Christian Jean-Marie Clavier (French pronunciation: [kʁistjɑ̃ ʒɑ̃ maʁi klavje]; born 6 May 1952) is a French actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. A founder of Le Splendid in the 1970s, a Parisian café-théâtre company which soon garnered success, he became widely popular after starring in two hit comedy series: Patrice Leconte's Les Bronzés and Jean-Marie Poiré's Les Visiteurs.
Christian Clavier | |
|---|---|
 Clavier at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born | Christian Jean-Marie Clavier 6 May 1952 Paris, France |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer |
| Years active | 1973–present |
Clavier later furthered his popularity by taking the role of Asterix in screen adaptations of the renowned comic books by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny. In 2023, President Emmanuel Macron saluted Clavier's work, stating: "You have been all the faces of the families of France, the infatuated son-in-law, the bewildered uncle, the pretentious cousin, the jealous husband, the cantankerous father. We have grown and aged with you and our children will grow and age with you".[1]
He is the brother of director Stéphane Clavier.
Life and career
editAfter his high class studies at the Neuilly Lycée Pasteur—though asserted here and there, he never studied at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) [2]—he started his actor career with the comedic theater troupe Splendid, which had hits with films like Les Bronzés font du ski and Le Père Noël est une ordure.
His most notable success without the Splendid group, and by far his biggest hit to date, was in the 1993 film les Visiteurs, where he played a character known as Jacquouille la Fripouille; the character's cry of "Okkkayyy!!" became a popular exclamation after the movie's success.
After les Visiteurs he was a star, participating in big-budget films like Astérix et Obélix contre César, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre, and the sequel and remake of Visiteurs. He also played several dramatic roles on television, including M. Thénardier in Les Misérables (2000 television version) and Napoléon in a biographical television film. In 2018, he returned to the character of Asterix, this time by providing the character's voice in the animated film Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion. Succeeding the character's original voice actor, Roger Carel, it was his first role in an animated movie.
Clavier has played in notable duos with:
- Jean Reno in les Visiteurs (the Visitors) and the US remake, Just Visiting, L'Opération Corned-Beef and L'Enquête Corse (The Corsican investigation).
- Gérard Depardieu in Astérix et Obélix (Asterix and Obelix) and Les anges gardiens.
He also runs a production company, Ouille Production.
He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite on 13 June 1998,[3] and promoted Officier (Officer) in 2005.[3] He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 2008.[4]
He is a friend of former French président Nicolas Sarkozy, and in 2012 emigrated to The United Kingdom. He denies this was as a result of Francois Hollande's punitive tax policy.[5]
Filmography
editActor
edit| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | L'An 01 | Viewer | Jacques Doillon | |
| 1974 | Les suspects | Photographer | Michel Wyn | |
| Bonne présentation exigée | Heating Engineer | Charles Nemes | Short | |
| 1975 | Let Joy Reign Supreme | Valet | Bertrand Tavernier | |
| C'est pas parce qu'on a rien à dire qu'il faut fermer sa gueule... | Gay Cop | Jacques Besnard | ||
| Le bol d'air | Christian | Charles Nemes (2) | Short | |
| 1976 | F comme Fairbanks | Waiter | Maurice Dugowson | |
| Attention les yeux! | Cop | Gérard Pirès | ||
| 1977 | This Sweet Sickness | François | Claude Miller | |
| Spoiled Children | TV director | Bertrand Tavernier (2) | ||
| Vous n'aurez pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine | Narrator | Coluche | ||
| Le diable dans la boîte | Renaud | Pierre Lary | ||
| L'amour en herbe | Christian's friend | Roger Andrieux | ||
| 1978 | Les Bronzés | Jerome Tarere | Patrice Leconte | |
| La tortue sur le dos | Luc Béraud | |||
| 1979 | Les Bronzés font du ski | Jerome Tarere | Patrice Leconte (2) | |
| Heroes Are Not Wet Behind the Ears | 2CV Man | Charles Nemes (3) | ||
| 1980 | Cocktail Molotov | Beatnick | Diane Kurys | |
| Je vais craquer!!! | Jérôme Ozendron | François Leterrier | ||
| 1981 | Les Babas Cool | Antoine Bonfils | François Leterrier (2) | |
| Clara et les Chics Types | Charles | Jacques Monnet | ||
| 1982 | Le Père Noël est une ordure | Katia | Jean-Marie Poiré | |
| Elle voit des nains partout! | The treacherous man | Jean-Claude Sussfeld | ||
| 1983 | Papy fait de la résistance | Michel Taupin | Jean-Marie Poiré (2) | |
| Rock 'n Torah | Isaac Stern | Marc-André Grynbaum | ||
| Merci Bernard | TV series (1 Episode) | |||
| 1985 | Tranches de vie | Charles-Henri | François Leterrier (3) | |
| Le père Noël est une ordure | Katia | Philippe Galland | TV movie | |
| 1986 | Twist again à Moscou | Iouri | Jean-Marie Poiré (3) | |
| L'été 36 | Alexis | Yves Robert | TV movie | |
| 1987 | La vie dissolue de Gérard Floque | Edouard | Georges Lautner | |
| 1988 | Palace | Louis | Jean-Michel Ribes | TV series (1 Episode) |
| Sueurs froides | Henri Descouet | Josée Dayan | TV series (1 Episode) | |
| 1989 | My Best Pals | Jean-Michel Tuilier | Jean-Marie Poiré (4) | |
| Les cigognes n'en font qu'à leur tête | DDASS's chief | Didier Kaminka | ||
| Fantômes sur l'oreiller | Brice | Pierre Mondy | TV movie | |
| Mieux vaut courir | Simon | Élisabeth Rappeneau | TV movie | |
| Double mixte | Bob Smith | Georges Folgoas | TV movie | |
| Si Guitry m'était conté | Yves-André Hubert | TV series (1 Episode) | ||
| 1991 | Les secrets professionnels du Dr Apfelglück | Lawyer | Thierry Lhermitte, Alessandro Capone, ... | |
| L'Opération Corned-Beef | Jean-Jacques Granianski | Jean-Marie Poiré (5) | ||
| Les gens ne sont pas forcément ignobles | Pierre | Bernard Murat | TV movie | |
| 1992 | Un fil à la patte | Fernand du Bois d'Enghien | Marion Sarraut | TV movie |
| 1993 | Les Visiteurs | Jacquouille la Fripouille | Jean-Marie Poiré (6) | Nominated – César Award for Best Actor Nominated – César Award for Best Writing |
| La Soif de l'or | Urbain Donnadieu | Gérard Oury | ||
| 1994 | La Vengeance d'une blonde | Gérard Bréha | Jeannot Szwarc | |
| Grosse Fatigue | Himself | Michel Blanc | ||
| 1995 | Les Anges gardiens | Father Hervé Tarain | Jean-Marie Poiré (7) | |
| 1996 | Panique au Plazza | Jean-Marie Poiré (7) | TV movie | |
| 1997 | Les Soeurs Soleil | Spectator | Jeannot Szwarc (2) | |
| 1998 | The Visitors II: The Corridors of Time | Jacquouille la Fripouille | Jean-Marie Poiré (8) | |
| 1999 | Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar | Asterix | Claude Zidi | |
| 2001 | Just Visiting | Andre | Jean-Marie Poiré (9) | |
| 2002 | Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra | Asterix | Alain Chabat | |
| Napoléon | Napoleon | Yves Simoneau | TV Mini-Series | |
| Les Misérables | Monsieur Thénardier | Josée Dayan | TV Mini-Series | |
| 2003 | Lovely Rita, sainte patronne des cas désespérés | Edgar Lamarck | Stéphane Clavier | |
| 2004 | The Corsican File | Rémi François | Alain Berbérian | |
| Albert est méchant | Patrick Lechat | Hervé Palud | ||
| 2005 | L'antidote | JAM | Vincent De Brus | |
| 2006 | Les Bronzés 3: Amis pour la vie | Jerome Tarere | Patrice Leconte (3) | |
| L'entente cordiale | François de La Conche | Vincent De Brus (2) | ||
| Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe | Prime Minister Taaffe | Robert Dornhelm | TV movie | |
| 2007 | L'Auberge rouge | Pierre Martin | Gérard Krawczyk | |
| Le prix à payer | Jean-Pierre Ménard | Alexandra Leclère | ||
| Kaamelott | The Jurisconsult | Alexandre Astier | TV series (7 Episodes) | |
| 2008 | Le malade imaginaire | Argan | Christian de Chalonge | TV movie |
| 2009 | La sainte Victoire | Vincent Cluzel | François Favrat | |
| Le bourgeois gentilhomme | Monsieur Jourdain | Christian de Chalonge (2) | TV movie | |
| 2011 | On ne choisit pas sa famille | César Borgnoli | Christian Clavier | |
| La cage aux folles | Georges | Dominique Thiel | TV movie | |
| Les affaires sont les affaires | The Marquis de Porcellet | Philippe Bérenger | TV movie | |
| 2013 | Serial Teachers | Serge Cutiro | Pierre-François Martin-Laval | |
| Le Boeuf clandestin | M. Berthaud | Gérard Jourd'hui | TV movie | |
| 2014 | Serial (Bad) Weddings | Claude Verneuil | Philippe de Chauveron | |
| Do Not Disturb | Michel Leproux | Patrice Leconte (4) | ||
| Le grimoire d'Arkandias | Agénor Arkandias | Alexandre Castagnetti & Julien Simonet | ||
| 2015 | Babysitting 2 | Alain | Nicolas Benamou & Philippe Lacheau | |
| 2016 | Les Visiteurs: La Révolution | Jacquouille la Fripouille | Jean-Marie Poiré (10) | |
| 2017 | Un sac de billes | Doctor Rosen | Christian Duguay | |
| With Open Arms | Jean-Étienne Fougerole | |||
| If I Were a Boy | Audrey Dana | |||
| 2018 | Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion | Asterix | Louis Clichy & Alexandre Astier (2) | Voice role, replacing Roger Carel |
| 2019 | Serial (Bad) Weddings 2 | Claude Verneuil | ||
| Convoi exceptionnel | Foster | |||
| 2021 | Kaamelott: The First Chapter | The Jurisconsult | Alexandre Astier |
Producer
edit- Les Visiteurs 2 : Les Couloirs du temps (1998)
- Les Visiteurs en Amérique (2001)
- Le Cœur sur la main (2001)
- Lovely Rita, sainte patronne des cas désespérés (2003)
Box-office
editMovies starring Christian Clavier with more than a million of admissions in France.
References
edit- ^ Barraco, Florent (16 March 2024). "«Il est le vrai patron de la comédie populaire à la française»: Christian Clavier, faire rire est son métier" (in French). Le Figaro.
- ^ "Christian Clavier". Evene.fr. 6 May 1952.
- ^ a b "Décret du 14 novembre 2005 portant promotion et nomination". JORF. 2005 (265): 17793. 15 November 2005. PREX0508812D. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
- ^ "Décret du 21 mars 2008 portant promotion et nomination". JORF. 2008 (71): 5024. 23 March 2008. PREX0804596D. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
- ^ Willsher, Kim (24 December 2012). "Actor stirs up French tax exile row". New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
External links
edit