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