Jacques Villeret
Acting
Born: February 6, 1951 · Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France
Died: January 28, 2005 (aged 53)
Highest Rated
Biography
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.
Known for
The Dinner Game
1998
The Cabbage Soup
1981
Gramps Is in the Resistance
1983
Iznogoud
2005
The Children of the Marshland
1999
Danton
1983
Viper in the Fist
2004
Hold-up
1985
A Crime in Paradise
2001
The Vultures
1984
Strange Gardens
2003
The Antidote
2005
Photos (1)
Movies (72)
The Dinner Game
François Pignon
The Cabbage Soup
L'Oxien (La Denrée)
Danton
François-Joseph Westermann
First Name: Carmen
The Man Who Eats Yogurt
Actors
Jacques Villeret
Hold-up
Jeremie Blanchet, chauffeur de taxi
Edith and Marcel
Jacques Barbier
L'été en pente douce
Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
Bolero
Jacques
The Joint Brothers
Momo
Iznogoud
Haroun El Poussah
Keep Your Right Up
Individual
A Crime in Paradise
Jojo Braconnier
Gramps Is in the Resistance
Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
Lingerie Man
Malabar Princess
Gaspard
Loving in the Rain
Guillaume
Belmondo: The Incorrigible
2022
Another Man, Another Chance
Customer
Last Summer in Tangiers
Marcus
Le Bal des casse-pieds
Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo
The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck
Martineau
588 rue Paradis
Alexandre Pagès
The Good and the Bad
Simon
The Children of the Marshland
Henri Pignol, aka Riton
The Vultures
Brigadier Béral
Le Furet
le Furet
The Common Man
Gérald
Viper in the Fist
Jacques Rézeau
Out of Whack
Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...
A Second Chance
L'agent immobilier
The Do-Gooders
lucien
The Mouth Agape
(uncredited)
The Big Brother
Inspecteur Coleau
The Antidote
André Morin
The Castaways of Turtle Island
Bernard Dupoirier, dit « Petit Nono »
Mountain Pass
Georges
Waiter!
Gilbert, Alex's friend
One Way Ticket
Jean-Pierre
Serious as Pleasure
Le gendarme
Effraction
Valentin Tralande, truand violent
Golden Boy
Antoine Bonvoisin
Us Two
Tonton Musique
Heart to Heart
Sitting student
Nono Nénesse
Nono
Strange Gardens
Jacques Pouzay
Three Years
Alexandre Guillermen
The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro
Le batteur
Drôle de samedi
Maurice, the butcher
Nailcruncher
Salomon
Grey Souls
Le juge Mierck
C'est encore mieux l'après-midi
Georges Pigier
La Galette du roi
Utte de Danemark
Black Mic Mac
Michel Le Gorgues
Un Balcon en forêt
Gourcuff
Move Along, There Is Nothing to See!
Pelissier
Georges Dandin de Molière
Georges Dandin
Malevil
Momo
Robert et Robert
Robert Villiers
Un fil à la patte
Bouzin
La Petite Amie
Guillaume Bertin
The Son of the Mekong
Durieux
Mookie
Frère Benoît
Dialogue de sourds
The blind
Dumb But Disciplined
Jacques Cardot
Les Folles Années du Twist
M'sieur John Wayne
Wacko
Le pompiste
Le Dernier Été
Georges Mandel
Nothing to Report
Soldat Girot
Detective Story
Le photographe
Le Rabat-joie
Léon
Mon Premier Amour
Jacques Labrousse
TV Shows (2)
Self / Appearances (18)
Spécial cinéma
Self · 1 eps
Sacrée soirée
Self · 1 eps
Champs-Elysées
Self · 9 eps
Vivement dimanche
Self · 2 eps
Midi Première
Self · 1 eps
Numéro un
Self · 11 eps
Numéro un
Self - Host · 1 eps
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self · 5 eps
Le Grand Échiquier
Self · 4 eps
Discorama
Self · 1 eps
Nulle part ailleurs
Self · 1 eps
Ciné regards
Self · 1 eps
Matin Bonheur
Self · 2 eps
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
L'Âge d'or de la pub
Self (archive footage)
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique
Self (archive footage)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Self (archive footage)
La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons
Self