falls to the 26-year-old French actress to anchor some of the World War II film's most challenging scenes as Shosanna."

Owen Gleiberman of ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote that Laurent should have received the nomination at the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards saying, "In drawing attention to one performer, in particular, whom they left out of the Best Supporting Actress category, ..I flat-out adore this performance and I suspect that many others do too," and further lauding Laurent's performance he added, " aurentis radiant and, in a unique Tarantino way, heartbreaking. Sexy and luminous in the heat of her valor. Putting out fire – and setting it. It becomes an anthem of noirish dread and excitement, a sign that Laurent, as Shosanna, has found her destiny."

In an interview, Laurent stated that she went into ''Inglourious Basterds'' with adoration for Quentin Tarantino. " he Frenchdon't see him like an independent director; we just see him as the best director, ever, rom the United States" About the process of auditioning, Laurent said that she knew right from the start that this was a film she had to be in, as she felt a connection to her role in the film, because of the history of her Jewish family.

In addition, Laurent won a number of accolades for her portrayal of Shosanna including Austin Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress, and nominations at the Detroit Film Critics Society Awards, Empire Award for Best Actress, and Saturn Award for Best Actress among others. The highly anticipated film, which had been in development since 1998, marked Laurent's first major role in an American film and Laurent found herself pushed into mainstream success in North America.

Laurent's partner Julien Boisselier, as well as Marie Denarnaud, Mélanie Doutey, and Louise Monot were to act in the production while short film clips were to be projected on stage, some of them shot at the nightclub Le Baron, which Laurent used to frequent during the writing period.

In 2010, Laurent starred in '' The Round Up'', a French film directed by Roselyne Bosch, and produced by Alain Goldman, alongside Jean Reno, Sylvie Testud, and Gad Elmaleh. Based on the true story of a young Jewish boy, the film depicts the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, the mass arrest of Jews by French police who were Nazi accomplices in Paris in July 1942. The film and Laurent's performance were well received by the critics, with Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' deeming it "well acted". John Anderson of ''Newsday'' lauded Laurent saying that she gave an "inspiring performance as a gentile nurse".

2011-present: continued success

Laurent had also planned another feature film, ''Putain de pluie!'', produced by Alain Attal's Productions du Trésor, whose script she co-wrote with Morgan Perez and which she intended to direct. Originally set for filming in the spring of 2009, it was postponed because of her work on ''Inglourious Basterds''. Knowing that she could speak French, and had already acted in French in one of the short films in ''Paris, je t'aime'', she offered the first role to Natalie Portman, who declined because of the script's language.

Laurent played the part of the violinist in Radu Mihăileanu's '' Le Concert''—she called it "a smart movie and a popular movie", and added that she was, "glad because French people wanted to watch a movie with classical music." Mick LaSalle of ''San Francisco Chronicle'' called it a "role with great technical demands" and praising Laurent wrote, "she's extremely subtle and reserved ... "The Concert" constitutes a breakthrough for her, in that it unlocks her emotional floodgates".

Laurent hosted both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 64th Cannes Film Festival. In 2011, she teamed with Mike Mills, appearing opposite Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer in '' Beginners'', a comedy drama that marked Laurent's second English-speaking role in Hollywood. Laurent plays Anna, an irreverent French actress. Loosely based on Mills' own life, the film depicts the story of a father coming out of the closet at the age of 75 after the death of his wife of 45 years. The film opened to critical acclaim and Laurent's performance was well received, with Calvin Wilson of ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' remarking that Laurent imbued a "soulful charisma" into the role.

Laurent then starred opposite Jeremy Irons in '' Night Train to Lisbon'', a 2013 drama film based on the novel of the same name directed by Bille August. Jessica Kiang of '' Indie Wire'' noted that Laurent was "given less to do" but lauded her performance writing that she, "makes the most of her truncated screen time".

Laurent appeared in the Louis Leterrier's 2013 caper film '' Now You See Me'' as a French Interpol agent who investigates the bank theft alongside Mark Ruffalo and an ensemble cast. The film was a major commercial success grossing over 351.7 million dollars, receiving mixed reviews but praise for the performances of the entire cast. Todd McCarthy of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' gave Laurent the highest praise and wrote, " aurentis responsible for the only measurable amount of warmth the film exudes."

Laurent's next release, the Canadian-Spanish psychological thriller film ''Enemy'', directed by Denis Villeneuve, was screened at the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Loosely adapted by Javier Gullón from José Saramago

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