Clovis Cornillac

Child of the ball, Clovis Cornillac began his career on stage at the age of 15 alongside directors as famous as Peter Brook or Alain Françon ( A moon for the deprived ). Appearing for the first time in the cinema as a young delinquent in Outlaw by Robin Davis, he very early interprets the characters of thugs (The Sandwich Years of Pierre Boutron, Il ya maldonne by John Berry). In 1998, he shot La Mère Christain under the direction of his mother, the actress Myriam Boyer.


If he multiplies the roles on the small and the big screen as well as in the theater, Clovis Cornillac will have to wait until 1999 and Karnaval by Thomas Vincent - a film which also revealed Sylvie Testud - to see his talent recognized. In this love story against a backdrop of the Dunkirk carnival, he plays a jealous hot-blooded husband, a performance that earned him a César nomination for Best Male Newcomer. On the bill for many first films (Carnages by Delphine Gleize, Vert paradis by Emmanuel Bourdieu), this all-terrain actor impresses as a transsexual in the film Maleficent in 2002.


An actor with an intense gaze and a boxer's physique - an activity for which he was destined when he was young - Clovis Cornillac was nominated in 2004 for the César for Best Supporting Actor for his endearing composition in Sam Karmann's Little Week. Having become essential in the French cinematographic landscape, he appears in films as different as the tender chronicle Malabar Princess (2004), the intimate La Femme de Gilles and the fresco by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, A long engagement Sunday. Crowned with a César for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for his irresistible composition as a footballer fan of Baudelaire in Lies and betrayals ..., he took part, the same year, in the success of the delirious Brice de Nice.


Establishing himself as well in auteur cinema as in major commercial productions, Clovis Cornillac obtains leading roles ranging from the daredevil fighter pilot of the Knights of the sky to the commissioner Valentin of the Tiger Brigades through the owner of a haunted house in the disco comedy Poltergay (2006). After his very physical performances in The Snake and Scorpion, this actor of all challenges continues his rise to glory by replacing Christian Clavier in 2006 in the role of the irreducible Gaul for the mega-production Asterix at the Olympic Games. He also dabbled in dubbing for the first time thanks to the penguins of Happy Feet, an experience he repeated five years later for the sequel to George Miller's film as well as for Sahara in 2017.


In 2007, he changed his register again with the dramatic and musical comedy Faubourg 36 by Christophe Barratier. For the needs of his character Snowy, who sings and dances on the stage in a colorful show, he takes singing lessons. He continued in 2008 in the drama genre by filming under the direction of Claude Chabrol in Bellamy. The year 2010 was marked by her participation in two comedies, one detective (Protect and serve) and the other romantic (Love is better for two).


2011 is another busy year for the actor. Always chaining action films and popular comedies, the actor gives the answer to Mélanie Laurent in the dark thriller Requiem for a slayer, before playing a husband who tries unsuccessfully to have a child with Olivia Bonamy in Crazy Desire . He also participates in Monsieur Papa, Kad Merad's first experience as a director, before taking over the muscular roles for the detective film Dans la tormente, where he shares the poster with Mathilde Seigner and Yvan Attal.


His career definitely knows no downtime, since the following year, he slips into the skin of the charismatic host of a radio show in the comedy Radiostars, under the direction of Romain Levy. Also the same year, the actor becomes François, an enthusiast of the Tour de France in The Big Loop. 


2015 marks a turning point in his career: he goes behind the camera for the first time for the romantic comedy A little, many, blindly where he plays a puzzle inventor alongside Mélanie Bernier. He sets the scene for the France 2 series, Chefs, where he puts on the costume of a professional of French cuisine. If he is content to act as an actor during the first season, he directs a few episodes of season 2. Decided to pursue his careers as an actor and director, he signs the last part of the saga Belle et Sébastien in which he offers himself the role of the big bad, the ruthless Joseph.