Jugnot, Gerard

(1951- )

   Actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. In secondary school Gérard Jugnot befriended Michel Blanc, Christian Clavier, and Thierry Lhermitte, with whom he would establish the Troupe du Splendid. He debuted in cinema in Jacques Doillon, Alain Resnais, and Jean Rouche's L'An 01 (1973) along-side splendid colleagues Clavier, Lhermitte, and Josiane Balasko. He played a minor role in Bertrand Blier's Les Valseuses (1974), followed by a leading role alongside Balasko in Francis Fehr's Pauline et l'ordinateur (1978). His popularity as a comic actor surged with Patrice Leconte's Les Bronzés (1978), an adaptation of a play cowritten by the Splendid Group. He subsequently costarred with Daniel Auteuil in Charles Nemes's Les Héros n'ont pas froid aux oreilles (1979).

   Jugnot's talent for comedy was further demonstrated in Leconte's sequel, Les Bronzés font du ski (1979), Edouard Molinaro's Pour cent briques t'as plus rien (1982), where he paired again with Auteuil, and Jean-Marie Poiré's Le Père Noël est une ordure (1982), another film written by the Splendid group, and Poiré's Papy fait de la résistance (1983). He directed and played the lead in his first film, the comedy Pinot, simple flic, which was released in 1984. He also directed and starred in Scout toujours (1985), Sans peur et sans reproche (1988), and Une époque formidable (1991), for which he was nominated for a César for Best Actor, Casque bleu (1994), Fallait pas! (1996), Meilleur Espoir féminin (2000), and Monsieur Batignole (2002).

   Although he is well known for his work in comedy, he is an eclectic actor. He was nominated for Césars for Best Actor in Leconte's comedy Tandem in 1988, for Best Supporting Actor in Jean-Loup Hubert's war drama Marthe in 1998, and for Best Actor in Christophe Barratier' drama Les Choristes in 2005. Jugnot directed a remake of Jean Renoir's 1932 classic Boudu sauvé des eaux, which originally starred Michel Simon, Charles Granval, and Marcelle Hainia. Jugnot's film, titled Boudu, was released in 2005 and stars Gérard Depardieu, Jugnot, and Catherine Frot. Jugnot also appears in Yves Lavandier's Oui mais . . . (2001), Hubert's Trois petites filles (2004), Eric Civanyan's Il ne faut jurer.. . de rien! (2005), and Leconte's Les Bronzé 3: Amis pour la vie (2006).

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