Berling, Charles

(1958- )

   Actor, director, and producer. Charles Berling acted in the theater before appearing in his first film, Marc Lobet's 1982 Meurtres à domicile. He appeared on television and played minor roles in the early 1990s before being nominated for a César for Most Promising Actor in Pascale Ferran's Petits arrangements avec les morts in 1994. He played prominent roles in Claude Sautet's Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud in 1995 and Marion Vernoux's Love, etc. in 1996. In 1997 he received a César nomination for Best Actor for his work in Patrice Leconte's Ridicule. He was again nominated for Césars for Best Actor for his performances in Anne Fontaine's Nettoyage à sec in 1998, Cédric Kahn's L 'Ennui in 1999, and Olivier Assayas's Les Destinées sentimentales in 2001.

   Since 1995, he has been very prolific, playing leading roles in Claude Pinoteau' Les Palmes de M. Schutz (1997), Patrice Chéreau's Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train (1998), Raoul Ruiz's La Comédie de l'innocence (2000), Bernard Rapp's Une affaire de goût (2000), Frédéric Schoendoerrfer's Scènes de crimes (2000), Fontaine's Comment j'ai tué mon père (2001), Laurent Tuel's Le Jeu d'enfants (2001), Patrick Alessandrin's 15 août (2001), Assayas's Demonlover (2002), Frédéric Jardin's Cravate Club (2002), Abdelkrim Bahloul's Le soleil assassiné (2002), Diane Kurys's Je reste! (2003), Michel Boujenah's Père et fils (2003), Schoendoerrfer's Agents secrets (2004), Michel Deville's Un fil à la patte (2005), Luc Jacquet's La Marche de l'empereur (2005), and Cyril Gelblat's Les Murs porteurs (2005). He has also tried directing, with one film to his credit to date, La cloche (1998).

   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins