Bernard Giraudeau

Early life

He was born on 18 June 1947 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a trainee engineer, qualifying as the first in his class a year later. He served on the helicopter carrier Jeanne d'Arc in 1964–1965 and 1965–1966, and subsequently on the frigate Duquesne and the aircraft carrier Clemenceau before leaving the navy to try his luck as an actor.

Career

Giraudeau first appeared on film in Deux hommes dans la ville (1973), and his first film as director was in 1987, though he continued to work as an actor. As a writer, wrote the text of books of photography as well as publishing children's stories (Contes d'Humahuaca, 2002) and several novels. He was also the reader on the French audiobooks of the Harry Potter series.

Personal life

He was married to actress and author Anny Duperey, with whom he had two children; one of them, Sara Giraudeau, has achieved success as an actress.

Death

In 2000 he suffered a cancer which led to the removal of his left kidney, with a subsequent metastasis in 2005 affecting his lungs. He said that the cancer led him to re-evaluate his life and understand himself better. He devoted some of his time to the support of cancer victims through the Institut Curie and the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Paris. He died of his cancer on 17 July 2010 in a Paris hospital.

Filmography as director

1988 – La Face de l'ogre (film TV) 1991 – L'Autre (film, 1991), d'après le roman d'Andrée Chédid 1992 – Un été glacé (film TV) 1996 – Les Caprices d'un fleuve

Documentaries

The travels of Bernard Giraudeau 1992 – La Transamazonienne 1999 – Un ami chilien 1999 – Chili Norte – Chili Sure 2003 – Esquisses Philippines