Christian Clavier

Christian Clavier — Biography

Christian Clavier is one of the best-known faces of French comedy: an actor, screenwriter, producer and director. Emerging from the Le Splendid café-théâtre troupe, he became a reliable box-office name as Jacquouille in Les Visiteurs and as Asterix on the big screen. He is the only actor to have headlined four films that each drew more than ten million admissions in France.

The first phase of his career was the Le Splendid years of the 1970s. Stage works created with Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Michel Blanc, Marie-Anne Chazel and Josiane Balasko were adapted for the screen, and Les Bronzés, Les Bronzés font du ski and Le père Noël est une ordure made him known nationwide. He then turned to comedies co-written with director Jean-Marie Poiré; after Twist again à Moscou and Opération Corned Beef came Les Visiteurs (1993), Les Anges gardiens (1995) and Les Couloirs du temps (1998), all big hits. In a third phase he played Asterix opposite Gérard Depardieu (1999, 2002) and voiced the character in the 2018 animated film.

On television he moved into drama as Thénardier in Les Misérables (2000) and as the emperor in Napoléon (2002). His only film as director, On ne choisit pas sa famille (2011), failed to find an audience, but Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu ? (2014) brought him back to the top. He was made a Knight of the Légion d'honneur in 2008 and is the brother of director Stéphane Clavier.