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 film actor

1973 – Deux Hommes dans la ville, directed by José Giovanni – Frédéric Cazeneuve

1975 – Le Gitan, directed by José Giovanni – Mareuil

1976 – Bilitis, directed by David Hamilton – Lucas

1977 – Moi, fleur bleue – Isidore

1977 – Et la tendresse ? Bordel ! – Luc

1979 – Le Toubib, directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre – François

1980 – La Boum – Éric Thompson

1981 – Viens chez moi, j'habite chez une copine, directed by Patrice Leconte – Daniel

1981 – Croque la vie, directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella – Alain

1981 : Passione d'amore, directed by Ettore Scola – Capitaine Giorgio Bacchetti

1982 : Le Grand Pardon, directed by Alexandre Arcady

1982 : Hécate, directed by Daniel Schmid – Julien Rochelle

1983 : Le Ruffian, directed by José Giovanni – Gérard

1983 : Papy fait de la résistance, directed by Jean-Marie Poiré

1984 – Rue barbare, directed by Gilles Béhat – Chet

1984 – L'Année des méduses, directed by Christopher Frank – Romain Kalides

1985 – Les Spécialistes, directed by Patrice Leconte – Paul Brandon

1985 – Bras de fer, directed by Gérard Vergez – Delancourt

1986 – Les Longs Manteaux – Murat

1986 – Poussière d'ange – Inspector Simon Blount

1987 – L'homme voilé – Pierre

1990 – La Reine blanche, directed by Jean-Loup Hubert – Yvon

1992 – Après l'amour, directed by Diane Kurys – David

1992 – Drôles d'oiseaux, directed by Peter Kassovitz – Constant Van Loo

1993 – Une nouvelle vie, directed by Olivier Assayas – Constantin

1994 – Elles ne pensent qu'à ça..., directed by Charlotte Dubreuil

1994 – Le Fils préféré, directed by Nicole Garcia – Francis

1996 – Ridicule, directed by Patrice Leconte – Abbé de Vilecourt

1997 – Marquise, directed by Véra Belmont – Molière

1997 – Marthe, directed by Jean-Loup Hubert – The Colonel

1997 : Marianna Ucrìa

1998 – TGV, directed by Moussa Touré – Roger

1998 – Le Double de ma moitié, directed by Yves Amoureux – Thierry Montino

1999 – Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes, directed by François Ozon – Léopold

1999 – Une affaire de goût, directed by Bernard Rapp – Frédéric Delamont

2002 – La Petite Lili, directed by Claude Miller – Brice

2002 – Ce jour-là – Emil

2003 – Je suis un assassin – Brice Kantor

2003 – Chok-Dee – Jean

2003 – The Hook

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