19 Internationally Famous French Actors

There are many popular French actors that are critically acclaimed internationally.

While France is known for its excellent cuisine, wine, and fashion, it has also long been regarded as a mecca of talent when it comes to acting, theater, and performance.

With their enduring and remarkable acting prowess, France has produced a talented group of performers who have etched their names in the world of entertainment.

19 Internationally Famous French Actors

Let’s get to know some of the best and most well-known French actors.

1. Vincent Cassel

Cassel is the son of journalist Sabine Litique and actor Jean-Pierre Cassel and was born in Paris, France. One of Cassel’s earliest on-screen performances was in a 1994 Renault Clio commercial that was broadcast in the United Kingdom.

Cassel had his debut in Mathieu Kassovitz’s critically praised film “La Haine” (1995), in which he played a troubled adolescent living in the slums of Paris.

His roles in “Ocean’s Twelve”  and “Ocean’s Thirteen”, as well as “Eastern Promises”, “Black Swan” and “Jason Bourne” earned him widespread acclaim from English-speaking audiences. 

In the films “Mesrine: Killer Instinct” and “Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One,” Cassel portrayed the infamous French bank-robber Jacques Mesrine (both in 2008).

In the HBO television series “Westworld,” he starred as Engerraund Serac in 2020.

2. Guillaume Canet

Guillaume Canet is a screenwriter and film director in addition to being an actor. Before going into the movie business, he worked in theater and on television.

“The Beach,” in which he co-starred with Leonardo Dicaprio, was one of his first big breaks as an actor.

In the early 2000s, he co-starred with French actress Marion Cotillard in the drama romance film “Love Me If You Dare.” Guillaume Canet also appeared alongside Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, and Eva Mendes in the film “Last Night.”

Canet made short films as well as a few feature films. He earned a César award for “best director” for the film “Ne Le Dis à Personne” in 2006.

Guillaume Canet is a French actor who has also directed a few films. He keeps his personal life under wraps. Marion Cotillard, with whom he has two children, has been his partner since 2007.

3. Alain Delon

Alain Delon served in the military until the end of the second world war, joining the navy at the age of 17 and serving in French Indochina. His superb body and dazzling good looks led to a career in film when he returned to Paris.

“Send a Woman When the Devil Fails” was his first acting role. He co-starred with Jean-Paul Belmondo in his second movie, “Be Beautiful But Shut Up.” The two performers became fast friends and went on to work together on several other projects.

Delon had a productive decade in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until 1985 that he received a well-deserved César Award for Best Actor for his performance in “Our Story.”

Alain Delon was also known for his parts in the plays “Variations énigmatiques, “Love Letters,” and “Une journée ordinaire” at the Théâtre Marigny and Théâtre de Paris.

Delon was made a member of France’s Légion d’Honneur in the 2010s, and awarded the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Honneur Prize. Delon decided to leave the industry he adored at that point, but fans all across the world still adore Alain Delon.

4. Gérard Depardieu

Châteauroux is where Gérard Depardieu was born. He made his debut in the Parisian theater, where he was quickly noticed by Michel Audiard and Marguerite Duras.

Depardieu rose to prominence after appearing in the 1974 film “Going Places” and got his first César award in 1981 for his performance in François Truffaut’s “The Last Metro,” in which he co-starred with Catherine Deneuve.

This actor from France later developed a love for historical characters, starring in films such as “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Danton,” “Camille Claudel,” and “1942: Conquest of Paradise,” as well as television shows such as “Les Misérables,” and “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

Depardieu’s career has shown his versatility, with roles as diverse as Obelix in the “Asterix & Obelix” trilogy, emotional roles like “When I Was a Singer,” and malevolent ones like “36th Precinct.”

Depardieu is also known for his political activism and his insatiable appetite for food and wine. In addition to vineyards in Italy, he owns restaurants and hotels around France.

5. Jean Dujardin

Jean Dujardin discovered his acting aptitude while serving in the military after working as a locksmith.

In Paris, he tried his luck by performing in pubs and tiny theaters regularly. His breakout performance was in the film “Brice de Nice,” which went on to break box office records and become a cultural phenomenon.

His role as Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath in Michel Hazanavicius’ OSS 117 films, a parody spy trilogy reminiscent of the Austin Powers franchise, was acclaimed by critics. 

However, it was Dujardin’s performance in “The Artist” that would change his life. Jean Dujardin won 14 honors for his portrayal in “The Artist,” making him the first Frenchman to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

He has been in more Hollywood films since, such as “The Monuments Men” and  “The Wolf of Wall Street”. In 2021, Jean Dujardin will reprise his role as former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the film “Présidents,”.

6. Christopher Lambert 

At the time of Christopher Lambert’s birth, his father was a French ambassador based in the United States.

Lambert spent his early years in Switzerland, where his family had relocated when he was two years old, before eventually settling in Paris. He began his career with tiny roles in various French films, having been interested in acting at a young age.

The British film “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes,” was his first big role, establishing him as a European film industry player to be reckoned with. The film was a critical and commercial success, and the actor was immediately given many interesting cinematic roles.

Christopher Lambert is perhaps best known for playing Lord Raiden in the first film adaptation of the video game “Mortal Kombat.” He is also known for his role as Connor MacLeod in the 1986 action-adventure film “Highlander” and its sequels.

Over the years, he solidified his image as a character actor, and he is now well-known not only in Europe, but also in Hollywood.

7. Tahar Rahim

Actor Tahar Rahim, who has established himself as one of France’s greatest and most well-known performers, grew and studied in Belfort and later Montpellier. He had his first role in the documentary film “Tahar, Student” while studying filmmaking.

In 2007, he appeared in a Parisian theater production of Leonard Gersche’s “Butterflies Are Free.” Tahar Rahim rose to prominence in 2010 following the release of Jacques Audiard’s film “A Prophet.”

For his role as a juvenile delinquent imprisoned and challenged with the laws of prison gangs, he received six awards, including two Césars.

Tahar Rahim went on to star in films like “The Eagle,” “Love and Bruise,” and “Black Gold”. He began playing lead roles in films such as “The Past” with Bérénice Béjo, “Grand Central” with Léa Seydoux, and “Samba” with Omar Sy, beginning in 2013.

He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in “The Mauritanian” in 2021, and he will be seen in Serge Bozon’s “Don Juan” later this year. On television, he played serial killer Charles Sobhraj in the Netflix series “The Serpent.”

8. Jean Reno

Jean Reno is one of the most popular French actors who was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez in Casablanca, Morocco, to Spanish parents who had fled Francoist Spain and settled in North Africa. They eventually made their home in France.

Reno went on to study acting at the Cours Simon School of Drama at the age of 17 and subsequently served in the French Army for four years. He resolved to pursue acting, which had been a childhood dream, as soon as his duty was completed.

To date, Jean Reno has worked on productions in French, Spanish, Japanese, English, and Italian. He rose to prominence after appearing in the popular film “Leon: The Professional” as a solitary assassin.

His other big-screen ventures were also well-received around the world. “The Visitors,” “Crimson Rivers,” “Wasabi,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “The Pink Panther,” “Godzilla,” and “Ronin” are among the films that have made Reno famous.

He used the French version of his birth name for his screen persona, changing his initial name from Juan to Jean and shortening his surname to Reno.

9. Omar Sy

Omar Sy was born in the village of Trappes in 1978. He began making regular appearances on Jamel Debbouze’s Radio Nova show while studying heating and air conditioning at a suburban vocational college.

He met Fred Testot there, and the two of them established the comedic team Omar and Fred. “Service après vente des émissions” premiered  n 2005 and ran for seven years.

Sy had his first major movie role in the film “Those Happy Days” in 2006, directed by Nakache and Toledano. 

In 2011, Omar got his big break with the smash film “The Untouchables” where he was cast as Driss. The film was a big success, and Omar Sy made history when he won the César Award for Best Actor.

Omar and his family flew to Los Angeles, where he built a name for himself in films like “X-Men,” “Jurassic World,” and “Inferno.”

Sy continues to portray leading roles in French films such as “Samba,” “Chocolat,” and “The Wolf’s Call,” remaining true to his roots. Omar Sy made waves on the small screen once more in early 2021, this time as the titular protagonist in Netflix’s “Lupin.”

10. Gaspard Ulliel

Ulliel was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb of Paris. He received his education at the University of Saint-Denis, where he majored in cinema. He began performing at the Cours Florent, where he was discovered by André Téchiné, director of Les égarés.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, he began acting in made-for-television films and later became known as a film actor in France, starring in the title role in “Hannibal Rising,” his first English-language feature.

Ulliel was named the face of Chanel’s new men’s fragrance, Bleu de Chanel, in August 2010. Martin Scorsese, an Academy Award-winning director, directed the campaign film.

He won a Lumières Award for Best Actor and was nominated for a César Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the 2014 biographical film “Saint Laurent.”

In 2016, he starred in two films: “It’s Only the End of the World” by Xavier Dolan, “The Dancer” by Stephanie Di Giusto, and “Les Confins du Monde” by Guillaume Nicloux.

Ulliel, along with Kate Moss, is the current face of Longchamp, a French leather and luxury goods brand.

11. Lamber Wilson

One of the popular French actors that are known internationally is Lamber Wilson. Born on August 3, 1958, in Paris, Wilson discovered his passion for acting and decided to study it at the Drama Center in London.

At the age of twenty-two, Wilson was featured in Fred Zinnemann’s Five Days One Summer (1981) which became his film debut. Wilson also starred in La Vouivre (1988), a film debut of his father who happens to also be an actor and director, Georges Wilson.

Lamber Wilson, however, gained more notoriety on a global scale, thanks to his portrayal of The Merovingian in the four Matrix sequels (The Matrix, Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix Resurrections).

His effectivity as an actor was portrayed in his performance in Denis Amar’s “Winter ’54” and he was able to win the Jean Gabin Award- a French award given annually to a promising young actor in France’s film industry between 1981 and 2006.

12. Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine on April 9, 1933. Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo, also known as “Bebel” by French audiences, was one of the biggest stars, especially in the 1960s and 1970s.

Belmondo was commonly referred to as ‘Bebel’ after he starred in the 1970 film ‘Le Magnifique’. During his entire career, Belmondo made over 80 films and one of the films that brought him into the limelight is the film ‘Breathless’ (a Jean-Luc Godard classic)

The popularity of Breathless allowed Belmondo to feature in Peter Brook’s film adaptation of “Moderato Cantabile”, in which he played a witness to a murder.

Furthermore, aside from ‘Breathless’, Belmondo starred in a number of other well-known films including   “The Professional,” “Borsalino,” and “That Man from Rio”.

13. Mathieu Amalric

Mathieu Amalric is one of the famous actors from France, having starred in a number of internationally famous films. He was born on October 25, 1965 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France.

For his role as Bond villain Dominic Greene in 2008’s “Quantum of Solace,” Amalric gained widespread recognition around the world. His success in “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” for which he won multiple awards, has further boosted his career.

Amalric won several acting awards for his stellar performances. With the success of the movie “Ma Vie Sexuelle” (My Sex Life…or How I Got into an Argument), he was able to take home his first Cesar. 

In addition to acting, Mathieu Amalric has directed several films.  His film “Tournee” made him win the Best Director award at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Four years later, at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, his movie The Blue Room (La Chambre Bleue) was shown to rave acclaim.

14. Louis De Funès

Another famous French actor of all time is Louis de Funes. Funes was born on July 31, 1914, in Courbevoie, France.

In polls taken in 1968, Louis de Funès was voted as one of France’s favorite actors. Prior to his breakthrough, Funes appeared in more than eighty films in small roles. But after appearing in various comic films beginning in the 1960s, including “Fantomas” (1964) and “Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez,” Funes eventually became the preeminent French comedian/actor.

Louis De Funes’ effectiveness as a comedian and actor allowed him to be cast alongside icons of French cinema like Mylène Demongeot and Jean Marais.

15. Jean Rochefort

French Hollywood actor Jean Rochefort was born on April 29, 1930. At a young age, Rochefort found his true calling in acting. He started starring in stage plays and was able to establish his own name there.

Rochefort began his acting career after he finished his mandatory military service in 1953. Jean Rochefort has appeared as a supporting character in several films, including “Cartouche” (1962) and “Angelique” (1964).

It was in 1972 when Rochefort was able to gain his breakthrough. It is when he starred in the film “Hearth Fire,” in which he played a lawyer who, after being away from his family for ten years, returned home.

Jean Rochefort kept chasing his goals and was recognized for his efforts. He won as best actor for the movie “Le Crabe-Tambour” (1977). He also received a Cesar Award as a best-supporting actor in the 1974 film “The Clockmaker of St. Paul”.

16. Olivier Martinez

Olivier Martinez is one of the most famous actors in France, known for his award-winning role in the 1993 French film “Un, Deux, Trois, Soleil.”

Martinez was born on January 12, 1966, and raised in a suburban area of Paris. Young Martinez honed his talent for acting at the National Drama Academy in France. After studying, Martinez was able to earn a Cesar Award for “Most Promising Actor” for his performance in the film “Un, Deux, Tres, Soleil” (1993).

After appearing in various Hollywood films, including “The Horseman on the Roof” (1995), in which he appeared as “the French Brad Pitt,” Martinez’s acting gained tremendous recognition in international productions.

Martinez continued to reach international fame and became featured in films like the drama “Before Night Falls” (2000), the erotic thriller “Unfaithful” (2002), and S.W.A.T. (2003), in which he played a French drug lord.

17. Romain Duris

Romain Duris is a male French film star born in the city of Paris on May 28, 1974. However, Duris pursued art before he became famous as an actor. He wasn’t an aspiring actor, not until he was cast in the film “Le péril jeune” (1994) by Cédric Klapisch.

Thereafter, Duris became one of the most famous leading men both in France and internationally. The 2005 film “The Beat That My Heart Skipped” directed by Jacques Audiard brought the French actor to fame.  Romain Duris was nominated for Best Actor at both the 2006 César Awards and the 2006 European Film Awards for his performance as a real estate agent.

But even before that, in the films “Gadjo Dilo” (1997) and the science fiction comedy “Peut-être,” (1999) Duris was nominated twice for the prestigious César Award for Most Promising Actor.

18. François Cluzet

Francois Cluzet was born on September 21, 1955.  Cluzet made his name as one of the famous French actors who showcased his extraordinary skills in both drama and comedy films.

Cluzet’s versatility as an actor allowed him to be able to successfully portray his roles in different genres. His breakout roles in ’80s dramas like ‘One Deadly Summer'(1983), ‘Vive la sociale!’ (1983), and ‘Cocktail Molotov’ (1984) set him on the path to becoming a popular French actor of his time.

Moreover, Francois Cluzet continued to impress the international audience after the 2011 award-winning film “The Intouchables” where he played ‘Philippe’, a rich man who was paralyzed after a paragliding accident.

19. Jamel Debbouze      

Born on June 18, 1975, Jamel Debbouze is one of France’s famous actors. But Jamel Debbouze is more than simply a performer; he also produces films, writes scripts, directs, and does comedy stand-ups.

Debouzze made his film debut in “Two Dads and One Mom” (1996). The comedian continued to make his name and star in some notable comedy films like “HOUBA! On the Trail of the Marsupilami”, “Amélie”, “Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra”, and “Hollywoo”.

It was in 2004, when Jamel Debbouze first starred in an international film entitled “She Hate Me” by Spike Lee.

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