Jacques Villeret
Jacques Villeret (6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy Le Dîner de Cons. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious medal and title of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. Villeret was born Jacky Boufroura in Loches, Indre-et-Loire, France, to an Algerian father and a French mother. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSAD) in the same class as Louis Seigner, the grandfather of Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathilde Seigner. While he was most famous for his role as François Pignon in Le Dîner de Cons; both on the stage and in the film, his other celebrated roles included the extra terrestrial in La soupe aux choux, the autistic Mo in L'été en pente douce, and marshal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel in Papy fait de la résistance. At the time of making the film Un aller simple directed by Laurent Heynemann – a film about integration and racism and the clash of generations – he said that watching the young actors in the film, Barbara Schulz and Lorant Deutsch, reminded him of the insouciance he had had as a young man with his friends at the Conservatoire. When his career was at its height, with the success of Le Dîner de Cons, everything collapsed in a tragedy mirroring the plot of the film. Villeret separated from his wife and suffered an enormous financial downfall due to tax issues, plunging him into depression. Villeret turned to alcohol for comfort, and became an alcoholic. He isolated himself and hid away for long periods. He later said: Alcohol is a friend, but a friend who means you harm. Villeret's love of his profession helped to bring his career back from the brink. In an interview in 2001 he spoke of his admiration for performers like Johnny Hallyday and Jacques Brel for their level of commitment, and quoted the author Louis-Ferdinand Céline: When I write, I put my balls on the table. In 1979 Villeret married Irina Tarassov, an actress and writer. They separated in 1998. Tassarov wrote about their life together in her book Un jour, tout ira bien. (One day, everything will go well). In 2002 Villeret met Seny, a Senegalese-French widow descended through her grandfather, Mor Diarra N'Dao, from a long line of Sérès nobles of the ancient Kingdom of Saloum, and they fell instantly and deeply in love. They were partners for three years, and she was about to move to Paris to be with him when he died in Évreux in January 2005 of a liver haemorrhage. Seny wrote a memoir of their life together, Jacques Villeret, mon bébé blanc, which was published in Paris by Le Cherche Midi in 2005. Source: Article "Jacques Villeret" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Danton
(François-Joseph Westermann)
The Good and the Bad
(Jacques)
Viper in the Fist
(Jacques Rézeau)
The Dinner Game
(François Pignon)
Le Rabat-joie
(Léon)
The Cabbage Soup
(L'Oxien (La Denrée))
One Way Ticket
(Jean-Pierre)
Hold-up
(Jeremie Blanchet, taxi driver)
The Do-Gooders
(lucien)
The Children of the Marshland
(Henri Pignol, aka Riton)
Malabar Princess
(Gaspard)
Mookie
(Frère Benoît)
Bolero: Dance of Life
(Jacques)
Grey Souls
(Le juge Mierck)
Les Folles Années du Twist
(M'sieur John Wayne)
Black Mic Mac
(Michel Le Gorgues)
Last Summer in Tangiers
(Marcus)
L'été en pente douce
(Maurice Leheurt aka Mo)
The Castaways of Turtle Island
(Petit Nono)
Malevil
(Momo)
Iznogoud
(Haroun El Poussah)
Keep Your Right Up
(Individual)
Gramps Is in the Resistance
(Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel)
The Antidote
(André Morin)
Le Furet
(le Furet)
The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck
(Martineau)
Strange Gardens
(Jacques Pouzay)
The Joint Brothers
(Momo)
The Vultures
(Brigadier Béral)
A Crime in Paradise
(Jojo Braconnier)
Three Years
(Alexandre Guillermen)
Le Dernier Été
(Georges Mandel)
Waiter!
(Gilbert, Alex's friend)
Le bal des Casse-pieds
(Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo)
Us Two
(Tonton Musique)
Move Along, There Is Nothing to See!
(Pelissier)
The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro
(Le batteur)
588 rue Paradis
(Alexandre Pagès)
The Big Brother
(Inspecteur Coleau)
Another Man, Another Chance
(Customer)
La Galette du roi
(Utte de Danemark)
Nothing to Report
(Soldat Girot)
Mountain Pass
(Georges)
The Son of the Mekong
(Durieux)
Georges Dandin de Molière
(Georges Dandin)
Dialogue de sourds
(The blind)
Heart to Heart
(Sitting student)
L'Âge d'or de la pub
(Self (archive footage))
Robert et Robert
(Robert Villiers)
Golden Boy
(Antoine Bonvoisin)
A Second Chance
(L'agent immobilier)
Dumb But Disciplined
(Jacques Cardot)
Drôle de samedi
(Maurice, the butcher)
Effraction
(Valentin Tralande, truand violent)
Un Balcon en forêt
(Gourcuff)
The Mouth Agape
((uncredited))
Out of Whack
(Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
(Self (archive footage))
Edith and Marcel
(Jacques Barbier)
La Petite Amie
(Guillaume Bertin)
C'est encore mieux l'après-midi
(Georges Pigier)
Nailcruncher
(Salomon)
Detective Story
(Le photographe)
Un fil à la patte
(Bouzin)
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
(Lingerie Man)
Mon premier amour
(Jacques Labrousse)
La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons
(Self)
Serious as Pleasure
(Le gendarme)
Un amour de pluie
(Guillaume)
Actors
(Self)
The Common Man
(Gérald)
Nono Nénesse
(Nono)
Merci Bernard
Nulle part ailleurs
(Self)
Spécial cinéma
(Self)
Le Grand Échiquier
(Self)
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
(Self)
Numéro un
(Self)
Numéro un
(Self - Host)
Midi Première
(Self)
Champs-Elysées
(Self)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
(Self (archive footage))
Discorama
(Self)
Vivement dimanche
(Self)
Matin Bonheur
(Self)