ACTOR
Gérard Depardieu
- Known for
- Babylon A.D. (2008), Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002), Astérix & Obélix contre César (1999), L'instinct de mort (2008)
46 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Gérard Depardieu is an actor best known for Babylon A.D., Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre and Astérix & Obélix contre César.
All facts (46)
- #001
A friend of John Travolta asked Travolta to be Gérard Depardieu's French voice in the dubbed version of Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981).
- #002
Gérard Depardieu speaks fluent Italian.
- #003
Gérard Depardieu is a successful wine producer.
- #004
Following a heart attack on 10 July 2000, Gérard Depardieu underwent emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery in Paris, France.
- #005
Gérard Depardieu has portrayed many characters from classic French literature. He starred as Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (2000).
- #006
Gérard Depardieu was so immersed in his role in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) that he refused to cut his Cyrano beard for a long time after the film was completed.
- #007
While working as a beach boy in Cannes during the film festival, Gérard Depardieu became interested in acting and went to Paris to train.
- #008
When Gérard Depardieu appeared on So Graham Norton (1998) in 2001, it was his first interview in the United Kingdom. He also admitted that he rode his motorcycle to the hospital for his bypass surgery.
- #009
Gérard Depardieu owns vineyards in France, Italy, Argentina, Morocco and Algeria.
- #010
Gérard Depardieu smoked three packs of cigarettes a day until his heart surgery in 2000.
- #011
Gérard Depardieu was the highest-paid French actor, earning 800,000 Euros per film (2005).
- #012
Gérard Depardieu has been a close friend of Robert De Niro for more than 30 years, since they worked together on Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 (1976) between 1974 and 1975.
- #013
Gérard Depardieu became a Fellow of the British Film Institute for his outstanding contributions to film culture.
- #014
Gérard Depardieu's son Guillaume Depardieu died on 13 October 2008 (aged 37) from complications of pneumonia.
- #015
Gérard Depardieu has two restaurants at Place Gaillon in Paris, called "La Fontaine Gaillon" and "L'Ecaille de la Fontaine".
- #016
Gérard Depardieu has received more César nominations than any other actor (16).
- #017
Gérard Depardieu is Cuban leader Fidel Castro's favourite actor and a close friend.
- #018
Gérard Depardieu left school at 13 to train as a printer.
- #019
In 1990, Gérard Depardieu was found guilty of drink-driving in France. He was sentenced to 2 months in prison (suspended) and the loss of his driving licence for 6 months.
- #020
In October 2005, he announced his intention to retire from acting, saying he believed he had made enough films and wanted to focus on other interests.
- #021
Depardieu is a typical name from central France.
- #022
He was engaged to Carole Bouquet, with whom he had been in a long-term relationship since 1997, from 2003 to 2005.
- #023
On Thursday, 3 January 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to Gérard Depardieu, who had renounced his passport because of a bitter dispute with the French government over taxes.
- #024
He was offered the lead role in the action film Malone (1987) but turned it down. The role was then offered to Christopher Lambert, who also turned it down. It was finally accepted by Burt Reynolds.
- #025
He grew up in Châteauroux in the Indre region.
- #026
He had a motorcycle accident and was hospitalized in Paris during the filming of Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999).
- #027
He appeared in five films that won the César Award for Best Film: The Last Metro (1980), Camille Claudel (1988), Too Beautiful for You (1989), Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) and All the Mornings of the World (1991). The last four were consecutive winners.
- #028
He was jury president at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992.
- #029
He appeared in remakes of two films that had previously starred José Ferrer. First, Depardieu took over Ferrer's role in the title part of Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). Ferrer later played the musketeer Athos in The Fifth Musketeer (1979), while Depardieu played the musketeer Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). Both films were based on The Vicomte of Bragelonne. In Milady and the Three Musketeers (2004), his son Guillaume Depardieu played Athos, a role Ferrer had previously played.
- #030
He is the father of Roxane Depardieu with Karine Silla.
- #031
He admires Saint Augustine, the bishop, theologian and philosopher who lived in the North African town of Hippo Regius between 354 and 430.
- #032
He was born to René Maxime Lionel Depardieu ("Le Dédé"), a metalworker and firefighter, and his wife Anne Jeanne Josèphe Marillier ("La Lilette"), and was the third of five children.
- #033
He is the father of a son named Jean Depardieu (born 14 July 2006) with jewellery designer Helene Bizot.
- #034
He has been living with Clémentine Igou since 2005.
- #035
To date he has made 10 films with Catherine Deneuve: The Last Metro (1980), I Love You All (1980), Choice of Arms (1981), Fort Saganne (1984), A Strange Place for an Encounter (1988), One Hundred and One Nights (1995), Changing Times (2004), Potiche (2010), Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012) and Nobody's Perfect! (2017).
- #036
Two of his literary characters are said to have influenced the French playwright Molière. In Cyrano de Bergerac (1990), Molière is said to have stolen from many of Cyrano's plays. In Alexandre Dumas's novel The Vicomte of Bragelonne, Molière, himself a tailor, takes Porthos's measurements and draws much inspiration for creating Monsieur Jourdain. Depardieu played Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).
- #037
He appeared with his wife Elisabeth in Le Tartuffe (1984).
- #038
Gérard Depardieu supported Nicolas Sarkozy's 2012 presidential campaign.
- #039
A puppet resembling Gérard Depardieu appears in the French show Les Guignols de l'info (1988).
- #040
Gérard Depardieu is the grandfather of Billy and Alfred (Julie's sons) and of Louise Depardieu.
- #041
Guillaume Depardieu's wife Elise gave birth to a daughter, making Gérard a grandfather (January 2001).
- #042
Karine Silla, Gérard Depardieu's former girlfriend and the mother of his daughter Roxanne, is now married to the actor Vincent Perez, who starred alongside Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac (1990).
- #043
Gérard Depardieu was a classmate of Claude Jade and Alain Doutey at the École d'art dramatique (1966).
- #044
Gérard Depardieu shares two roles with Frank Finlay: (1) Finlay played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (1967), while Depardieu played him in Les Misérables (2000), and (2) Finlay played Porthos in The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974) and The Return of the Musketeers (1989), while Depardieu played him in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).
- #045
Gérard Depardieu began his film career in 1970.
- #046
Gérard Depardieu's move to Paris in 1965 led to his enrollment in a drama school and to a teacher who recognized his acting talent.
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