Jean-Paul Comart

Belgian actor Jean-Paul Comart has been familiar to Francophone movie and TV audiences for decades, though recently they have been looking at him in a new light thanks to his appearances in small-screen period pieces. Comart, an alumnus of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where he won first prize on his graduation in 1978, began his career with great promise, earning a 1982 César nomination for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance as "The Belgian" in "La Balance," starring Nathalie Baye. He subsequently had an ongoing collaboration with esteemed French director Bertrand Tavernier on the films "Life and Nothing But," "L.627" and "Bait," yet he was always a supporting player. "In many productions, I am a talent, not a star!" said Comart in a 2001 interview. "Faced with this, I can only say that I'm here, I am full of desire." Since then, that desire has been on show; he stood out as Inspector Miller on the 2005 TV cop series "Trois femmes flics," and has hit his stride as a costume drama actor with his turns in "La Reine et Le Cardinal," the very popular adventure series "Nicolas Le Floch," and "Louis XVI, L'Homme Qui Ne Voulait Pas être Roi."