Jean Rochefort ([ʒã ʁɔʃ.fɔʁ]; born 29 April 1930) is a French actor, with a career that has spanned over five decades.

Biography

Rochefort was born in Paris, France. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen He was 19 years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National. After his national service, in 1953, he worked with the Compagnie Grenier Hussenot as a theatre actor for seven years. There he was noticed for his ability to play both drama and comedy. He then became a television and cinema actor. He has also worked as director.

After some supporting roles in Cartouche, Captain Fracasse and in Merveilleuse Angélique, Jean Rochefort played his first big role with Annie Girardot as his wife and Claude Jade as their daughter in Hearth Fires in 1972. In this drama he starred as a man who leaves his family for ten years before returning. Four years after Hearth Fires he was the leading star of the midlife crisis comedy An Elephant Can Be Extremely Deceptive as a man who risks his married life with Danièle Delorme for an affair with Anny Duperey. Thanks to this comedy, Rochefort get a big popularity. In 1972, he starred opposite Pierre Richard as Chief of Counter-Espionage Louis Toulouse in the Yves Robert comedy Le Grand Blond avec Une Chasseure Noire, a role he reprised in the 1974 sequel Le Retour du Grand Blond, also directed by Robert. In 1998, he starred as "Fernand de Morcerf" opposite Gerard Depardieu in the mini-series Le Comte de Monte Cristo.

In his 30s during the shooting of Cartouche, he discovered his passion for horses and equestrianism. He has been a horse breeder since then and now owns Le Haras de Villequoy. His passion led him to become a horse consultant for French television in 2004. He has won two César Awards: in 1976, Best Supporting Actor for Que la fête commence; and in 1978, Best Actor for Le Crabe-tambour.

He was to play the title character in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, after being found as "the perfect Quixote" by director Terry Gilliam. Rochefort learned English just for the part. Unfortunately, amongst other production problems, he began suffering from a herniated disc. Unable to film for months, production was cancelled. A documentary, Lost in La Mancha, was made about the failed production.

In 1960 he married Alexandra Moscwa, with whom he fathered two children: a girl, Marie (1962), and a boy, Julien (1965). They later divorced and in all he has five children: Marie, Julien, Pierre, Clémence and Louise.



^ Source : Who's Who. Jean Rochefort was not born in Dinan, but his parents were living there.

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