Vincent Cassel
| Vincent Cassel | |
|---|---|
 Cassel at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born |
Vincent Crochon 23 November 1966 Paris, France |
| Occupation | Actor, director |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Monica Bellucci (m. 1999; separated 2013) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) |
Jean-Pierre Cassel Sabine Litique |
Vincent Cassel (French: [vɛ̃sɑ̃ kasɛl]; born Vincent Crochon, 23 November 1966) is a French actor best known to English-speaking audiences through his film performances in Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen, as well as Black Swan. Cassel is also renowned for playing the infamous French bank-robber and folk hero Jacques Mesrine in Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One.
Early life and family
Cassel was born on 23 November 1966 in Paris, France, to Sabine Litique, and French actor Jean-Pierre Cassel (born Jean-Pierre Crochon).[1][2] Cassel's brother, Mathias, is a rapper with the group Assassin under the name "Rockin' Squat".[3] His half-sister, Cécile Cassel, is an actress.[4]
Career
Cassel's breakthrough role was in Mathieu Kassovitz's critically acclaimed film La Haine where he played a troubled youth from the deprived outskirts of Paris. He has gone on to act in a variety of films such as the moody L'Appartement (with Monica Bellucci before they married),[3] the violent Dobermann, the genre-bending Le Pacte des Loups (in English, Brotherhood of the Wolf), and the highly controversial Irréversible, where he appears fully nude (with Monica Bellucci after they married).
Cassel has also done a number of English-language films, such as Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen, Derailed, Birthday Girl, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Elizabeth, Eastern Promises, and Shrek (as the voice of Monsieur Hood), and in the Portuguese-language, Brazilian film Adrift (À Deriva). In 2006, he appeared in Sheitan, in which he played a shepherd who carries out satanic rituals. In 2008, he appeared in two movies about Jacques Mesrine, who was France's "public enemy number one" in the seventies.[3] Cassel received the 2009 Cesar award for best actor for his performance in Mesrine directed by Jean-Francois Richet.
An early appearance on British television was as Nicole's boyfriend in the 1994 Renault Clio advert which was used in the UK.[3]
In October 2008, Cassel was signed to be the face of a new Yves Saint Laurent men's fragrance. The new fragrance, La Nuit de l'Homme, was launched worldwide in March 2009.
French film historian Tim Palmer describes Cassel as one of the most charismatic and idiosyncratic of all France's contemporary stars, working in both popular and more intellectual modes of cinema, typically playing characters that veer unpredictably between positive/alluring and negative/grotesque—often, in fact, within a single role and performance.[5]
In 2009, he made his debut as a singer on Zap Mama's album ReCreation, singing alongside them on the singles "Paroles, Paroles" and "Non, Non, Non".
He played Thomas Leroy in Darren Aronofsky's critically acclaimed Black Swan (2010), alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. He will play Zumi in Rupert Sanders's samurai adventure fantasy film The Lost Sea Horizon, opposite Sandra Bullock and Fan Bingbing.
Personal life
Cassel met Italian actress Monica Bellucci on the set of their 1996 film The Apartment.[6] They married in 1999,[6] and have two daughters, Deva (born 12 September 2004)[7] and Léonie (born 21 May 2010).[8] Cassel and Bellucci announced their separation on 26 August 2013.[6]
Cassel has a passion for the martial art of capoeira and displayed his talent in the movie Ocean's Twelve.[9] He also trains in wing chun.
Besides his native French, Cassel speaks English, Portuguese, Italian and basic conversational Russian which he learned for his role in Eastern Promises.[10]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Métisse | Max | |
| 1995 | Adultery: A User's Guide | ||
| 1995 | La Haine | Vinz | Nominated – César Award for Best Actor Nominated – César Award for Most Promising Actor |
| 1995 | Jefferson in Paris | Camille Desmoulins | |
| 1996 | L'élève | Julien | |
| 1996 | L'Appartement | Max | |
| 1997 | Dobermann | Yann le Pentrec (Dobermann) | |
| 1997 | Come mi vuoi | Pasquale | |
| 1998 | Elizabeth | Duc d'Anjou | |
| 1999 | Méditerranées | Pitou | |
| 1999 | The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc | Gilles de Rais | |
| 1999 | Guest House Paradiso | Gino Bolognese | |
| 2000 | Crimson Rivers | Max Kerkerian | |
| 2001 | Brotherhood of the Wolf | Jean-François de Morangias | |
| 2001 | Shrek | Monsieur Hood | Voice only |
| 2001 | Birthday Girl | Alexei | |
| 2001 | Sur mes lèvres | Paul | Nominated – César Award for Best Actor |
| 2002 | Ice Age | Diego | Voice only (French-language version) |
| 2002 | Irréversible | Marcus | Also co-producer |
| 2003 | The Reckoning | Lord De Guise | |
| 2004 | Blueberry | Mike S. Blueberry | |
| 2004 | Secret Agents | Brisseau | |
| 2004 | Ocean's Twelve | François Toulour | |
| 2005 | Derailed | LaRoche | |
| 2006 | Sheitan | Joseph | Also producer |
| 2007 | Ocean's Thirteen | François Toulour | |
| 2007 | Eastern Promises | Kirill | |
| 2007 | Sa Majesté Minor | Satyre | |
| 2008 | Mesrine | Jacques Mesrine | César Award for Best Actor Lumières Award for Best Actor Étoiles d'Or Award for Best Actor Tokyo International Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
| 2009 | Lascars | Tony Merguez | Voice only |
| 2009 | Adrift (À Deriva) | Matias | |
| 2010 | Our Day Will Come | Patrick | Also producer |
| 2010 | Black Swan | Thomas Leroy | Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| 2011 | The Monk | Capucino Ambrosio | |
| 2011 | A Dangerous Method | Otto Gross | |
| 2013 | Trance | Franck | |
| 2014 | Rio, I Love You | Zé | |
| 2014 | Beauty and the Beast | The Beast / The Prince | |
| 2015 | Child 44 | Major Kuzmin | |
| 2015 | Partisan | Gregori | |
| 2015 | Tale of Tales | King of Strongcliff | |
| 2015 | Mon roi | Georgio | Pending – César Award for Best Actor |
| 2015 | One Wild Moment | Laurent | |
| 2015 | The Little Prince | The Fox | French voice |
| 2015 | Violence en réunion | Vince | Short film |
| 2016 | It's Only the End of the World | Antoine | |
| 2016 | Jason Bourne | Filming | |
| 2016 | A Movie Life | Tony's father | |
| 2016 | The Great Mystical Circus | Jean-Paul |
References
- ↑ France-Presse, Agence (21 April 2007). "Jean-Pierre Cassel, 74, Actor Who Starred in '60s French Comedies, Dies". The New York Times.
- ↑ Secher, Benjamin (28 July 2009). "Vincent Cassel interview for Mesrine". The Daily Telegraph (London).
- 1 2 3 4 "Vincent Cassel". Oh No They Didn't!. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ↑ Annabel Rivkin (20 April 2009). "French Fancy: Cécile Cassel". ES Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ↑ Palmer, Tim (2011). Brutal Intimacy: Analyzing Contemporary French Cinema, Wesleyan University Press, Middleton CT. ISBN 0-8195-6827-9.
- 1 2 3 "Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel To Divorce After 14 Years". The Huffington Post. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- ↑ Stephen M. Silverman (14 September 2004). "Passion Actress Bellucci Has Baby Girl". People. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ↑ Peter Mikelbank (24 May 2010). "Monica Bellucci Welcomes Daughter Léonie". People. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ↑ Thelma Adams (13 December 2010). "Vincent Cassel: A Q&A With the Black Swan Star". The Huffington Post. USA. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
- ↑ Elizabeth Day (4 February 2012). "Vincent Cassel: 'You can't escape from what you are'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vincent Cassel. |
- Vincent Cassel's Films at subtitledonline.com
- Vincent Cassel at the Internet Movie Database
- CNN interview with Vincent Cassel
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