Christian Jean-Marie Clavier (; born 6 May 1952) is a French actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. A co-founder of Le Splendid in the 1970s, a Parisian café-théâtre company which soon garnered success, he became widely popular after starring in two hit comedy series:

Patrice Leconte Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, screenwriter and comic strip writer. Life and career Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Institut des ...

's '' Les Bronzés'' and

Jean-Marie Poiré Jean-Marie Poiré (; born 10 July 1945), also credited as Jean-Marie Gaubert, is a French film director, and screenwriter. He is the son of the producer Alain Poiré. Filmography As director * ''Les petits câlins'' (''The Little Wheedlers'') (19 ...

's ''

Les Visiteurs ''Les Visiteurs'' (; English: ''The Visitors'') is a 1993 French fantasy comedy film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré. It stars the duo of Christian Clavier and Jean Reno, and Valérie Lemercier. It also features Marie-Anne Chazel, :fr:Christian Buje ...

''. Clavier later furthered his popularity by taking the role of

Asterix ''Asterix'' ( or , "Asterix the Gauls, Gaul"; also known as ''Asterix and Obelix'' in some adaptations or ''The Adventures of Asterix'') is a Franco-Belgian comics, French comic album book series, series about a Gaulish village which, thanks ...

in screen adaptations of the renowned comic books by

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo (), was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the '' Astérix'' series in collaboration wit ...

and

René Goscinny René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...

. In 2023, President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

saluted Clavier's work, stating: "You have been all the faces of the families of France, the infatuated son-in-law, the bewildered uncle, the pretentious cousin, the jealous husband, the cantankerous father. We have grown and aged with you and our children will grow and age with you". He is the brother of director

Stéphane Clavier Stéphane Clavier (born 14 March 1955) is a French screenwriter and film director. Personal life Stéphane is the brother of actor Christian Clavier. Filmography References External links

* 1955 births Living people French film dire ...

Life and career

After his high class studies at the Neuilly Lycée Pasteur—though asserted here and there, he never studied at ''

Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

(Sciences Po'') —he started his actor career with the comedic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

''troupe'' Splendid, which had hits with films like '' Les Bronzés font du ski'' and '' Le Père Noël est une ordure''. His most notable success without the Splendid group, and by far his biggest hit to date, was in the 1993 film ''

les Visiteurs ''Les Visiteurs'' (; English: ''The Visitors'') is a 1993 French fantasy comedy film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré. It stars the duo of Christian Clavier and Jean Reno, and Valérie Lemercier. It also features Marie-Anne Chazel, :fr:Christian Buje ...

'', where he played a character known as Jacquouille la Fripouille; the character's cry of "Okkkayyy!!" became a popular exclamation after the movie's success. After ''

'' he was a star, participating in big-budget films like '' Astérix et Obélix contre César'', '' Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre'', and the sequel and remake of '' Visiteurs''. He also played several dramatic roles on television, including M. Thénardier in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (2000 television version) and

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

in a biographical television film. In 2018, he returned to the character of Asterix, this time by providing the character's voice in the animated film '' Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion''. Succeeding the character's original voice actor, Roger Carel, it was his first role in an animated movie. Clavier has played in notable duos with: *

Jean Reno Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (born 30 July 1948), commonly known as Jean Reno (), is a French-Spanish actor. He established himself as a Leading actor, leading man of French cinema through his collaborations with director Luc Besson, and has w ...

in ''

'' (the Visitors) and the US remake, Just Visiting, '' L'Opération Corned-Beef'' and '' L'Enquête Corse'' (The Corsican investigation). *

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

in '' Astérix et Obélix'' (Asterix and Obelix) and ''Les anges gardiens''. He also runs a production company, Ouille Production. He was made ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

on 13 June 1998, and promoted ''Officier'' (Officer) in 2005. He was made ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 2008. He is a friend of former French président Nicolas Sarkozy, and in 2012 emigrated to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He denies this was as a result of Francois Hollande's punitive tax policy.

Filmography

Actor

Producer

* '' Les Visiteurs 2 : Les Couloirs du temps'' (1998) * '' Les Visiteurs en Amérique'' (2001) * '' Le Cœur sur la main'' (2001) * '' Lovely Rita, sainte patronne des cas désespérés'' (2003)

Box-office

Movies starring Christian Clavier with more than a million of admissions in France.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clavier, Christian 1952 births 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors Knights of the Legion of Honour French film directors French film producers French male stage actors French male film actors French male television actors French male screenwriters French screenwriters Living people Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni Male actors from Paris Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite