Dominique Pinon (born 4 March 1955) is a French actor. He is known for appearing in films directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, often playing eccentric or grotesque characters.

Early life and education

Dominique Pinon was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 4 March 1955. After studying at the Faculty of Arts of Poitiers, Dominique Pinon moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and enrolled at the

Cours Simon Cours is a French word that can refer to: * Cours (TV production), a unit of production in Japanese TV programs equivalent to approximately 11 to 13 episodes Places Cours is the name or part of the name of several communes in France: * Cours, Rh ...

Career

A prolific screen and theatre actor with many tens of titles to his credit, Pinon has appeared most predominantly in French films, but also in works produced and shot in England, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United States. Pinon has become known for playing eccentric or grotesque characters.

In film

In 1981,

Jean-Jacques Beineix Jean-Jacques Beineix (; 8 October 1946 – 13 January 2022) was a French film director best known for the films ''Diva'' and '' Betty Blue''. His work is regarded as a prime example of the '' cinéma du look'' film movement in France. Early lif ...

gave Pinon his start in cinema with the movie '' Diva''. He has had further roles in the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and

. He has also appeared in three films by British horror director Johannes Roberts. Pinon appears in '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' (in French, ''Le Pont du roi Saint-Louis''). Adapted from a short work by

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

by the Irish director Mary McGuckian, Pinon acts in this period piece, which was poorly reviewed and had an ensemble cast (also including Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Gabriel Byrne, Kathy Bates,

F. Murray Abraham F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he came to prominence for his acclaimed leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film '' Amadeus'' (1984) for which he w ...

, and Geraldine Chaplin). He also appears in

Álex de la Iglesia Alejandro "Álex" de la Iglesia Mendoza (born 4 December 1965) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter, producer and former comic book artist. De la Iglesia's films combine grotesque and very dark elements such as death and murder: most of his ...

's 2008 '' The Oxford Murders'' with Elijah Wood, John Hurt, and

Leonor Watling Leonor Elizabeth Ceballos Watling (born 28 July 1975) is a Spanish film actress and singer. Early life Leonor Ceballos Watling was born on 28 July 1975 in Madrid, to a Spanish father from Cádiz and an English mother, the youngest of four si ...

In theater

In the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, he has appeared in the plays of Gildas Bourdet, Jorge Lavelli, and Valère Novarina.

Awards and recognition

Pinon received the Molière Award for Best Actor in 2004. In 2011, he was the president of the jury for the second ''Festival International du Film fantastique d'Audincourt''. He has beens an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres since 2014.

Works

On stage

Filmography

Other works

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinon, Dominique 1955 births Living people French male film actors French male stage actors University of Poitiers alumni French expatriates in Spain Expatriate actors in Spain People from Saumur Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres