Gaspard Ulliel

Date of Birth
25 November 1984, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Height

5' 10¾" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

Gaspard Ulliel's dream has always been to direct a movie, and after completing his studies at the lycée (French high school), he majored in cinema at the University of Saint-Denis. However, fate had other plans, and he is currently pursuing an acting career. It began when Ulliel was 12 years old when he appeared in the TV film "Une femme en blanc" (1997). During the following years, Ulliel continued working on TV and was cast in short films such as Alias (1999). He played a young shepherd who was injured by The Beast in Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), and was then discovered by director Michel Blanc, who offered him a part in Embrassez qui vous voudrez (2002) which also starred veteran actress Charlotte Rampling. Ulliel then took summer stages at Les Cours Florent and was asked by director André Téchiné to star in Strayed (2003) as Emmanuelle Béart's lover. His role as Manech opposite Audrey Tautou in A Very Long Engagement (2004) brought him to stardom. He has been nominated thrice for Most Promising Male Newcomer at the César Awards (the equivalent of the Oscars in France) in 2003, 2004 and 2005; he won the last one. Ulliel's lead roles include The Last Day (2004), Jacquou le croquant (2007) and Hannibal Rising (2007), his first major English-language film.

Trivia:

• Mother is a runway show producer and father is a fashion designer.
• His scar on his left cheek is the result of a doberman's attack when Gaspard was 6.
• Speaks fluent English.
• French citizen.
• Voted #12 in Elle (France) Magazine's "15 Sexiest Men" poll (June 2007).
• His favourite directors are: Tarkowski, Truffaut, Godard, Rohmer, Chris Marker, João César Monteiro, Gregg Araki and Michael Cimino.
• He enjoys listening to: Reggae, Rap, Soul, Jazz, Rock, Kanye West, Herbie Hancock, The Temptations, Nick Drake, The Stones and Prince.
• Ex companion of Cecile Cassel.
• The current face of Longchamp, a French leather and luxury goods company, along with Kate Moss. [2009]
• Attended the University of Saint-Denis, where he studied cinema.
• Shares birthday with Guns N'and Roses Ron Thal, Christina Applegate, John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., Augusto Pinochet, Joe DiMaggio, Leon Zitrone, Roelof Frankot, pope John XXIII.
• In 2007, he appeared on the cover of the January-issue of French Vogue with Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes.
• Is a fan of Sufjan Stevens and Prince.
• Some of the books he likes are Henry Miller's "Sexus" and Robert Frank's "The Lines of my Hand".
• Owns a Vespa and a Triumph Bonneville Thruxton motorbike.
• Current companion is design-student-turned-model Jordane Crantelle.
• He's close friends with actress Audrey Tautou.

Personal Quotes

I began at twelve years old, but in fact I began really by chance. It was a friend of a friend of my mother's who was opening an agency, and she was looking for young kids. And so I entered the agency, but more by curiosity than real passion. And at first I had some small parts in TV movies - in fact my parents didn't want me to miss school, so I was working just once or twice a year. And I had a really regular progression - and this is really pleasant, I think - because I had small parts in TV movies, then bigger parts in TV movies, and then small parts in films. And I think this allows you to get...experience of the set and to get familiar with [the process]. And as I had a really slow progression, I think it really helped me to stay lucid and not get carried away.






source: IMDb