Salim Kechiouche (born 2 April 1979) is a French actor.

Early life

Kechiouche was born to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n parents in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. At the age of 15, he was discovered by French actor and director

Gaël Morel Gaël Morel (born 25 September 1972) is a French film director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Morel was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, Rhône (department), Rhône, France, a town of 30,000 inhabitants outside Lyon. He grew up in th ...

. Morel gave him his first role in a feature film, '' À Toute Vitesse'' (''Full Speed''), released in 1996. Kechiouche has acted in most of Morel's works, including '' Premières Neiges'' in 1999, '' 3 Dancing Slaves (Le Clan)'' in 2004 and '' After Him (Après lui)'' in 2007. He entered acting school and graduated in 2002. Kechiouche now lives in Paris, dividing his time between cinema and the stage.

Career

Film and stage

In addition to Morel, Kechiouche has worked with other French directors such as

François Ozon François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers. His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...

, as well as with non-French directors. In 2003, Kechiouche played the role of Karim in ''Gigolo'', directed by German director Bastian Schweitzer, opposite

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 18 June or 18 November 1939 or 1941 or 1946 or 1950) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s and went on ...

. Kechiouche played a self-destructive gigolo trying to get his life back on track in the jet-set world of Paris. The film was nominated for a

Golden Bear Award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

in the Best Short Film category at the 2005

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. Kechiouche has acted in short and feature films, plays and TV series. His movies include ''

Grande École Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places *Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany *Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas *Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arroio ...

'' (2004), playing Mécir, and '' Le Clan'' (2004), released as ''Three Dancing Slaves'' in the U.S.. On stage in Paris, he played the role of Giuseppe Pelosi, the killer and lover of

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

in '' Vie et Mort de Pier Paolo Pasolini'', written by Michel Azama. Kechiouche was

kick boxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and b ...

champion of France in 1998 and first runner-up in

Thai boxing Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching technique ...

in 1999 and in 2002. His boxing skills were used in some of his films where he played a boxer, such as '' Les Amants Criminels'', '' Archives De Nuit'', '' Le Clan'', '' Nos Retrouvailles'', and when playing himself in the experimental film '' Cinématon''. He has appeared in full-frontal nude scenes in at least two films: in Francois Ozon's 1999 film, '' Les Amants Criminels'', released as ''Criminal Lovers'' in the U.S. and a few years later, in ''

''.Nick Rees-Roberts

Modeling

Pierre et Gilles Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

produced photographs and paintings related to ''Les Amants Criminels'' and for the play ''Vie et Mort de Pier Paolo Pasolini'' in 2003. Youssef Nabil and Michel Giliberti also created a dozen paintings in 2005 and 2006. Kechiouche appeared with French actress Julie-Marie Parmentier in the photo series ''Doppelgänger'' (2007) by French photographer Raphaël Neal.

Filmography

Feature film

Short film

TV series

Theatre

References

External links

*
salimkechiouche.com
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kechiouche, Salim 1979 births French people of Algerian descent Male actors of Algerian descent 21st-century French male actors French male film actors Living people French male television actors French male stage actors