Jacques Villeret
Known for: Acting
Jacques Villeret (6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy Le Dîner de Cons. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious medal and title of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. Villeret was born Jacky Boufroura in Loches, Indre-et-Loire, France, to an Algerian father and a French mother. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSAD) in the same class as Louis Seigner, the grandfather of Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathilde Seigner. While he was most famous for his role as François Pignon in Le Dîner de Cons; both on the stage and in the film, his other celebrated roles included the extra terrestrial in La soupe aux choux, the autistic Mo in L'été en pente douce, and marshal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel in Papy fait de la résistance. At the time of making the film Un aller simple directed by Laurent Heynemann – a film about integration and racism and the clash of generations – he said that watching the young actors in the film, Barbara Schulz and Lorant Deutsch, reminded him of the insouciance he had had as a young man with his friends at the Conservatoire. When his career was at its height, with the success of Le Dîner de Cons, everything collapsed in a tragedy mirroring the plot of the film. Villeret separated from his wife and suffered an enormous financial downfall due to tax issues, plunging him into depression. Villeret turned to alcohol for comfort, and became an alcoholic. He isolated himself and hid away for long periods. He later said: Alcohol is a friend, but a friend who means you harm. Villeret's love of his profession helped to bring his career back from the brink. In an interview in 2001 he spoke of his admiration for performers like Johnny Hallyday and Jacques Brel for their level of commitment, and quoted the author Louis-Ferdinand Céline: When I write, I put my balls on the table. In 1979 Villeret married Irina Tarassov, an actress and writer. They separated in 1998. Tassarov wrote about their life together in her book Un jour, tout ira bien. (One day, everything will go well). In 2002 Villeret met Seny, a Senegalese-French widow descended through her grandfather, Mor Diarra N'Dao, from a long line of Sérès nobles of the ancient Kingdom of Saloum, and they fell instantly and deeply in love. They were partners for three years, and she was about to move to Paris to be with him when he died in Évreux in January 2005 of a liver haemorrhage. Seny wrote a memoir of their life together, Jacques Villeret, mon bébé blanc, which was published in Paris by Le Cherche Midi in 2005. Source: Article "Jacques Villeret" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Filmography
Series
Ciné regards
1978
Series
Ciné regards
Self
1978
Series
Sacrée soirée
Self
1987
Series
Vivement dimanche
Self
1998
Series
Champs-Elysées
Self
1982
Series
Spécial cinéma
Self
1974
Series
Midi Première
Self
1975
Series
Le Grand Échiquier
Self
1972
Series
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975
Series
Numéro un
Self
1975
Series
Numéro un
Self - Host
1975
Series
Discorama
Self
1959
Series
Nulle part ailleurs
Self
1987
Series
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
The Dinner Game
François Pignon
1998
Series
Matin Bonheur
Self
1987
Film
Danton
François-Joseph Westermann
1983
Film
Last Summer in Tangiers
Marcus
1987
Film
Hold-up
Jeremie Blanchet, chauffeur de taxi
1985
Film
First Name: Carmen
The Man Who Eats Yogurt
1983
Film
The Cabbage Soup
L'Oxien (La Denrée)
1981
Series
Merci Bernard
1982
Film
The Mouth Agape
(uncredited)
1974
Film
Actors
Jacques Villeret
2000
Film
The Vultures
Brigadier Béral
1984
Film
Bolero
Jacques
1981
Film
Gramps Is in the Resistance
Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel
1983
Film
The Children of the Marshland
Henri Pignol, aka Riton
1999
Film
Another Man, Another Chance
Customer
1977
Film
Waiter!
Gilbert, Alex's friend
1983
Film
Golden Boy
Antoine Bonvoisin
1996
Film
Malabar Princess
Gaspard
2004
Film
Nailcruncher
Salomon
1988
Film
Belmondo: The Incorrigible
2022
Film
Le Furet
le Furet
2003
Film
Us Two
Tonton Musique
1979
Film
Three Years
Alexandre Guillermen
1990
Film
Wacko
Le pompiste
1994
Film
Effraction
Valentin Tralande, truand violent
1983
Film
L'Âge d'or de la pub
Self (archive footage)
2023
Film
Serious as Pleasure
Le gendarme
1975
Film
Black Mic Mac
Michel Le Gorgues
1986
Film
The Common Man
Gérald
1975
Film
Edith and Marcel
Jacques Barbier
1983
Film
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
588 rue Paradis
Alexandre Pagès
1992
Film
A Crime in Paradise
Jojo Braconnier
2001
Film
Iznogoud
Haroun El Poussah
2005
Film
The Antidote
André Morin
2005
Film
The Son of the Mekong
Durieux
1992
Film
Loving in the Rain
Guillaume
1974
Film
Nono Nénesse
Nono
1976
Film
Mountain Pass
Georges
1978
Film
Le Dernier Été
Georges Mandel
1997
Film
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
Lingerie Man
1991
Film
Drôle de samedi
Maurice, the butcher
1985
Film
La Galette du roi
Utte de Danemark
1986
Film
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique
Self (archive footage)
2025
Film
L'été en pente douce
Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
1987
Film
Viper in the Fist
Jacques Rézeau
2004
Film
Strange Gardens
Jacques Pouzay
2003
Film
Malevil
Momo
1981
Film
Heart to Heart
Sitting student
1979
Film
The Do-Gooders
lucien
2005
Film
The Castaways of Turtle Island
Bernard Dupoirier, dit « Petit Nono »
1976
Film
The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro
Le batteur
1992
Film
The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck
Martineau
1991
Film
Move Along, There Is Nothing to See!
Pelissier
1983
Film
One Way Ticket
Jean-Pierre
2001
Film
Dialogue de sourds
The blind
1985
Film
Mookie
Frère Benoît
1998
Film
Grey Souls
Le juge Mierck
2005
Film
Keep Your Right Up
Individual
1987
Film
C'est encore mieux l'après-midi
Georges Pigier
1987
Film
Le Bal des casse-pieds
Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo
1992
Sale Temps
1987
Film
Le Rabat-joie
Léon
1978
Film
The Big Brother
Inspecteur Coleau
1982
Film
La Petite Amie
Guillaume Bertin
1988
Film
Un Balcon en forêt
Gourcuff
1978
Film
Nothing to Report
Soldat Girot
1973
Film
The Joint Brothers
Momo
1986
Film
Robert et Robert
Robert Villiers
1978
Film
A Second Chance
L'agent immobilier
1976
Film
The Good and the Bad
Jacques
1976
Film
Mon Premier Amour
Jacques Labrousse
1978
Film
Detective Story
Le photographe
1972
Film
Out of Whack
Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...
1979
Film
Dumb But Disciplined
Jacques Cardot
1979
Film
Un fil à la patte
Bouzin
1989
Film
La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons
Self
2015
Film
Georges Dandin de Molière
Georges Dandin
1997
Film
Les Folles Années du Twist
M'sieur John Wayne
1986