Richard Berry

• Richard Berry's career interview

From the age of 16, Richard Berry developed a particular interest in the theater. He joined a troupe of amateur actors and became passionate about the classics of Racine, Corneille, Molière and Beaumarchais. After failing the first entrance exam to the Conservatory, he was finally admitted in 1969. Upon leaving, he joined the Comédie Française and stayed there for seven years. Elie Chouraqui offered him his first major film role in My first love in 1978. He often appeared in early works, such as Un assassin qui passe (1981) by Michel Vianey and Putain d'histoire d'amour (id.) By Gilles Béhat. From 1982, Richard Berry diversified his register. We see it in the credits of Bob Swaim's hugely successful The Libra, and in the sequel to A Man and a Woman, A Man and a Woman:


In 1984, the shooting of La Garce marked the beginning of a beautiful collaboration with the filmmaker-actress Christine Pascal, a collaboration that would continue with the family drama Le Petit prince a dit (1992) and Adultery, mode of employment (1995). . Family, it is also a question in Le Grand Pardon that Richard Berry played in 1982 for Alexandre Arcady, a director to whom he remained faithful throughout his career (Le Grand carnaval, L'Union sacrée, Pour Sacha, Le Grand pardon II, K, Over there, my country, Between dogs and wolves).


At the beginning of the 90s, he had the honor of playing in the last two films of Henri Verneuil inspired by his memories: Mayrig (1991) and 588, rue Paradis (1992). It was during this decade that he experienced his greatest success in comedy with Un grand cri d'amore (1998) by Josiane Balasko and the doublet Pédale Douce (1996) / Quasimodo d'el Paris (1999) which allowed him to give the reply to his friend Patrick Timsit. The latter will also be the main actor of his first production, The (delicate) art of seduction in 2001. Richard Berry will repeat the experience of directing with Moi César, 10 1/2 years old, 1, 39 m (2003), and in the style of the thriller with La Boîte noire (2005), led by José Garcia, and L'Immortel (2010),


Lending his voice to the famous adventurer in the adaptation of the comic Corto Maltese, the secret court of the arcana (2002), the actor-filmmaker continues to shine with the top of the tandem comedy like Francis Veber (The Emmerdeur, 2008), Olivier Doran (Le Coach, 2009) and Dominique Farrugia (Le Marquis, 2011), which does not prevent it from appearing in the credits of works with a more dramatic tone such as My children are not. pas comme les autres (2003) by Denis Dercourt and Comme ton père (2007) with Gad Elmaleh.


In 2012, he played in Before Winter under the direction of Philippe Claudel. The experience with his playmate, Daniel Auteuil, was so pleasant there that he decided to put on the play Nos Femmes based on the text by Eric Assous, in order to prolong the pleasure of working with his friend. The play triumphed at the Théâtre de Paris for nearly five months and Richard Berry therefore made the decision to adapt it himself to the cinema. Along with this new achievement, another project has been added to Richard Berry's already busy agenda, since he decides to deal with the Halimi Affair by adapting the book Tout, tout de suite by Morgan Sportès.