Rémy Girard (born August 10, 1950) is a Canadian actor and former television host from Quebec.[1]
Born in Jonquière, he was the son of politician Fernand Girard.[2]
He attended Université Laval, initially to study law but switching to acting after joining the university's theatre troupe.[3] He transferred to the Conservatoire de théàtre du Québec, where he graduated in 1974.[3]
Girard has acted in film, television and stage productions throughout his career.[1] He first became famous for playing the role of Rémy in Denys Arcand's 1986 film The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'empire américain),[3] later reprising the character in The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares).[2] Girard also appeared in Arcand's films Jesus of Montreal (Jésus de Montréal) and Testament.[4]
He was Paul Bougon in the TV series Les Bougon, which ran for three seasons on TV in Canada from 2003 to 2005.[5] He hosted a game show called La Chasse aux Trésors that aired on Quebec television network TVA during the late 1990s, and starred in the 2011 Canadian action comedy InSecurity on CBC Television.[6]
In 2006 he was a member of the jury at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival.[7]
Girard played notorious criminal Lucien Rivard in The American Trap (Le piege americain).[8] Girard starred as Hervé Mercure in the thriller 7 Days (Les 7 Jours du Talion), directed by Daniel Grou.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Red Eyes (Les Yeux rouges) | Henri-Paul | ||
| 1984 | The Crime of Ovide Plouffe (Le Crime d'Ovide Plouffe) | Radio announcer | ||
| 1986 | The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'empire américain) | Rémy, Louise's husband | ||
| 1988 | The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) | Monsieur Litwin | ||
| 1988 | Kalamazoo | Félix Cotnoir | ||
| 1988 | The Mills of Power (Les Tisserands du pouvoir) | |||
| 1989 | Jesus of Montreal (Jésus de Montréal) | Martin | ||
| 1991 | Montreal Stories (Montréal vu par...) | Consul | ||
| 1993 | La Florida | Léo Lespérance | ||
| 1994 | Million Dollar Babies | Martin Poulin | ||
| 1994 | Jerome's Secret (Le Secret de Jérôme) | Cyrille Marquis | ||
| 1996 | Lilies (Les Feluettes) | the inmate playing the baroness | ||
| 1996 | The Ideal Man (L'Homme idéal) | Bob | ||
| 1997 | Les Boys | Stan | ||
| 1997 | The Seat of the Soul (Le siège de l'âme) | The Detective | ||
| 1998 | The Red Violin (Le Violon rouge) | the customs officer | ||
| 1998 | Free Money | Louis | ||
| 2001 | Varian's War | Colonel Joubert | ||
| 2002 | Father Laloge | |||
| 2003 | The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares) | Rémy | ||
| 2004 | Machine Gun Molly (Monica la mitraille) | Maurice Morissette | ||
| 2005 | Aurore | Oreus Mailhot | ||
| 2005 | The Rocket (Maurice Richard) | Tony Bergeron | ||
| 2005 | Human Trafficking | Viktor Taganov | ||
| 2006 | Le Lièvre de Vatanen | Richard Growe | ||
| 2007 | Blades of Glory | Father St. Pierre | ||
| 2007 | Bluff | Georges | ||
| 2008 | The American Trap (Le piège américain) | Lucien Rivard | ||
| 2008 | Honey, I'm in Love (Le Grand départ) | Henri Leduc | ||
| 2009 | A Happy Man (Le Bonheur de Pierre) | Michel Dolbec | ||
| 2009 | Father and Guns (De père en flic) | Charles Bérubé | ||
| 2009 | Je me souviens | Monseigneur Madore | ||
| 2010 | Incendies | Jean Lebel, the barrister | ||
| 2010 | The Comeback (Cabotins) | Marcel Lajoie | ||
| 2016 | Boundaries (Pays) | Paul Rivest | ||
| 2016 | Votez Bougon | Paul Bougon | ||
| 2019 | And the Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux) | |||
| 2020 | The Vinland Club (Le Club Vinland) | |||
| 2020 | You Will Remember Me (Tu te souviendras de moi) | Édouard | ||
| 2021 | Portrait-Robot or The Sketch Artist | Bernard Dupin | ||
| 2022 | Bones of Crows | Father Jacobs | ||
| 2023 | Testament | Jean-Michel | ||
| 2024 | Ababooned (Ababouiné) | Cardinal Madore |
In June 2019 Girard was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.[10]
In 2023 he was the recipient of the Prix Iris Tribute Award, the lifetime achievement award of Québec Cinéma, at the 25th Quebec Cinema Awards.[11] He had previously received two Best Actor and five Best Supporting Actor nominations, but had never won a competitive award, making him the actor with the most nominations without a win.
In 2024 he was named the winner of the Prix Denise-Pelletier for his body of work.[12]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Film | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genie Awards | 1987 | Best Actor | The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'empire américain) | [13] | |
| 1991 | Love Crazy (Amoureux fou) | [14] | |||
| 1993 | La Florida | [15] | |||
| 1998 | Les Boys | [16] | |||
| 2003 | The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares) | [17] | |||
| 1989 | Best Supporting Actor | The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) | |||
| 1990 | Jesus of Montreal (Jésus de Montréal) | ||||
| 2005 | Aurore | [18] | |||
| 2009 | Father and Guns (De père en flic) | [19] | |||
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2020 | And the Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux) | [20] | ||
| Prix Jutra/Iris | 2002 | Best Actor | Les Boys III | [21] | |
| 2004 | The Barbarian Invasions (Les invasions barbares) | [22] | |||
| 1999 | Best Supporting Actor | It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux (C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux) | [23] | ||
| 2003 | (Séraphin: Un homme et son péché) | [24] | |||
| 2010 | Father and Guns (De père en flic) | [25] | |||
| 2020 | And the Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux) | [26] | |||
| 2021 | The Vinland Club (Le club Vinland) | [27] | |||
| 2023 | Tribute Award |