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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
February 6, 1951
Died
January 28, 2005
Place of Birth
Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France
Also Known As
- Jacky Boufroura
Jacques Villeret
0.4 Popularity
Biography
Jacques Villeret (6 February 1951 – 28 January 2005) was a French actor, best known internationally for his role as François Pignon in the comedy Le Dîner de Cons. During his career, he earned many awards including the prestigious medal and title of Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. Villeret was born Jacky Boufroura in Loches, Indre-et-Loire, France, to an Algerian father and a French mother. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSAD) in the same class as Louis Seigner, the grandfather of Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathilde Seigner. While he was most famous for his role as François Pignon in Le Dîner de Cons; both on the stage and in the film, his other celebrated roles included the extra terrestrial in La soupe aux choux, the autistic Mo in L'été en pente douce, and marshal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel in Papy fait de la résistance. At the time of making the film Un aller simple directed by Laurent Heynemann – a film about integration and racism and the clash of generations – he said that watching the young actors in the film, Barbara Schulz and Lorant Deutsch, reminded him of the insouciance he had had as a young man with his friends at the Conservatoire. When his career was at its height, with the success of Le Dîner de Cons, everything collapsed in a tragedy mirroring the plot of the film. Villeret separated from his wife and suffered an enormous financial downfall due to tax issues, plunging him into depression. Villeret turned to alcohol for comfort, and became an alcoholic. He isolated himself and hid away for long periods. He later said: Alcohol is a friend, but a friend who means you harm. Villeret's love of his profession helped to bring his career back from the brink. In an interview in 2001 he spoke of his admiration for performers like Johnny Hallyday and Jacques Brel for their level of commitment, and quoted the author Louis-Ferdinand Céline: When I write, I put my balls on the table. In 1979 Villeret married Irina Tarassov, an actress and writer. They separated in 1998. Tassarov wrote about their life together in her book Un jour, tout ira bien. (One day, everything will go well). In 2002 Villeret met Seny, a Senegalese-French widow descended through her grandfather, Mor Diarra N'Dao, from a long line of Sérès nobles of the ancient Kingdom of Saloum, and they fell instantly and deeply in love. They were partners for three years, and she was about to move to Paris to be with him when he died in Évreux in January 2005 of a liver haemorrhage. Seny wrote a memoir of their life together, Jacques Villeret, mon bébé blanc, which was published in Paris by Le Cherche Midi in 2005. Source: Article "Jacques Villeret" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For
6.0
Self (archive footage)
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique
2025
6.5
Self (archive footage)
L'Âge d'or de la pub
2023
6.6
Self (archive footage)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
2022
7.2
Self (archive footage)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
2022
0.0
Self
La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons
2015
5.1
lucien
The Do-Gooders
2005
6.1
Le juge Mierck
Grey Souls
2005
5.1
André Morin
The Antidote
2005
3.9
Haroun El Poussah
Iznogoud
2005
6.5
Jacques Rézeau
Viper in the Fist
2004
Credits
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique
as Self (archive footage)
2025
6.0
L'Âge d'or de la pub
as Self (archive footage)
2023
6.5
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
as Self (archive footage)
2022
6.6
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
as Self (archive footage)
2022
7.2
La Folle Histoire de François Pignon - De La chèvre au Dîner de cons
as Self
2015
0.0
The Do-Gooders
as lucien
2005
5.1
Grey Souls
as Le juge Mierck
2005
6.1
The Antidote
as André Morin
2005
5.1
Iznogoud
as Haroun El Poussah
2005
3.9
Viper in the Fist
as Jacques Rézeau
2004
6.5
Malabar Princess
as Gaspard
2004
6.2
Le Furet
as le Furet
2003
3.6
Strange Gardens
as Jacques Pouzay
2003
7.4
One Way Ticket
as Jean-Pierre
2001
3.7
A Crime in Paradise
as Jojo Braconnier
2001
6.6
Actors
as Jacques Villeret
2000
5.7
The Children of the Marshland
as Henri Pignol, aka Riton
1999
7.1
Mookie
as Frère Benoît
1998
5.4
Vivement dimanche
as Self
1998
3.0
The Dinner Game
as François Pignon
1998
7.8
Le Dernier Été
as Georges Mandel
1997
7.4
Georges Dandin de Molière
as Georges Dandin
1997
0.0
Golden Boy
as Antoine Bonvoisin
1996
7.2
Wacko
as Le pompiste
1994
5.0
The Drummer of Ravel's Boléro
as Le batteur
1992
5.9
The Son of the Mekong
as Durieux
1992
0.0
Le Bal des casse-pieds
as Jérôme, le présentateur de la météo
1992
5.8
588 rue Paradis
as Alexandre Pagès
1992
7.2
The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish
as Lingerie Man
1991
5.8
The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck
as Martineau
1991
5.3
Three Years
as Alexandre Guillermen
1990
6.2
Un fil à la patte
as Bouzin
1989
6.5
La Petite Amie
as Guillaume Bertin
1988
3.0
Nailcruncher
as Salomon
1988
5.2
Keep Your Right Up
as Individual
1987
6.0
Sacrée Soirée
as Self
1987
5.1
Nulle part ailleurs
as Self
1987
5.6
L'été en pente douce
as Maurice Leheurt aka Mo
1987
6.4
Last Summer in Tangiers
as Marcus
1987
3.7
🎬
Matin Bonheur
as Self
1987
0.0
C'est encore mieux l'après-midi
as Georges Pigier
1987
4.2
The Joint Brothers
as Momo
1986
5.3
Black Mic Mac
as Michel Le Gorgues
1986
5.6
Les Folles Années du Twist
as M'sieur John Wayne
1986
5.5
La Galette du roi
as Utte de Danemark
1986
4.3
Hold-up
as Jeremie Blanchet, taxi driver
1985
6.1
Drôle de samedi
as Maurice, the butcher
1985
1.0
Dialogue de sourds
as The blind
1985
5.7
The Vultures
as Brigadier Béral
1984
6.0
First Name: Carmen
as The Man Who Eats Yogurt
1983
6.0
Waiter!
as Gilbert, Alex's friend
1983
5.5
Gramps Is in the Resistance
as Maréchal Ludwig von Apfelstrudel
1983
6.9
Move Along, There Is Nothing to See!
as Pelissier
1983
5.2
Effraction
as Valentin Tralande, truand violent
1983
3.1
Danton
as François-Joseph Westermann
1983
6.8
Edith and Marcel
as Jacques Barbier
1983
5.8
The Big Brother
as Inspecteur Coleau
1982
5.8
Merci Bernard
1982
0.0
Champs-Elysées
as Self
1982
6.3
The Cabbage Soup
as L'Oxien (La Denrée)
1981
6.4
Bolero
as Jacques
1981
6.9
Malevil
as Momo
1981
6.6
Out of Whack
as Henri Fisserman / Paul Flantier / Bouli / Dr. Delomien, ...
1979
6.0
Dumb But Disciplined
as Jacques Cardot
1979
4.6
Us Two
as Tonton Musique
1979
6.0
Heart to Heart
as Sitting student
1979
5.8
Mountain Pass
as Georges
1978
5.3
🎬
Mon premier amour
as Jacques Labrousse
1978
8.0
Robert et Robert
as Robert Villiers
1978
6.1
Un Balcon en forêt
as Gourcuff
1978
2.0
Le Rabat-joie
as Léon
1978
0.0
Another Man, Another Chance
as Customer
1977
6.0
Nono Nénesse
as Nono
1976
0.0
The Castaways of Turtle Island
as Petit Nono
1976
6.0
A Second Chance
as L'agent immobilier
1976
6.1
The Good and the Bad
as Jacques
1976
5.5
Numéro un
as Self
1975
6.0
Numéro un
as Self - Host
1975
6.0
The Common Man
as Gérald
1975
7.0
Serious as Pleasure
as Le gendarme
1975
3.4
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
as Self
1975
6.0
Midi Première
as Self
1975
10.0
Spécial cinéma
as Self
1974
0.0
The Mouth Agape
as (uncredited)
1974
6.3
Un amour de pluie
as Guillaume
1974
4.7
Nothing to Report
as Soldat Girot
1973
5.5
Detective Story
as Le photographe
1972
0.0
Le Grand Échiquier
as Self
1972
8.0
Discorama
as Self
1959
0.0