1. Early Life and Education
François Cluzet was born on 21 September 1955 in Paris, France. At the age of 17, he enrolled in the private drama school Cours Simon, where he received his early acting training.
2. Career
François Cluzet's career spans both stage and screen, marked by diverse roles and collaborations with influential directors.
2.1. Early Career and Debut
Cluzet made his professional stage debut in 1976. Three years later, he transitioned to the big screen, making his premiere appearance in Diane Kurys's film Cocktail Molotov in 1979. The following year, he appeared in the acclaimed family drama The Horse of Pride, directed by Claude Chabrol. His early career also saw him nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actor for Vive la sociale and for Best Supporting Actor for One Deadly Summer in 1984.
2.2. Key Collaborations
Cluzet has established significant professional relationships with a number of major French and international directors, often featuring in their dramatic works. He reunited with Diane Kurys for Coup de foudre in 1983. His collaborations with Claude Chabrol extended beyond The Horse of Pride to include The Hatter's Ghost (1982), Story of Women (1988), L'Enfer (1994), where he played a husband tormented by jealousy, and The Swindle (1997).
He co-starred in the jazz film Round Midnight (1985) with Bertrand Tavernier. Other notable collaborations include Rue du départ (1985) with Tony Gatlif, Chocolat (1987) with Claire Denis, and Force majeure (1988) with Pierre Jolivet, for which he received another César nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also worked with Bertrand Blier on Too Beautiful for You (1989) and Robert Enrico on La Révolution française (1989), portraying Camille Desmoulins.
2.3. International Work and Role Diversity
In 1994, Cluzet ventured into international cinema, appearing in Robert Altman's ensemble film Prêt-à-Porter and Lawrence Kasdan's romance French Kiss (1995). He returned to French cinema and comedy in 1995 with Les Apprentis, earning a César nomination for Best Actor, and Enfants de salaud with Tonie Marshall.
Cluzet has demonstrated his versatility by portraying a wide range of characters. He frequently played the role of a tormented writer in films such as Late August, Early September (1998) with Olivier Assayas, L'Examen de minuit (1998), and The Hook (2004). He also played a double of John Lennon in Janis et John (2003) and a teleshopping animator in France Boutique (2004). In 2005, he starred in Le Domaine perdu with Raoul Ruiz, a film that depicted the 1973 Chilean coup d'état.
2.4. Major Successes and Recognition
Cluzet's starring role in the 2006 thriller Tell No One, where he played a doctor suspected of double homicide, brought him significant acclaim. For this performance, he received the 2007 César Award for Best Actor, along with the Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor and an Étoile d'or du premier rôle masculin.
His most notable role came in 2011 with The Intouchables. Based on a true story, the film chronicles the unlikely friendship between a wealthy quadriplegic, played by Cluzet, and his young caregiver, recently released from jail. In March 2012, The Intouchables became the second highest-grossing French film in France. His performance in the film also earned him the Best Actor award at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival, shared with his co-star Omar Sy. Cluzet was also nominated for a César Award for Best Actor for The Intouchables in 2012.
3. Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Cocktail Molotov | Bruno | Diane Kurys |
| 1980 | The Horse of Pride | Pierre-Alain, the father | Claude Chabrol |
| 1982 | The Hatter's Ghost | The journalist | Claude Chabrol |
| 1983 | Entre Nous (Coup de foudre) | A soldier | Diane Kurys |
| One Deadly Summer (L'Été meurtrier) | Mickey | Jean Becker | |
| Julien Fontanes, magistrat | Bob Mourèze | Jean-Pierre Decourt | |
| 1985 | Les enragés | Marc, dit 'Teuf-Teuf' | Pierre-William Glenn |
| Elsa, Elsa | Ferdinand, as adult | Didier Haudepin | |
| 1986 | États d'âme | Pierrot | Jacques Fansten |
| Round Midnight | François Borler | Bertrand Tavernier | |
| Rue du départ | Paul Triana | Tony Gatlif | |
| 1987 | Association of Wrongdoers | Thierry | Claude Zidi |
| 1988 | Jaune revolver | Jean-Claude Wielzky | Olivier Langlois |
| Chocolat | Marc | Claire Denis | |
| Story of Women (Une affaire de femmes) | Paul | Claude Chabrol | |
| 1989 | Deux | Louis | Claude Zidi |
| Un tour de manège | Al | Pierre Pradinas | |
| Force majeure | Daniel | Pierre Jolivet | |
| La Révolution française | Camille Desmoulins | Robert Enrico | |
| Too Beautiful for You (Trop belle pour toi) | Pascal Chevassu | Bertrand Blier | |
| 1992 | Olivier, Olivier | Serge Duval | Agnieszka Holland |
| Sexes faibles! | Sébastien Sébastian | Serge Meynard | |
| À demain | Gilles | Didier Martiny | |
| 1993 | L'Instinct de l'ange | Ernest Devrines | Richard Dembo |
| 1994 | L'Enfer | Paul Prieur | Claude Chabrol |
| The Wind from Wyoming (Le Vent du Wyoming) | Chester Celine | André Forcier | |
| Prêt-à-porter | Nina's assistant | Robert Altman | |
| 1995 | French Kiss | Bob | Lawrence Kasdan |
| The Horseman on the Roof (Le Hussard sur le toit) | The doctor | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | |
| Les Apprentis | Antoine | Pierre Salvadori | |
| 1996 | Enfants de salaud | Sandro | Tonie Marshall |
| 1997 | Le déménagement | Claude | Olivier Doran |
| Le silence de Rak | Rak | Christophe Loizillon | |
| The Swindle (Rien ne va plus) | Maurice Biagini | Claude Chabrol | |
| 1998 | La voie est libre | Jules | Stéphane Clavier |
| Late August, Early September (Fin août, début septembre) | Adrien | Olivier Assayas | |
| Dolce far niente | Stendhal | Nae Caranfil | |
| L'examen de minuit | Antoine | Danièle Dubroux | |
| 2002 | The Adversary (L'Adversaire) | Luc | Nicole Garcia |
| 2003 | Quand je vois le soleil (La Pietra) | Pierre | Jacques Cortal |
| Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose? | Gibson | Eric Lartigau | |
| Janis et John | Walter Kingkate | Samuel Benchetrit | |
| France Boutique | Olivier Mestral | Tonie Marshall | |
| 2004 | The Hook | Ben Castelano | Thomas Vincent |
| 2005 | Le domaine perdu | Antoine | Raoul Ruiz |
| La cloche a sonné | Jean | Bruno Herbulot | |
| 2006 | Four Stars (Quatre étoiles) | Rene | Christian Vincent |
| Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne) | Alexandre Beck | Guillaume Canet | |
| 2007 | Ma place au soleil | Paul | Éric de Montalier |
| La vérité ou presque | Marc | Sam Karmann | |
| Game of Four (La disparue de Deauville) | Lionel | Sophie Marceau | |
| 2008 | Paris | Philippe Verneuil | Cédric Klapisch |
| Rivals (Les Liens du sang) | Gabriel | Jacques Maillot | |
| 2009 | In the Beginning (À l'origine) | Philippe Miller | Xavier Giannoli |
| One for the Road (Le Dernier pour la route) | Hervé Chabalier | Philippe Godeau | |
| 2010 | Blanc comme neige | Maxime | Christophe Blanc |
| Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) | Max Cantara | Guillaume Canet | |
| 2011 | Mon père est femme de ménage | Michel | Saphia Azzeddine |
| The Art of Love | Achille | Emmanuel Mouret | |
| A Monster in Paris (Un monstre à Paris) | Victor Maynott | Bibo Bergeron | |
| The Intouchables (Intouchables) | Philippe | Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache | |
| 2012 | Do Not Disturb | Jeff | Yvan Attal |
| 2013 | 11.6 | Toni Musulin | Philippe Godeau |
| Turning Tide (En solitaire) | Yann Kermadec | Christophe Offenstein | |
| 2014 | Quantum Love (Une rencontre) | Pierre | Lisa Azuelos |
| 2015 | One Wild Moment (Un moment d'égarement) | Antoine | Jean-François Richet |
| 2016 | Irreplaceable (Médecin de campagne) | Jean-Pierre Werner | Thomas Lilti |
| La Mécanique de l'ombre | Duval | Thomas Kruithof | |
| The Other Me (O Allos Mou Misos) | Marcel de Chaffe | Sotiris Tsafoulias | |
| 2017 | L'école buissonnière | Totoche | Nicolas Vanier |
| 2018 | Naked Normandy (Normandie nue) | Georges Balbuzard | Philippe Le Guay |
| Le collier rouge | Lantier | Jean Becker | |
| 2019 | Nous finirons ensemble | Max | Guillaume Canet |
| 2020 | Rose Island (L'incredibile storia dell'Isola delle Rose) | Jean Baptiste Toma | Sydney Sibilia |
| 2021 | The Man in the Basement (L'homme de la cave) | Jacques Fonzic | Philippe Le Guay |
| 2022 | Masquerade (Mascarade) | Simon | Nicolas Bedos |
| Kitchen Brigade (La Brigade) | Lorenzo Cardi | Louis-Julien Petit | |
| 2023 | A Real Job (Un métier sérieux) | Pierre Etchevegaray | Thomas Lilti |
4. Theatre
Cluzet has also performed in various stage productions.
- 1992: Belgicae by Anita Van Belle, directed by Pierre Pradinas, at the Festival d'Avignon
5. Awards and Nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | César Award | Most Promising Actor | Vive la sociale | Nominated |
| 1984 | César Award | Best Supporting Actor | One Deadly Summer | Nominated |
| 1984 | Prix Jean Gabin | Won | ||
| 1990 | César Award | Best Supporting Actor | Force majeure | Nominated |
| 1996 | Paris Film Festival | Best Actor | Le silence de Rak | Won |
| 1996 | César Award | Best Actor | Les Apprentis | Nominated |
| 2003 | César Award | Best Supporting Actor | The Adversary | Nominated |
| 2007 | César Award | Best Supporting Actor | Four Stars | Nominated |
| 2007 | César Award | Best Actor | Tell No One | Won |
| 2007 | Lumières Award | Best Actor | Tell No One | Nominated |
| 2007 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best Actor | Tell No One | Won |
| 2007 | Étoile d'or du cinéma français | Best Actor | Tell No One | Won |
| 2010 | César Award | Best Actor | One for the Road | Nominated |
| 2010 | César Award | Best Actor | In the Beginning | Nominated |
| 2010 | Lumières Award | Best Actor | In the Beginning | Nominated |
| 2010 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best Actor | In the Beginning | Nominated |
| 2010 | Étoile d'or du cinéma français | Best Actor | In the Beginning | Won |
| 2011 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best Actor | Little White Lies | Nominated |
| 2011 | 24th Tokyo International Film Festival | Best Actor | The Intouchables | Won (shared with Omar Sy) |
| 2012 | César Award | Best Actor | The Intouchables | Nominated |
| 2012 | Globes de Cristal Award | Best Actor | The Intouchables | Nominated |
| 2017 | César Award | Best Actor | Irreplaceable | Nominated |
6. Personal Life
François Cluzet has four children. His first child, a daughter, was born in 1982. He has a son named Paul, born in 1992, with the late actress Marie Trintignant. Cluzet was also in a long-term relationship with actress Valérie Bonneton, with whom he has two children: a son born in 2001 and a daughter born in 2006. In 2011, Cluzet married Narjiss Slaoui-Falcoz, whom he had met six months prior to the filming of The Intouchables.
