Jean Dujardin

A beloved talent in his native France, Oscar-winning actor Jean Dujardin's outsized comic personality, embossed by a toothy smile, made him a top leading man on television and in features, including the hit espionage spoof "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" (2006) and "The Artist" (2011) which earned him a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. He began in sketch comedy before making his name as the star of the sitcom-romance "Un gars, un fille" (France 2, 1999-2003). Its popularity brought him to features, where he developed his brash but clueless screen image through several partnerships with writer-director Michael Hazanavicius, including two "OSS" features. However, their fourth teaming, "The Artist," which offered a meticulously crafted valentine to American silent film, won them international acclaim and attention. The picture's unlikely success in America made Dujardin a likely candidate for that rara avis in the film community: the non-British European star who finds fame in Hollywood.