François Berléand (; born 22 April 1952) is a French actor.
He plays Gilles Triquet, the officer manager and equivalent of David Brent in Le Bureau, the French version of The Office, produced by Canal+. He also appeared in the 2002 film The Transporter as the French commissaire named Tarconi, an active and honest police officer who is an acquaintance of Frank Martin (Jason Statham). He reprised the role in the sequels Transporter 2 and Transporter 3 and the TV series.
Early life Berléand was born in Paris, France.Robert Belleret, "François Berléand : Le rescapé de l'incognito" in the newspaper Le Monde, 3 January 2007. The son of a Russian-Armenian father and a French mother, until the age of eleven he found his childhood traumatic after being told by his father that Berléand was the son of the Invisible Man.
Career
While studying at business school, he trained as an actor, somewhat against his will; his first stage role was in a play called Sur une plage de l'Ouest (On a beach in the West). After graduation, he enrolled in drama classes with Tania Balachova and then met Daniel, a director under whose auspices he worked from 1974 to 1981, participating in a dozen productions, mainly of contemporary classics.
Berléand began his film career in 1978 with supporting roles in successful comedies throughout the 1980s. After a series of highly acclaimed supporting roles, including My Small Business for which he won the César for best actor in a supporting role in 2000, he won his first major role in the film My Idol by Guillaume Canet which brought his name and face to the wider public. For this, Berléand thanks his former girlfriend, actress-director Nicole Garcia.
In Martin et Léa, he plays a police inspector, a role he went on to perform many times on screen (La Balance, Les mois d'avril sont meurtriers (based on the novel The Devil's Home on Leave by Derek Raymond), Marche à l'ombre (Walking in the Shade), The Bait, The Death the Chinese, Fred, The Smile of the Clown, Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One), Transporter 1, 2, and 3) thanks in part to a cold, distant, and piercing gaze. Berléand often plays military characters (The Hostage of Europe, Stella, Les Milles, Captain Conan, The Prince of the Pacific); he has also played a detective (Follow This Plane), pastor (Au revoir les enfants) and psychiatrist in Seventh Heaven, the film that really showed his talents to the public in late 1997.
He released a book about his childhood in 2006, Le fils de l'homme invisible (The son of the invisible man).
Personal life Berléand was in a relationship with French actress, film director and screenwriter Nicole Garcia for twelve years.
He has been in a long-term relationship with Alexia Stresi; their twins Adèle and Lucy were born in December 2008.
He is also the father of two grown children, Martin (born 1978) and Fanny (born 1983). He is the grandfather of Elios (born 2013), son of Martin.
Theater Year Title Author Director Notes1973 Le Champion de la faim Franz Kafka Daniel Benoin Les Corbeaux Henry Becque Daniel Benoin 1974 Deutsches Requiem Pierre Bourgeade Daniel Benoin Monsieur de Pourceaugnac Molière Daniel Benoin 1975 Woyzeck Georg Büchner Daniel Benoin 1977 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco Daniel Benoin 1979 Hide your happiness! Jean-Patrick Manchette Daniel Benoin 1985 Hernani Victor Hugo Antoine Vitez 1986 Madame de Sade Yukio Mishima Sophie Loucachevsky1987 Les Désossés Louis-Charles Sirjacq Sophie Loucachevsky Mort de Judas/Le Point de vue de Ponce Pilate Paul Claudel Sophie Loucachevsky 1990 La Dame de chez Maxim Georges Feydeau Alain Françon Partage de midi Paul Claudel Brigitte Jaques-Wajeman 1994 The Homecoming Harold Pinter Bernard Murat 1999 Biographie : un jeu Max Frisch Frédéric Bélier-Garcia 2002 L'Enfant do Jean-Claude Grumberg Jean-Michel Ribes 2003 Chinese Coffee Ira Lewis Richard Berry2007 L’Arbre de joie Louis-Michel Colla & David Khayat Christophe Lidon Faisons un rêve Sacha Guitry Bernard Murat 2008 Batailles Roland Topor & Jean-Michel Ribes Jean-Michel Ribes Tailleur pour dames Georges Feydeau Bernard Murat 2009 Sentiments provisoires Gérald Aubert Bernard Murat 2011–2013 Quadrille Sacha Guitry Bernard Murat 2012 Le Dindon Georges Feydeau Bernard Murat Bons baisers de Manault Manault Deva Manault Deva 2013–2015 Nina André Roussin Bernard Murat 2014–2015 Deux hommes tout nus Sébastien Thiéry Ladislas Chollat Nominated - Molière Award for Best Actor 2015–2016 Momo Sébastien Thiéry Ladislas Chollat 2016 Du vent dans les branches de sassafras René de Obaldia Bernard Murat Moi, moi et François B. Clément Gayet Stéphane Hillel 2017 Ramses II Sébastien Thiéry Stéphane Hillel 2019 Encore un instant Fabrice Roger-Lacan Bernard Murat
Filmography