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
L'été en pente douce (1987)
as Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
The Dinner Game (1998)
as François Pignon
The Cabbage Soup (1981)
as L'Oxien (La Denrée)
Actors (2000)
as Jacques Villeret
Hold-up (1985)
as Jeremie Blanchet, chauffeur de taxi
First Name: Carmen (1983)
as The Man Who Eats Yogurt
Danton (1983)
as François-Joseph Westermann
Bolero (1981)
as Jacques
Another Man, Another Chance (1977)
as Customer
Black Mic Mac (1986)
as Michel Le Gorgues
A Crime in Paradise (2001)
as Jojo Braconnier
Gramps Is in the Resistance (1983)
as Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel
Loving in the Rain (1974)
as Guillaume
Last Summer in Tangiers (1987)
as Marcus
The Children of the Marshland (1999)
as Henri Pignol, aka Riton
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)
Three Years (1990)
as Alexandre Guillermen
Malabar Princess (2004)
as Gaspard
Nailcruncher (1988)
as Salomon
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991)
as Lingerie Man
Le Bal des casse-pieds (1992)
as Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo
A Second Chance (1976)
as L'agent immobilier
Belmondo: The Incorrigible (2022)
Actor
The Big Brother (1982)
as Inspecteur Coleau
588 rue Paradis (1992)
as Alexandre Pagès
The Castaways of Turtle Island (1976)
as Bernard Dupoirier, dit « Petit Nono »
The Good and the Bad (1976)
as Jacques
Serious as Pleasure (1975)
as Le gendarme
Effraction (1983)
as Valentin Tralande, truand violent
Move Along, There Is Nothing to See! (1983)
as Pelissier
Golden Boy (1996)
as Antoine Bonvoisin
Edith and Marcel (1983)
as Jacques Barbier
La Galette du roi (1986)
as Utte de Danemark
The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro (1992)
as Le batteur
Un fil à la patte (1989)
as Bouzin
The Common Man (1975)
as Gérald
C'est encore mieux l'après-midi (1987)
as Georges Pigier
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique (2025)
as Self (archive footage)
Mountain Pass (1978)
as Georges
The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck (1991)
as Martineau
Le Furet (2003)
as le Furet
The Vultures (1984)
as Brigadier Béral
Us Two (1979)
as Tonton Musique
Le Dernier Été (1997)
as Georges Mandel
Wacko (1994)
as Le pompiste
Iznogoud (2005)
as Haroun El Poussah
Out of Whack (1979)
as Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...
Waiter! (1983)
as Gilbert, Alex's friend
Nono Nénesse (1976)
as Nono
Strange Gardens (2003)
as Jacques Pouzay
Keep Your Right Up (1987)
as Individual
Grey Souls (2005)
as Le juge Mierck
Robert et Robert (1978)
as Robert Villiers
One Way Ticket (2001)
as Jean-Pierre
The Mouth Agape (1974)
as (uncredited)
The Antidote (2005)
as André Morin
Sale Temps (1987)
Actor
Viper in the Fist (2004)
as Jacques Rézeau
Malevil (1981)
as Momo
Drôle de samedi (1985)
as Maurice, the butcher
Dumb But Disciplined (1979)
as Jacques Cardot
The Joint Brothers (1986)
as Momo
The Son of the Mekong (1992)
as Durieux
Les Folles Années du Twist (1986)
as M'sieur John Wayne
Georges Dandin de Molière (1997)
as Georges Dandin
Le Rabat-joie (1978)
as Léon
Nothing to Report (1973)
as Soldat Girot
Heart to Heart (1979)
as Sitting student
Un Balcon en forêt (1978)
as Gourcuff
La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons (2015)
as Self
Dialogue de sourds (1985)
as The blind
The Do-Gooders (2005)
as lucien
Detective Story (1972)
as Le photographe
Mon Premier Amour (1978)
as Jacques Labrousse
Mookie (1998)
as Frère Benoît
La Petite Amie (1988)
as Guillaume Bertin