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Jean Rochefort

Jean Rochefort

Highest Rated: 100% The Clockmaker (1974)

Lowest Rated: 14% Fanfan la Tulipe (2003)

Birthday: Apr 29, 1930

Birthplace: Dinan, France

A well-loved actor in his native France for five decades, the saturnine-faced Jean Rochefort was a staple of light comedies and dramas alike, playing reserved men with hidden wells of emotion in "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" (1972), "Pardon Mon Affaire" (1976) and "The Hairdresser's Husband" (1990). Born Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort on April 29, 1930 in Paris, France to wealthy parents of Breton descent, he began to study acting at the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche in 1949 before joining the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art, where his fellow students included Jean-Paul Belmondo and director Claude Rich. He began acting professionally after completing his national service in 1953, working primarily on stage at first before branching into film and television. Rochefort first drew attention with a supporting role opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo in the adventure film "Cartouche" (1962), and was soon a staple of costumed swashbuckler dramas, including the popular "Angelique" (1964), with Michele Mercier, and two of its four sequels. He finally earned his breakout roles in 1972, first in "Hearth Fires" as a lawyer who returned to his family after a ten-year absence. Though 41 at the time, he played a man much older than himself, and to aid in the transformation, grew a substantial mustache that would become his trademark for the remainder of his career. That same year, he also starred in in Yves Robert's "The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" (1972), playing a police chief who fabricates a drug smuggling case based around a stranger (Pierre Richard) picked at random to distract from efforts to discredit Rochefort. A critical and box office success in both Europe and abroad, it helped to mint Rochefort as a leading man in French cinema, especially in light comedies and often in collaboration with Robert, who directed him in "The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe" (1974), the Golden Globe-nominated sex farce "Pardon Mon Affaire" (1976) and "Courage - Let's Run" (1980), which earned Rochefort a Cesar nomination for Best Actor. Rochefort also enjoyed a successful collaboration with Bertrand Tavernier, whose 1976 historical drama "Let Joy Reign Supreme" brought Rochefort a Cesar for Best Supporting Actor as an atheist priest during the reign of Louis XV. Rochefort would later star in films by such acclaimed directors as Luis Buñuel ("The Phantom of Liberty," 1974), Claude Chabrol ("Dirty Hands," 1975) and Pierre Schoendoerffer, whose 1977 war drama "The "Drummer-Crab") won Rochefort the Cesar for Best Actor. In 1978, he made his English-language debut in Ted Kotcheff's "Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe," but would remain faithful to European cinema throughout the decade, though largely in unremarkable features. Rochefort's career underwent a revival in 1990 through collaborations with Patrice Leconte, including the international hits "The Hairdresser's Husband" (1990) "Ridicule" (1996) and "The Man on the Train" (2002) with fellow French icon Johnny Hallyday, and an appearance with an all-star European cast in Robert Altman's "Pret-a-Porter" (1994), set in the world of Paris fashion. In 2000, he began work on "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote," a proposed re-imagining of the Miguel Cervantes novel by Terry Gilliam; the production was plagued by disasters, including an injury to Rochefort that required him to leave the production. He soon recovered and returned to steady work as a character actor in films like "Hell" (2005), based on a script by Krzysztof Kieslowski, Guillame Canet's hit thriller "Tell No One" (2006) and "The Artist and the Model" (2012), which earned him a Best Actor nod at the Goya Awards. While promoting the latter film, Rochefort announced that he was retiring from acting, due largely to the quality of scripts offered to him, all of which, he claimed, concerned "how to get rid of grandpa." Despite this, Rochefort continued to act, and gave his final appearance in "Floride" (2015), Philippe Le Guay's drama about an elderly man who enlists his daughter in an impulsive trip to Florida. Hospitalized in early October 2017, Rochefort died on October 9 of that year at the age of 87; his passing, and significance to French film, was confirmed by that country's cultural minister, Françoise Nyssen, who described him as an "elegant, endearing and beloved actor."

Highest rated movies

100% 79% The Clockmaker
93% 87% Tell No One
92% 79% The Man on the Train
92% 86% The Hairdresser's Husband
85% 78% The Closet
80% 83% Ridicule
73% 87% My Mother's Castle
70% 55% The Artist and the Model

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet April and the Extraordinary World Pops (Voice) $294.3K 2015
No Score Yet 50% Florida Claude Lherminier (Character) - 2015
No Score Yet 68% The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart Méliès (Voice) - 2013
No Score Yet 23% Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia Lucius Fouinus (Character) - 2012
70% 55% The Artist and the Model Marc Cros (Character) $43.0K 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Il est minuit, Paris s'éveille Self - 2012
No Score Yet 49% Tootuff Pépé (Voice) - 2011
No Score Yet 31% Agathe Cléry Louis Guinard (Character) - 2008
51% 49% Mr. Bean's Holiday Maitre d'hotel (Character) $32.6M 2007
No Score Yet 72% I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster Jean (Character) - 2007
No Score Yet 46% Twice Upon a Time Louis Ruinard (Character) - 2006
93% 87% Tell No One Gilbert Neuville (Character) $6.2M 2006
No Score Yet 14% Akoibon Chris Barnes (Character) - 2005
No Score Yet 66% Hell Unknown (Character) - 2005
No Score Yet 58% RRRrrrr!!! Lucie (Character) - 2004
No Score Yet No Score Yet J.S. Bach: The Music, the Life, the Legend Narrator - 2003
14% 43% Fanfan la Tulipe Récitant/Narrator (Voice) $28.4K 2003
92% 79% The Man on the Train Manesquier (Character) $2.5M 2002
No Score Yet No Score Yet Blanche Mazarin (Character) - 2002
85% 78% The Closet Kopel, Company Director (Character) $6.7M 2001
No Score Yet No Score Yet Honolulu Baby Cri Cri (Character) - 2001
No Score Yet 82% Rembrandt Nicolaes Tulp (Character) $12.4K 1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Wind With the Gone Edgard Wexley (Character) - 1998
No Score Yet No Score Yet Barracuda Monsieur Clément (Character) - 1997
No Score Yet 50% Never Ever Gerard Panier (Character) - 1996
80% 83% Ridicule Le Marquis de Bellegarde (Character) $2.5M 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet Palace Thomas Fausto (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet 67% The Grand Dukes Eddie Carpentier (Character) - 1996
24% 27% Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter) Inspector Tantpis (Character) $10.7M 1994
No Score Yet 69% Tango Bellhop (Character) - 1993
No Score Yet 80% Wild Target Victor Meynard (Character) - 1993
No Score Yet No Score Yet El Largo Invierno Jordi Casals (Character) - 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet L'Atlantide Unknown (Character) - 1992
No Score Yet No Score Yet Le bal des casse-pieds Unknown (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet 71% Madly in Love Rudolph (Character) - 1991
No Score Yet No Score Yet Amoureux Fou Rudolph (Character) - 1991
92% 86% The Hairdresser's Husband Antoine (Character) $11.1K 1990
73% 87% My Mother's Castle Loïs de Montmajour/Adolphe Cassignole (Character) - 1990
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Other Woman Farou (Character) - 1989
No Score Yet No Score Yet I'm the King of the Castle Monsieur Bréaud (Character) - 1989
No Score Yet 65% Duo Michel Marteau dit Michel Mortez (Character) - 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet Le Moustachu Unknown (Character) - 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet My First Forty Years Principe Riccio (Character) - 1987
No Score Yet No Score Yet The King's Cake Unknown (Character) - 1985
No Score Yet 11% Frankenstein 90 Unknown (Character) - 1984
No Score Yet No Score Yet L'ami de Vincent Vincent Lamar (Character) - 1983
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Big Brother Charles-Henri Rossi (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet No Score Yet L'indiscrétion Alain Tescique (Character) - 1982
No Score Yet No Score Yet Birgitt Haas Must Die Charles-Philippe Bauman (Character) - 1981
No Score Yet 100% I Sent a Letter to My Love Gilles Martin (Character) - 1981
No Score Yet No Score Yet Birgitt Haas Must Be Killed Charles-Philippe Bauman (Character) - 1981
No Score Yet No Score Yet I Hate Blondes Donald Rose (Character) - 1981
No Score Yet 67% French Postcards Monsieur Tessier (Character) - 1979
No Score Yet 50% Pardon Mon Affaire Too Etienne Dorsay (Character) - 1979
No Score Yet No Score Yet Courage, fuyons! Unknown (Character) - 1979
No Score Yet No Score Yet Practice Makes Perfect Unknown (Character) - 1978
No Score Yet No Score Yet We Will All Meet in Paradise Etienne Dorsay (Character) - 1977
No Score Yet 67% Le Crabe-Tambour Captain (Character) - 1977
No Score Yet 17% Escape From Death Row Louis Annunziata (Character) - 1976
No Score Yet No Score Yet Death Rite (Les magiciens) Unknown (Character) - 1976
No Score Yet 72% Pardon Mon Affaire Étienne (Character) - 1976
No Score Yet 48% Dirty Hands Maître Légal (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet No Score Yet Femmes Fatales Albert (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet 79% Let Joy Reign Supreme L'abbé Dubois (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Johns Were Locked From Inside Le commissaire Pichard (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet No Score Yet Mobsters Revenge Louis Annunziata (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet 14% Les vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur Le commissaire Pichard (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet No Score Yet A Happy Divorce Jean-Baptiste Morin (Character) - 1975
No Score Yet 55% Mio Dio Come Sono Caduta in Basso! (Till Marriage Do Us Part) (How Long Can You Fall?) Unknown (Character) - 1974
100% 79% The Clockmaker Le commissaire Guilboud (Character) - 1974
No Score Yet 48% The Return of the Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe Colonel Louis (Character) - 1974
No Score Yet No Score Yet Till Marriage Do Us Part Henry de Sarcey (Character) - 1974
No Score Yet No Score Yet Salute to the Artist Clément Chamfort (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet No Score Yet Inheritor Le nonce (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet No Score Yet Le complot Unknown (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet No Score Yet Salut L'Artiste Clément Chamfort (Character) - 1973
67% 79% The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe Le colonel Louis Marie Alphonse Toulouse (Character) - 1972
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hearth Fires Unknown (Character) - 1972
No Score Yet 70% The Devil by the Tail Husband (Character) - 1969
No Score Yet No Score Yet For a Distant Love Guillaume (Character) - 1968
No Score Yet 20% Two Weeks in September Philippe (Character) - 1967
No Score Yet No Score Yet Don't Play With Martians René Mastier (Character) - 1967
No Score Yet 77% Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? Grégoire Pecque (Character) - 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Angélique and the King Desgrez (Character) - 1966
No Score Yet 50% Up to His Ears Leon (Character) - 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Angelique: The Road to Versailles Desgrez (Character) - 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Angélique François Desgrez (Character) - 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet Symphony for a Massacre Jabeke (Character) - 1963
No Score Yet 54% Swords of Blood La Taupe (Character) - 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Man in the Iron Mask Lastréaumont (Character) - 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet Outpost in Indochina Unknown (Character) - 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Iron Mask Lastreaumont (Character) - 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet Le capitaine Fracasse Malartic (Character) - 1961