| Jean Rochefort | |
| Birth Name: | Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort |
| Birth Date: | 29 April 1930 |
| Birth Place: | Paris, Third French Republic |
| Death Place: | Paris, France |
| Resting Place: | Grosrouvre Cemetery, Grosrouvre, France |
| Education: | CNSAD |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1953–2016 |
| Spouse: | |
| Children: | 6 |
Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort (pronounced as /fr/; 29 April 1930 – 9 October 2017) was a French actor. He received many accolades during his career, including an Honorary César in 1999.
Rochefort was born on 29 April 1930 in Paris, France, to Breton parents.[1] He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen.[2] [3]
Rochefort was nineteen years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National.[4] After completing his national service in 1953, he worked with the Compagnie Grenier Hussenot as a theatre actor for seven years. There he was noted for his ability to play both drama and comedy. He then became a television and cinema actor, and also worked as director.
After some supporting roles in Cartouche, Captain Fracasse and in Marvelous Angelique, Rochefort played his first big role with Annie Girardot as his wife and Claude Jade as his daughter in Hearth Fires in 1972. In this drama, he starred as a man who leaves his family for ten years before returning. In this film he played at 41 years old a father of adult children (the young Claude Jade was already 23). To appear older, he grew a moustache, his trademark, which he later removed only once, in 1996 for Ridicule.
Four years after Hearth Fires he was the leading star of the midlife crisis comedy Pardon Mon Affaire as a man who risks his married life with Danièle Delorme for an affair with Anny Duperey. Thanks to the success of this film, Rochefort became very popular. In 1972, he starred opposite Pierre Richard as Chief of Counter-Espionage, Louis Toulouse, in the Yves Robert comedy Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire, a role he reprised in the 1974 sequel Le Retour du grand blond, also directed by Robert. In 1998, he starred as "Fernand de Morcerf" opposite Gerard Depardieu in the mini-series Le Comte de Monte Cristo.
In the eighties, he became the narrator of the French version of Welcome to Pooh Corner, replacing Laurie Main. This made him popular with children at the time and Disney hired him to record several audio versions of their classic movies. In the 1990s, he returned to comedy with Les Grands Ducs where he played alongside two other actors of his generation with a similar career, Philippe Noiret and Jean-Pierre Marielle.
He was set to play the lead role in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, after being found as "the perfect Quixote" by director Terry Gilliam. Rochefort learned to speak English just for the part. Unfortunately, amongst other production problems, he began suffering from a herniated disc. Unable to film for months, production was cancelled. A documentary, Lost in La Mancha, was made about the failed production.
In 1960, he married Alexandra Moscwa, with whom he had two children: Marie (1962) and Julien (1965). With actress-filmmaker Nicole Garcia, he also had a son Pierre. Through his second marriage with Françoise Vidal, he had two children, Louise (1990) and Clémence (1992).
In his thirties during the shooting of Cartouche, he discovered his passion for horses and equestrianism. He was a horse breeder since then and owned Le Haras de Villequoy. His passion led him to become a horse consultant for French television in 2004.
Rochefort died on 9 October 2017 at the age of 87.[5] [6]
Rochefort won many awards throughout his career, most notably three César Awards: Best Supporting Actor in 1976 for Que La Fête Commence, Best Actor in 1978 for Le Crabe-Tambour and an honorary prize in 1999. He was nominated for many more awards.[7]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Rencontre à Paris (Meeting in Paris) | Intern | Uncredited |
| 1958 | Une balle dans le canon (A Bullet in the Gun Barrel) | Léopold | |
| 1961 | Vingt mille lieues sur la terre (20,000 Leagues Across the Land), Titre original: Леон Гаррос ищет друга (1960) | Fernand | The film is available in russian on YouTube |
| Le Capitaine Fracasse | Malartic | ||
| 1962 | Cartouche (Swords of Blood) | La Taupe | |
| Le Soleil dans l'oeil (Sun in Your Eyes)[8] | Cameo appearance | ||
| Le Masque de fer (The Iron Mask) | Lastréaumont | ||
| 1963 | Outpost in Indochina[9] | Sergeant Hérange | |
| (Symphony for a Massacre)[10] | Jabeke | ||
| The Bread Peddler | Ovide Soliveau | ||
| (The Blockhead Fair) | Sigoules | ||
| 1964 | (Trouble Among Widows) | Inspector Laforêt | |
| Croquignol | |||
| Angélique, Marquise des Anges | François Desgrez | ||
| Beautiful Families | Marquis Osvaldo | (segment "Amare è un po' morire") | |
| 1965 | Merveilleuse Angélique (Marvelous Angelique) | François Desgrez | |
| Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine (Up to His Ears) | Leon | ||
| 1966 | Angélique et le roy (Angelique and the King) | François Desgrez | |
| Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (Who Are You, Polly Magoo?) | Grégoire Pecque | ||
| 1967 | Capitain Bordeille | ||
| À cœur joie (Two Weeks in September) | Philippe | ||
| 1968 | Ne jouez pas avec les Martiens (Don't Play with Martians) | René Mastier | |
| Pour un amour lointain | Guillaume | ||
| 1969 | The Devil by the Tail | Count Georges de Coustines | |
| 1970 | Le Temps de mourir (The Time to Die) | Hervé Breton | |
| Moss | |||
| Georges Cazenave | |||
| 1972 | Les malheurs d'Alfred | Uncredited | |
| [11] ("The Egg") | Victor Dugommier | ||
| Les Feux de la chandeleur (Hearth Fires) | Alexandre Boursault | ||
| Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire (The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe) | Colonel Louis Toulouse | ||
| 1973 | L'Héritier (The Inheritor) | André Berthier | |
| (The Conspiracy) | Dominique Clavet | ||
| (Lovely Swine) | Police Inspector | ||
| Dio, sei proprio un padreterno! (Mean Frank and Crazy Tony) | Louis Annunziata | ||
| Salut l'artiste (Hail The Artist) | Clément Chamfort | ||
| 1974 | L'Horloger de Saint-Paul (The Clockmaker) | Inspector Guilboud | |
| Comment réussir quand on est con et pleurnichard (How to Make Good When One Is a Jerk and a Crybaby) | Foisnard | ||
| Le fantôme de la liberté (The Phantom of Liberty) | Mr. Legendre | ||
| Mio Dio, come sono caduta in basso! (Till Marriage Do Us Part) | Baron Henri De Sarcey | ||
| Retour du grand blond (The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe) | Colonel Toulouse | ||
| 1975 | (Isabelle and Lust) | Mr. Vaudois | |
| Que la fête commence... (Let Joy Reign Supreme) | Dubois | ||
| Les innocents aux mains sales (Innocents with Dirty Hands) | Albert Légal | ||
| Un divorce heureux (A Happy Divorce) | Jean-Baptiste Morin | ||
| 1976 | Commissioner Pichard | ||
| Calmos (Cool, Calm and Collected) | Albert | ||
| Les Magiciens (Death Rite) | Edouard | ||
| Pardon Mon Affaire (An Elephant Can Be Extremely Deceptive) | Étienne Dorsay | ||
| 1977 | [12] (The Devil in the Box) | Alain Brissot | |
| Nous irons tous au paradis (We Will All Meet in Paradise) | Étienne Dorsay | ||
| Le Crabe-tambour (Drummer-Crab) | The Captain | ||
| 1978 | Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? | Auguste Grandvilliers | English language |
| 1979 | (Practice Makes Perfect) | Édouard Choiseul | |
| [13] | Carl Grandison | ||
| Courage - Let's Run | Martin Belhomme | ||
| French Postcards | Mr. Tessier | ||
| 1980 | (Sent a Letter to My Love) | Gilles Martin | |
| Odio le bionde (I Hate Blondes) | Donald Rose | ||
| 1981 | Un étrange voyage | Pierre | |
| Il faut tuer Birgitt Haas (Birgitt Haas Must Be Killed) | Charles-Philippe Bauman | ||
| 1982 | Alain Tescique | ||
| Le Grand Frère (The Big Brother) | Charles-Henri Rossi | ||
| 1983 | [14] ("A Cops' Sunday") | Rupert | |
| (A Friend of Vincent) | Vincent Lamarre | ||
| 1984 | Frankenstein 90 | ||
| Louis Alban | |||
| 1985 | David, Thomas et les autres[15] ("A Volley for a Black Buffalo") | Mr. Louis | |
| 1986 | Arnold | ||
| 1987 | (The Field Agent) | Capitain Duroc | |
| Tandem | Michel Mortez | ||
| My First Forty Years (also known as My Wonderful Life) | Prince Riccio | ||
| 1989 | Je suis le seigneur du château (I'm the King of the Castle) | Jean Bréaud | |
| 1990 | Le Mari de la coiffeuse (The Hairdresser's Husband) | Antoine | |
| Le Château de ma mère (My Mother's Castle) | Loïs de Montmajour / Adolphe Cassignole | ||
| 1991 | Amoureux fou ("Love Crazy" or "Madly in Love") | Rudolph | |
| 1992 | Henri Sauveur | ||
| El largo invierno | Jordi Casals | ||
| The Timekeeper | Louis XV of France | Short | |
| L'Atlantide[16] | Le Meige | ||
| 1993 | Tango | Bellhop | |
| (Wild Target) | Victor Meynard | ||
| La prossima volta il fuoco[17] ("Next Time the Fire") | Amedeo | ||
| Tombés du ciel (Lost in Transit) | Arturo Conti | ||
| 1994 | Tutti gli anni una volta l'anno (Once a Year, Every Year) | Raffaele | |
| Prêt-à-Porter | Inspector Tantpis | ||
| 1995 | Tom est tout seul[18] | Jean-Pierre | |
| Palace[19] | Thomas Fausto | ||
| 1996 | Les Grands Ducs | Eddie Carpentier | |
| Ridicule | Marquis of Bellegarde | ||
| Never Ever | Gerard Panier | ||
| 1997 | Mr. Clément | ||
| 1998 | Le Serpent a mangé la grenouille[20] | Mr. Moreau | |
| Le Comte de Monte Cristo[21] ("The Count of Monte Cristo") | Fernand de Morcerf | 4 episodes | |
| [22] ("Wind with the Gone") | Edgar Wexley | ||
| 1999 | Rembrandt | Nicolaes Tulp | |
| 2001 | Le Placard | Kopel | |
| Honolulu Baby[23] | Cri Cri | ||
| La Vie sans secret de Walter Nions[24] | Walter Nions | Short | |
| 2002 | L'homme du train (The Man on the Train) | Manesquier | |
| Lost in La Mancha | Himself | Uncredited | |
| 2003 | Fanfan la tulipe | Narrator | Voice |
| Il était une fois Jean-Sébastien Bach | Narrator | Voice | |
| Les Clefs de bagnole (The Car Keys) | Himself | cameo appearance | |
| 2004 | RRRrrrr!!! | Lucie | |
| Les Dalton (The Daltons) | Jolly Jumper | Voice | |
| 2005 | Chris Barnes | ||
| L'enfer (Hell) | Louis | ||
| 2006 | Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One) | Gilbert Neuville | |
| Louis Ruinard | |||
| 2007 | Mr. Bean's Holiday | Head Waiter | |
| I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster | Jean | ||
| La clef | Joseph Arp | ||
| 2008 | id - Identity of the Soul | Narrator | |
| Agathe Cléry | Louis Guignard | ||
| 2011 | Titeuf | Pépé | Voice |
| 2012 | The Artist and the Model | Marc Cros | |
| Astérix et Obélix: Au service de sa Majesté (Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia) | Lucius Fouinus | ||
| 2013 | Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart | Méliès | Voice |
| Jappeloup | Himself | Uncredited | |
| 2015 | April and the Twisted World | Pops | Voice |
| Floride | Claude Lherminier |