Jean-Baptiste Maunier

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Jean-Baptiste Maunier

Born December 22, 1990 (1990-12-22) (age 17)
Brignoles, Var, France
Years active 2004—present
Official website

Jean-Baptiste Maunier (born December 22, 1990), nicknamed JB or Jean-Bapt[1] is a French actor and singer.

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[edit] Early life

Maunier is born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunier, and has a younger brother Benjamin. His father used to sing in a church choir, "Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Raphael", which may have partly inspired Maunier on his interest in singing.[2] Maunier attended a private Catholic school in Lyon, France, and now lives with his family in Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon, a suburb of Lyon.

[edit] Acting career

Maunier gained fame for his starring role in the 2004 French film Les Choristes, in which Maunier plays Pierre Morhange, a delinquent with an exceptional singing voice at the correctional school Fond de L'Étang. Christophe Barratier, the director of "Les Choristes", chose Maunier because "he had the right look".[1]

Following the release of the film, Maunier and the choir took part in numerous concerts all over the world, including Japan and Canada.[1] In February 2005, Maunier left the choir in order to devote more time to his acting careers, and more importantly, his studies. He remains tutored during the film process, and he has stated that if his career as an actor ever interfered with his studies, school would come first.[citation needed]

In April and August 2005, he took part in a 4-episode television series for France 2 directed by Hervé Baslé, Le Cri. In the series, Maunier plays the part of a young worker in a steelworks. The series was released in 2006.

Maunier appears in Le Grand Meaulnes, a film directed by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe, based on a novel of the same name by Alain Fournier. Maunier plays Francois Seurel in this film. The film was first released in October 2006.

In Piccolo, Saxo et compagnie, released in December 2006, an animated film about musical instruments and notes on an adventure, Maunier also lent his voice to the character "Saxo".

In the summer of 2006, Maunier acted in Hellphone, afull-length film directed by James Huth. In this film, Maunier plays the role of Sid, a fan of the rock group AC/DC who finds he has a mobile phone with surprising powers. The film was released in March 2007.

His most recent film is L'Auberge rouge, directed by Gérard Krawczyk, an adaptation of the 1951 version. He stars "Octave" in it. It opened in theaters in France on December 5th, 2007.

[edit] Singing career

Upon entering collège, Maunier was asked to make a choice between various activities. He chose singing and became a member of Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc (full name is "La Chorale des Petits Enfants De Saint-Marc"). In the choir, he was tutored by the choirmaster, Nicolas Porte, and learned to develop his singing voice.

In "Les Choristes", the film that made him widely famous for his exceptional singing skills, both Maunier's solo and the chorus of "Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc" are featured on the original soundtrack.

In 2005, to keep a souvenir of his voice before it broke, Maunier decided to sing with Clémence Saint-Preux in her single Concerto pour deux Voix, which was in turn an adaptation of Concerto pour une voix.[2]

While Maunier's vocal career is on hold for now, he has participated in Les Enfoirés, a choir of notable singers and performers in France that periodically performs charity concerts, from year 2005 to 2008.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Jean-Baptiste Maunier - Biography
  2. ^ a b JBMaunier.net : Biography

[edit] External links