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.
Self
Self
Self
Self - Host
Self (archive footage)
François Pignon
L'Oxien (La Denrée)
Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel
Jacques
The Man Who Eats Yogurt
François-Joseph Westermann
Henri Pignol, aka Riton
Self (archive footage)
Momo
Jeremie Blanchet, taxi driver
Le gendarme
Lingerie Man
Michel Le Gorgues
Haroun El Poussah
Jean-Pierre
Jojo Braconnier
Robert Villiers
Salomon
Brigadier Béral
Customer
Jacques Villeret
Self (archive footage)
Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
Alexandre Pagès
Gérald
Martineau
L'agent immobilier
André Morin
Jacques Pouzay
Gilbert, Alex's friend
Jacques Barbier
Sitting student
Pelissier
Jacques Rézeau
Petit Nono
Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo
Utte de Danemark
Momo
Valentin Tralande, truand violent
Jacques
(uncredited)
Gaspard
Georges Mandel
Marcus
Frère Benoît
Soldat Girot
Individual
Le juge Mierck
Guillaume
Inspecteur Coleau
lucien
Tonton Musique
Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...
Le pompiste
Maurice, the butcher
Jacques Cardot
Alexandre Guillermen
le Furet
Bouzin
Georges Pigier
Antoine Bonvoisin
Self
Georges
Nono
Jacques Labrousse
Guillaume Bertin
M'sieur John Wayne
Gourcuff
Le photographe
Georges Dandin
Léon
Durieux
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The blind
Self
Le batteur
Self
Self
Self
Self
Self
Self
Self