Culture

Top 10 French Male New Comers

By Adrienne Benassy
26/03/2013

Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo or Gérard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil and now Vincent Cassel, Jean Dujardin and Omar Sy: Surely by now, you are familiar with all these great names in French cinema. Did you know from the moment you saw them on screen  that  they would go as far? For instance did you ever think when you saw Jean Dujardin in OSS 117 that he would one day win an Oscar? Let's try and give you a head start and identify for you who the next male stars of French cinema are likely to be.

Louis Garrel 

Beautiful, talented and charismatic, this very Parisian dark-haired young man, is one of the greatest actors of his generation. His performance in The Dreamers opposite the beautiful Eva Green made him famous around the world.

 

 

But he prefers French auteur movies, giving a grasp of his extraordinary aura to a smaller audience, hence his lack of recognition outside France. Some of his favourite directors include his father, Philippe Garrel (Regular Lovers) or Christophe Honoré (Beloved, Les chansons d'amour).

 

 

This wonderful actor has also made his first steps as a film-maker and directed three short-films, La Règle de trois (2011) for which he got the Jean Vigo Prize, Petit tailleur (2010) and Mes Copains (2008).

 

 

Love-wise, Louis Garrel is a Don Juan. There is no French woman that would not fall for his mysterious and dark sexy looks. Yet, he does not want to settle down yet, and wants to learn from as many experiences as he can, before he gets serious with anyone.

 

Tahar Rahim

Tahar Rahim's rise has been incredible. He went from playing his own role in a student short-film to receiving the Cesar for the Best Male Newcomer for A prophet (Jacques Audiard).

 

 

Born in 1981 in an Algerian origin family, he first wanted to be a sports teacher, but then studied cinema in southern France, and first started in the entertainment industry as a series actor. His performance in The Prophet (Jacques Audiard) really launched his career, and his love-life too. He also met Leïla Bekhti on set, who he then  married. Both beautiful and successful, they represent the new generation of French actors from immigrant backgrounds.

 

Matthias Schoenarts

Born in 1977 in Belgium, Matthias Schoenarts, has always been acting in theatre or small movies, but his talent was only revealed with Bullhead and Rust and Bone. He fascinated the public in 2011 with his very physical, virile and straightforward acting in Bullhead directed by Michaël R. Roskam, where he plays an emasculated man who injects himself with bull testosterone. 

 

 

He confirmed his talent in Rust and Bone (Jacques Audiard), playing along with beautiful French actress, Marion Cotillard, and won the Cesar for the Best Male Newcomer in 2013. 

 

 

 

Pierre Niney

This talented young actor already has a proven record of excellence. He is seen regularly on stage at the Comédie Française Theatre and is its youngest member. Born in Paris in 1989 to a father who teaches cinema and a writer mother. He started acting very young and played in many auteur films before his cinematographic career really got started in 2011 with his role in Frédéric Louf's J'aime regarder les filles.

 

 

Nominated for the César for the Best Male Newcomer in 2011 and in 2013 (Like brothers - Comme des frères), this young actor enjoys his increasing fame without forgetting that things can change. There are high expectations of him in Jalil Lespert's next movie, in which he will be the young Yves Saint Laurent. 

Jérémy Kapone

 

Nicknamed « Kaponz », Jérémy Kapone is first and foremost a musician. Singer in his band "Kaponz & Spinoza", the young man went to LOL's casting just because they were looking for a musican. Relaxed and charming, he got the role and was nominated for the Best Male Newcomer at the César ceremony in 2010.

 

Actually he felt we was quite like his own character in LOL. Not too interested in school, he preferred to chill out with friends and play his guitar. And it seems his charming rock'n roll vibe was enough to launch his career as an actor. Nevertheless the handsome singer is not sure of whether he wants to dedicate him self to acting, he follows the flow and is happy about what is happening to him without planning it too much.  

 

Félix Moati

Félix Moati has the looks, the gaze and promising debuts. Son of the producer and journalist, Serge Moati, he was born in a very cinephile environment and watched all François Truffault's movies from a very young age, hence his huge admiration for one of his characters Antoine Doinel (400 Blows). In the film industry, he first wanted to be a writer, to see how he could manipulate people with words, but he knew girls love actors, so he gave it a go. He first played in Lise Azuelos's LOL and came back on screen with Télé Gaucho (Michel Leclerc). He enjoyed the experience, but he would like to change his Parisian teenager image to play in more auteur films. 

 

 

 

Vincent Rottiers

This young 26-year-old stands out in French cinema. Spotted while he was walking on the streets at the age of 15, he played for the first time in The Devils (Christophe Ruggia) and was praised by the critics for his incredible authenticity.

Since then he has enjoyed playing the tough guy and many predict he will be the next Gérard Depardieu or Vincent Cassel. He is now in Jean Renoir's shoes in Gilles Bourdos's movie about the famous French painter August Renoir. Vincent Rottiers is now higly awaited in Michel Gondry's The Froth on the Daydream (L'Écume des jours). 

 

Ernst Umhauer

His intimidating blue eyes and intriguing pale face give him a captivating charm. What is even more fascinating about Ernst Umhauer is his dazzling success.

At 23 years old, he has only performed in two films but was nominated for the César for the Best Masculine Newcomer for his role in François Ozon's In the house. The French director chose him for his incredible maturity and closeness with the manipulative character he was going to play. Subtle in both appearance and manner, Ernst Umhauer will sooner or later be seen again on screen. 

 

Arthur Dupont

Arthur Dupont's career really got going with Bus Palladium and his typically French good looks, communicative good mood and great sense of humour is at the core of his on-going success. This year has been especially succesful for him.

As a result, he is seen in Agnès Jaoui's movie, Au bout du conte.

 

Nicolas Cazalé

This dark-haired beauty was spotted for his role in Le Grand Voyage in 2004 for which he won a Jury Award for Best Actor at the 2005 Newport International Film Festival. In 2008 he also was chosen as one of European cinema's up-and-coming talents, winning the Shooting Stars Award in 2008. Although he has not had many roles since 2010, Nicolas Cazalé has the stature of a great actor. We are hoping to be seing more of him in the not too distance future.