Vincent Cassel

Vincent Cassel

Cassel in 2011
Born Vincent Crochon
(1966-11-23) 23 November 1966
Paris, France
Occupation Actor, director
Years active 1987–present
Spouse(s) Monica Bellucci
(m. 1999; separated 2013)
Children 2
Parent(s) Jean-Pierre Cassel
Sabine Litique

Vincent Cassel (French: [vɛ̃sɑ̃ kasɛl]; born Vincent Crochon, 23 November 1966) is a French actor best known to English-speaking audiences through his film performances in Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen, as well as Black Swan. Cassel is also renowned for playing the infamous French bank-robber Jacques Mesrine in Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One.

Early life and family

Cassel was born on 23 November 1966 in Paris, France, to Sabine Litique, and French actor Jean-Pierre Cassel (born Jean-Pierre Crochon).[1][2] Cassel's brother, Mathias, is a rapper with the group Assassin under the name "Rockin' Squat".[3] His half-sister, Cécile Cassel, is an actress.[4]

Career

Cassel's breakthrough role was in Mathieu Kassovitz's critically acclaimed film La Haine where he played a troubled youth from the deprived outskirts of Paris. He has gone on to act in a variety of films such as the moody L'Appartement (with Monica Bellucci before they married),[3] the violent Dobermann, the genre-bending Le Pacte des Loups (in English, Brotherhood of the Wolf), and the highly controversial Irréversible, where he appears fully nude (with Monica Bellucci after they married).

Cassel has also appeared in a number of English-language films, such as Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen, Derailed, Birthday Girl, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Elizabeth, Eastern Promises, and Shrek (as the voice of Monsieur Hood), and in the Portuguese-language, Brazilian film Adrift (À Deriva). In 2006, he appeared in Sheitan, in which he played a shepherd who carries out satanic rituals. In 2008, he appeared in two movies about Jacques Mesrine, who was France's "public enemy number one" in the seventies.[3] Cassel received the 2009 Cesar award for best actor for his performance in Mesrine directed by Jean-Francois Richet.

An early appearance on British television was as Nicole's boyfriend in the 1994 Renault Clio advert which was used in the UK.[3]

In October 2008, Cassel was signed to be the face of a new Yves Saint Laurent men's fragrance. The new fragrance, La Nuit de l'Homme, was launched worldwide in March 2009.

French film historian Tim Palmer describes Cassel as one of the most charismatic and idiosyncratic of all France's contemporary stars, working in both popular and more intellectual modes of cinema, typically playing characters that veer unpredictably between positive/alluring and negative/grotesque—often, in fact, within a single role and performance.[5]

In 2009, he made his debut as a singer on Zap Mama's album ReCreation, singing alongside them on the singles "Paroles, Paroles" and "Non, Non, Non".

He played Thomas Leroy in Darren Aronofsky's critically acclaimed Black Swan (2010), alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. He will play Zumi in Rupert Sanders's samurai adventure fantasy film The Lost Sea Horizon, opposite Sandra Bullock and Fan Bingbing.

Personal life

Cassel met Italian actress Monica Bellucci on the set of their 1996 film The Apartment.[6] They married in 1999,[6] and have two daughters, Deva (born 12 September 2004)[7] and Léonie (born 21 May 2010).[8] Cassel and Bellucci announced their separation on 26 August 2013.[6]

Cassel has a passion for the martial art of capoeira and displayed his talent in the movie Ocean's Twelve.[9] He also trains in wing chun.

Besides his native French, Cassel speaks English, Portuguese, Italian and basic conversational Russian which he learned for his role in Eastern Promises.[10]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1993 Métisse Max
1995 Adultery: A User's Guide
1995 La Haine Vinz Nominated – César Award for Best Actor
Nominated – César Award for Most Promising Actor
1995 Jefferson in Paris Camille Desmoulins
1996 L'élève Julien
1996 L'Appartement Max
1997 Dobermann Yann le Pentrec (Dobermann)
1997 Come mi vuoi Pasquale
1998 Elizabeth Duc d'Anjou
1999 Méditerranées Pitou
1999 The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc Gilles de Rais
1999 Guest House Paradiso Gino Bolognese
2000 Crimson Rivers Max Kerkerian
2001 Brotherhood of the Wolf Jean-François de Morangias
2001 Shrek Monsieur Hood Voice only
2001 Birthday Girl Alexei
2001 Sur mes lèvres Paul Nominated – César Award for Best Actor
2002 Ice Age Diego Voice only (French-language version)
2002 Irréversible Marcus Also co-producer
2003 The Reckoning Lord De Guise
2004 Blueberry Mike S. Blueberry
2004 Secret Agents Brisseau
2004 Ocean's Twelve François Toulour
2005 Derailed LaRoche
2006 Sheitan Joseph Also producer
2007 Ocean's Thirteen François Toulour
2007 Eastern Promises Kirill
2007 Sa Majesté Minor Satyre
2008 Mesrine Jacques Mesrine César Award for Best Actor
Lumières Award for Best Actor
Étoiles d'Or Award for Best Actor
Tokyo International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2009 Lascars Tony Merguez Voice only
2009 Adrift (À Deriva) Matias
2010 Our Day Will Come Patrick Also producer
2010 Black Swan Thomas Leroy Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2011 The Monk Capucino Ambrosio
2011 A Dangerous Method Otto Gross
2013 Trance Franck
2014 Rio, I Love You
2014 Beauty and the Beast The Beast / The Prince
2015 Child 44 Major Kuzmin
2015 Partisan Gregori
2015 Tale of Tales King of Strongcliff
2015 Mon roi Georgio Nominated – César Award for Best Actor
2015 One Wild Moment Laurent
2015 The Little Prince The Fox French voice
2015 Violence en réunion Vince Short film
2016 It's Only the End of the World Antoine
2016 Jason Bourne Asset
2016 A Movie Life Tony's father
2016 The Great Mystical Circus Jean-Paul

References

  1. France-Presse, Agence (21 April 2007). "Jean-Pierre Cassel, 74, Actor Who Starred in '60s French Comedies, Dies". The New York Times.
  2. Secher, Benjamin (28 July 2009). "Vincent Cassel interview for Mesrine". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Vincent Cassel". Oh No They Didn't!. 28 July 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  4. Annabel Rivkin (20 April 2009). "French Fancy: Cécile Cassel". ES Magazine. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  5. Palmer, Tim (2011). Brutal Intimacy: Analyzing Contemporary French Cinema, Wesleyan University Press, Middleton CT. ISBN 0-8195-6827-9.
  6. 1 2 3 "Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel To Divorce After 14 Years". The Huffington Post. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  7. Stephen M. Silverman (14 September 2004). "Passion Actress Bellucci Has Baby Girl". People. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  8. Peter Mikelbank (24 May 2010). "Monica Bellucci Welcomes Daughter Léonie". People. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  9. Thelma Adams (13 December 2010). "Vincent Cassel: A Q&A With the Black Swan Star". The Huffington Post. USA. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  10. Elizabeth Day (4 February 2012). "Vincent Cassel: 'You can't escape from what you are'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2012.

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