Kad Merad (born Kaddour Merad, ; 27 March 1964) is a French-Algerian writer and actor.
Life and career
Kad Merad was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, on 27 March 1964 to an Algerian father and a French mother.
During his teens, he played drums and sang with various rock bands. Soon afterwards, he started playing roles at Club Med alongside the Gigolo Brothers troupe.
In 1990, he was hired by Ouï FM, the Paris rock radio station where he met Olivier Baroux. The duet most known as Kad & Olivier began working together and started their own show, the Rock'n Roll Circus, introducing some of their most famous sketches (Pamela Rose, Teddy Porc Fidèle...). The early success of the show allowed them to meet Jean-Luc Delarue who brought their act to TV.
In 1999, they began appearing on the French Satellite TV channel Comédie+ on their own show, La Grosse Emission. At the same time, Merad started his Cinema career with a lot of secondary roles.
In 2003, he scored his first box-office success with Mais Qui a tué Pamela Rose?, co-written with Baroux.
In 2007, Kad received the César Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Je vais Bien, ne t'en fais pas! and appears in AaRON's film soundtrack video clip. His best challenger was Dany Boon. During the shooting of Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, this friendly struggle was a running joke between the two of them.
That same year, he made his first appearance with Les Enfoirés music troop and is still one of its members. He was also inducted as the Godfather of the Telethon.
The next year, he starred as Phillipe Abrams in the French movie Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis. The film was a surprise - and phenomenal - success in France and Europe, becoming the best-attended movie ever made in France, with 21 million moviegoers.
Filmography
As actor Year Title Role Director Notes1991 Tribunal Ahmed Ben Mabrouk Georges Bensoussan TV series (1 episode)1992 La Cavale des fous A cop Marco Pico1992-96 Rock'n Roll Circus Host TV show1995 Dialogue au sommet Igor Xavier Giannoli Short1996 Jour de chance au bâtiment C Lionel Gédébé ShortAlso writer1998 Les trente dernières minutes Darius Perrini Christophe Janin TV series (26 episodes)1999 Jeu de vilains Monsieur Tosca Hervé Eparvier Short Blague à part Maxwell François Greze TV series (1 episode)1999-2001 La Grosse émission Host Virginie Lovisone TV show2001 La stratégie de l'échec Mr. Golden Dominique Farrugia La grande vie ! The biker Philippe Dajoux Faute de grive The man Patrick Bosso Short Un gars, une fille The guy Francis Duquet TV series (1 episode) La cape et l'épée Yaziz Bernard Faroux TV series (1 episode) Caméra Café Various Francis Duquet (2) TV series (2 episodes)2002 Les tombales Gustave Christophe Barratier Short Visite guidée Gérard Lanza Caroline Roucoux & Hervé Thébault Short2003 The Car Keys Himself Laurent Baffie Mais Qui a tué Pamela Rose? Richard Bullit Éric Lartigau Also writer Rien que du bonheur Pierre Denis Parent Le pharmacien de garde The jurist Jean Veber La beuze The artistic director François Desagnat & Thomas Sorriaux Bloody Christmas The man Michel Leray Short Samedi soir en direct Various Several TV showAlso writer Brother Bear Tuke Aaron Blaise & Robert Walker French voice Soyez prudents... Lionel Gédébé (2) TV series (1 episode)2004 The Chorus Chabert Christophe Barratier (2) Les Dalton The Mexican Philippe Haïm Monde extérieur Bertrand David Rault Short2005 Iznogoud Ouzmoutousouloubouloubombê Patrick Braoudé Propriété commune Martin Michel Leray (2) Short Toilet Zone Various Olivier Baroux TV showAlso writer2006 Don't Worry, I'm Fine Paul Tellier Philippe Lioret César Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated - Étoiles d'Or for Best Male Newcomer Beyond the Ocean Tango's uncle Éliane de Latour Un ticket pour l'espace Cardoux Éric Lartigau (2) Also writer Essaye-moi Vincent Pierre-François Martin-Laval J'invente rien Paul Thalman Michel Leclerc Les irréductibles Gérard Mathieu Renaud Bertrand Star Trek... ou presque Romain Protat TV movieAlso writer Brother Bear 2 Tuke Ben Gluck French voice Happy Feet Ramón George Miller French voice2007 Could This Be Love? Rachid Pierre Jolivet 3 amis Baptiste 'Titi' Capla Michel Boujenah Pur week-end Frédéric 'Fred' Alvaro Olivier Doran La tête de maman Jacques Charlot Carine Tardieu Ce soir, je dors chez toi Jacques Olivier Baroux (2) 2008 Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis Philippe Abrams Dany Boon Nominated - Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor Paris 36 Jacky Christophe Barratier (3) Modern Love Olivier Stéphane Kazandjian Mes stars et moi Robert Pelage Laetitia Colombani 2009 Little Nicholas Nicolas's father Laurent Tirard Safari Richard Dacier Olivier Baroux (3) R.T.T. Arthur Lepage Frédéric Berthe 2010 22 Bullets Tony Zacchia Richard Berry Protéger & servir Michel Boudriau Éric Lavaine L'Italien Mourad Ben Saoud / Dino Fabrizzi Olivier Baroux (4) Megamind Megamind Tom McGrath French voice2011 The Well-Digger's Daughter Félipe Rambert Daniel Auteuil Monsieur Papa Robert Pique Kad Merad La nouvelle guerre des boutons Father Lebrac Christophe Barratier (4) Les Tuche The fishmonger Olivier Baroux (5) JC comme Jésus Christ Himself Jonathan Zaccaï Happy Feet Two Ramon George Miller (2) French voice2012 Superstar Martin Kazinski Xavier Giannoli (2) Mais Qui a re-tué Pamela Rose? Richard Bullit Kad Merad (2) & Olivier Baroux (6) 2013 The Big Bad Wolf Louis Delcroix Nicolas & Bruno Des gens qui s'embrassent Roni Melkowich Danièle Thompson 2014 Supercondriaque Dr. Dimitri Zvenka Dany Boon (2) Nicholas on Holiday Nicolas's father Laurent Tirard (2) On a marché sur Bangkok Serge Renart Olivier Baroux (7) Disparue en hiver Daniel Vernant Christophe Lamotte 2015 Bis Patrice Olesky Dominique Farrugia (2) On voulait tout casser Kiki Philippe Guillard Hotel Transylvania 2 Count Dracula Genndy Tartakovsky French voice Peplum Timo Philippe Lefebvre TV series (1 episode)2016 Marseille Paolo Kad Merad (3) La folle histoire de Max et Léon The actor Jonathan Barré 2016–20 Republican Gangsters (Baron Noir) Philippe Rickwaert Ziad Doueiri TV series (24 episodes)ACS Award for Best Actor (2016)Nominated - ACS Award for Best Actor (2018)2017 Alibi.com Monsieur Godet Philippe Lacheau La Mélodie Simon Rachid Hami Comme des rois Xabi Molia 2018 Brillantissime Doctor Steinman Michèle Laroque Le Doudou Philippe Mechelen & Julien Hervé 2019 Just a Gigolo Alex Olivier Baroux (8) 2019 La part au soupçon Thomas Kertez Christophe Lamotte TV series (2 episodes) 2020 The Big HitEtienne Carboni 2022 Oussekine Georges Kiejman Antoine Chevrollier 2023 Life for Real Louis Dany Boon (3) 2024 Finalement Lino
Director / Writer Year Title Notes 2011 Monsieur Papa 2012 Mais Qui a tué Pamela Rose? 2016 Marseille
Theater Year Title Author Director Notes 1992 Histoires Camiques Sylvian Bruchon Michel Feder Théâtre le Funambule 2010 The Shop at the Corner of the Street Miklós László Jean-Luc Revol Théâtre de Paris 2016–17 Acting Xavier Durringer Xavier Durringer
References
External links