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Seven of the best film roles of French actor Gaspard Ulliel

The French actor - who has died, aged 37, following a skiing accident - had a successful film and TV career dating back to his childhood. Here is a reminder of some of his best performances in film.

Published: 19 January 2022 16:32 CET
Updated: 22 January 2022 09:11 CET
Seven of the best film roles of French actor Gaspard Ulliel
French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who has died following a skiing accident. Photo: Valery Hache / AFP

Tributes have been flooding in for the popular and talented French actor, who has died at the age of just 37 following a skiing accident.

READ ALSO French actor Gaspard Ulliel dies aged 37 in skiing accident

Although his acting career was cut tragically short, he has still starred in some classics of French cinema.

Here are some of his best-known roles.

Les Égarés (Strayed) – 2003

Ulliel was named Best Male Newcomer for his performance as a wild teenager who helps Emmanuel Beart and her young son as they flee Nazi-occupied Paris in this adaptation of Gilles Perrault’s novel Le Garçon aux yeux gris (The Boy with the Grey Eyes)

Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) – 2004

The following year, he won a César for Most Promising Actor for his role in director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s drama telling the story of a young woman’s search for her fiancé, who disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War I.

He had been nominated for the same award in each of the two previous years – including for Les Égarés.

Hannibal Rising – 2007

His first English-language role is perhaps his best-known among anglophones. Based on the Thomas Harris novel, it reveals Hannibal Lecter’s evolution from vengeful Nazi hunter to cannibalistic serial killer.

Saint Laurent – 2014

Ulliel took the lead role in this 2014 biopic of the fashion designer’s life between 1967 and 1976 – when he was at the peak of his influence on haute couture.

He was nominated for a César – losing out to his opposite number in a rival biopic – and won a Lumières Award for Best Actor.

Juste la fin du monde (It’s Only the End of the World) – 2016

Two years after he was nominated for a Best Actor César for the first time for his role in Saint Laurent, the actor won the award for his performance in Xavier Dolan’s gut-wrenching-yet-tender drama as a terminally ill writer who returns home to tell his family his days are numbered. The film also won the Grand Prix at Cannes.

Les confins du monde (To the Ends of the World) – 2018

In this drama set during the First Indochina War, Ulliel plays the only survivor of a massacre in which his brother has perished. Blinded by revenge, he rejoins the forces in search of the assassins – but a chance encounter changes everything. 

La vengeance au triple galop – 2021

His most recent performance, as Docteur Danley in this TV movie spoof of the 1980s Australian drama Return to Eden is a bit of a change from his usual fare.

It also stars Audrey Lamy, Marion Cotillard and Alex Lutz – best known as Catherine from the comedy shorts Catherine et Liliane.

He will also feature in the new Marvel series Moon Knight, which is due on the Disney Plus streaming site in March, while director Emily Atef’s life-affirming drama Plus Que Jamais (More Than Ever) is in post-production.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

Published: 24 June 2024 11:26 CEST
5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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