Jacques Villeret
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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
Credits
Gramps Is in the Resistance (1983)
as Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel
Actors (2000)
as Jacques Villeret
Danton (1983)
as François-Joseph Westermann
First Name: Carmen (1983)
as The Man Who Eats Yogurt
Mountain Pass (1978)
as Georges
The Dinner Game (1998)
as François Pignon
Hold-up (1985)
as Jeremie Blanchet, chauffeur de taxi
Golden Boy (1996)
as Antoine Bonvoisin
Effraction (1983)
as Valentin Tralande, truand violent
Us Two (1979)
as Tonton Musique
The Children of the Marshland (1999)
as Henri Pignol, aka Riton
The Cabbage Soup (1981)
as L'Oxien (La Denrée)
Nailcruncher (1988)
as Salomon
Le Furet (2003)
as le Furet
Serious as Pleasure (1975)
as Le gendarme
Belmondo: The Incorrigible (2022)
Actor
Waiter! (1983)
as Gilbert, Alex's friend
Malabar Princess (2004)
as Gaspard
Edith and Marcel (1983)
as Jacques Barbier
The Mouth Agape (1974)
as (uncredited)
Three Years (1990)
as Alexandre Guillermen
588 rue Paradis (1992)
as Alexandre Pagès
Sale Temps (1987)
Actor
Bolero (1981)
as Jacques
A Crime in Paradise (2001)
as Jojo Braconnier
L'été en pente douce (1987)
as Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
Grey Souls (2005)
as Le juge Mierck
Black Mic Mac (1986)
as Michel Le Gorgues
The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro (1992)
as Le batteur
Le Dernier Été (1997)
as Georges Mandel
Wacko (1994)
as Le pompiste
Drôle de samedi (1985)
as Maurice, the butcher
Robert et Robert (1978)
as Robert Villiers
Georges Dandin de Molière (1997)
as Georges Dandin
Last Summer in Tangiers (1987)
as Marcus
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique (2025)
as Self (archive footage)
One Way Ticket (2001)
as Jean-Pierre
Loving in the Rain (1974)
as Guillaume
The Antidote (2005)
as André Morin
Another Man, Another Chance (1977)
as Customer
Le Bal des casse-pieds (1992)
as Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo
Move Along, There Is Nothing to See! (1983)
as Pelissier
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991)
as Lingerie Man
Dialogue de sourds (1985)
as The blind
Iznogoud (2005)
as Haroun El Poussah
C'est encore mieux l'après-midi (1987)
as Georges Pigier
A Second Chance (1976)
as L'agent immobilier
The Vultures (1984)
as Brigadier Béral
Malevil (1981)
as Momo
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président (2022)
as Self (archive footage)
L'Âge d'or de la pub (2023)
as Self (archive footage)
Le Rabat-joie (1978)
as Léon
The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck (1991)
as Martineau
The Son of the Mekong (1992)
as Durieux
Viper in the Fist (2004)
as Jacques Rézeau
The Good and the Bad (1976)
as Simon
Strange Gardens (2003)
as Jacques Pouzay
The Joint Brothers (1986)
as Momo
Un fil à la patte (1992)
as Bouzin
Nono Nénesse (1976)
as Nono
La Galette du roi (1986)
as Utte de Danemark
The Castaways of Turtle Island (1976)
as Bernard Dupoirier, dit « Petit Nono »
Les Folles Années du Twist (1986)
as M'sieur John Wayne
Dumb But Disciplined (1979)
as Jacques Cardot
Keep Your Right Up (1987)
as Individual
Heart to Heart (1979)
as Sitting student
The Common Man (1975)
as Gérald
The Big Brother (1982)
as Inspecteur Coleau
Out of Whack (1979)
as Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...
The Do-Gooders (2005)
as lucien
Detective Story (1972)
as Le photographe
Mookie (1998)
as Frère Benoît
La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons (2015)
as Self
Un Balcon en forêt (1978)
as Gourcuff
Nothing to Report (1973)
as Soldat Girot
La Petite Amie (1988)
as Guillaume Bertin
Mon Premier Amour (1978)
as Jacques Labrousse