Alexandre Astier (born 16 June 1974) is a French writer, director,

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

and composer. Astier is most known as the creator, director, writer, editor, composer, and lead actor of the French television series ''

Kaamelott ''Kaamelott'' is a French comedy medieval fantasy television series created, directed, written, scored, and edited by Alexandre Astier, who also starred as the main character. Based on the Arthurian legends, it followed the daily lives of King Ar ...

'', in which he also plays King Arthur.

Life and career

Alexandre Astier was born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

on June 16, 1974, to Joëlle Sevilla and Lionnel Astier, both actors and producers mostly in

's theatre scene. Alexandre Astier studied music at the conservatory and at the

American School of Modern Music The American School of Modern Music, located in Paris, France, is a private post-secondary institution offering high-level music education. About From its creation in 1982 by the American drummer Stephen Carbonara to this day, The American Sc ...

of Paris. He also studied acting and screenwriting. Four of Astier's seven children have featured in ''Kaamelott'', and both his parents are main characters in the series. His daughters Ariane and Jeanne Astier play respectively Mehben and Mehgan, the daughters of Karadoc and Maevanwi (in the episodes Pupi and Exiles). His son Neil (who also appears as Karadoc and Mevanwi's son in Pupi) plays young Arthur in the season Book V, and in the final scene of Book VI. His son Ethan plays Arthur's dream heir in Book V. Moreover, the mother of his first five children, Anne-Gaëlle Daval, is head of the costume designs on ''Kaamelott'' and the short film '' Dies Irae''. In 2012, he plays

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

in his humorous show "Que ma joie demeure !" at the theater. In 2014, his comic show "L'Exoconférence" begins at the theater in September.

Debut at the theatre

Alexandre Astier first got attention from the Lyon's public thanks to the play ''Le Jour du froment''. He also acted in ''Nous crions grâce'', a play written and directed by Jacques Chambon, to whom he gave the role of Merlin in ''Kaamelott''.

Cinema

In 2001, he was the co-screenwriter and the

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

of the short movies ''Soyons sport'' and ''Un soupçon fondé sur quelque chose de gras''. In 2002 he was the director of ''Dies Irae'', a 14-minute short movie that is also the first draft of the ''Kaamelott'' TV show. In 2006, he featured in '' Hey Good Looking!'', a French movie by Lisa Azuelos. The same year, he appeared in ''

Asterix at the Olympic Games ''Asterix at the Olympic Games'' is the 12th comic book album in the Asterix series. Serialized in Pilote issues 434–455 in 1968 (to coincide with the Mexico City Olympics), it was translated into English in 1972 (to coincide with the Munich ...

'' by Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann, and in ''Home Sweet Home'' by Didier Le Pêcheur. In 2009, he played the role of the ex-husband of

Sophie Marceau Sophie Marceau (; born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, 17 November 1966) is a French actress. As a teenager, she achieved popularity with her debut films ''La Boum'' (1980) and ''La Boum 2'' (1982), receiving a César Award for Most Promising Ac ...

in the comedy '' LOL (Laughing Out Loud)''. In 2014, he was the co-director and the screenwriter of '' Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods''. In 2015, he appeared in the film '' All Three of Us'', directed by Kheiron. In 2018, he wrote an original screenplay for a new Asterix movie: Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion. Like Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, he co-directed it with Louis Clichy.

Kaamelott

Alexandre Astier became famous as the writer, director and actor in the TV show he produced. ''

'' is inspired by the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. This humorous series is broadcast on the French channel M6. The episodes lasted three and a half minutes until 2007. Then, the format changed to seven minutes and finally reached fifty-five minutes per episode in the last season Book VI. He also composes the music of the series. He has the ambition to extend the TV show to the cinema as a trilogy, but not before 2012, since Alexandre Astier plans to work as a director on another movie before launching Kaamelott on the big screen. In June 2010, invited on the set of the show "J'irai LOLer sur vos tombes", he unveiled his project to publish a series of

graphic novels A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

titled ''Kaamelott Resistance'' as a transition between the TV format and the future cinema films.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astier, Alexandre 1974 births Living people Mass media people from Lyon French male television actors French television directors French male film actors French film directors French male screenwriters French screenwriters 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 21st-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French male writers French people of Spanish descent 21st-century French male writers Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres