Jean Rochefort
# Jean Rochefort

Jean Raoul Robert Rochefort (French:; 29 April 1930 – 9 October 2017) was a French actor. He received many accolades during his career, including an Honorary César in 1999.

## Life and career

Rochefort was born on 29 April 1930 in Paris, France, to Breton parents. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen.

Rochefort was nineteen years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National. After completing his national service in 1953, he worked with the Compagnie Grenier Hussenot as a theatre actor for seven years. There he was noticed for his ability to play both drama and comedy. He then became a television and cinema actor, and also worked as director.

After some supporting roles in Cartouche, Captain Fracasse and in Marvelous Angelique, Rochefort played his first big role with Annie Girardot as his wife and Claude Jade as his daughter in Hearth Fires in 1972. In this drama, he starred as a man who leaves his family for ten years before returning. In this film he played with 41 years a family father of adult children (the young Claude Jade was already 23). To appear older, he grew a moustache, his trademark, which he had removed only once in 1996 for Ridicule.

Four years after Hearth Fires he was the leading star of the midlife crisis comedy Pardon Mon Affaire as a man who risks his married life with Danièle Delorme for an affair with Anny Duperey. Thanks to the success of this film, Rochefort achieved big popularity. In 1972, he starred opposite Pierre Richard as Chief of Counter-Espionage Louis Toulouse in the Yves Robert comedy Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire, a role he reprised in the 1974 sequel Le Retour du grand blond, also directed by Robert. In 1998, he starred as "Fernand de Morcerf" opposite Gerard Depardieu in the mini-series Le Comte de Monte Cristo.

In his thirties during the shooting of Cartouche, he discovered his passion for horses and equestrianism. He was a horse breeder since then and owned Le Haras de Villequoy. His passion led him to become a horse consultant for French television in 2004. He won two César Awards: in 1976, Best Supporting Actor for Que la fête commence; and in 1978, Best Actor for Le Crabe-tambour.

In the eighties, he became the narrator of the French version of Welcome to Pooh Corner, replacing Laurie Main. This made him popular with children at the time and Disney hired him to record several audio versions of their classic movies. In the 1990s, he returned to comedy with Les Grands Ducs where he played alongside two other actors of his generation with a similar career, Philippe Noiret and Jean-Pierre Marielle.

He was set to play the lead role in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, after being found as "the perfect Quixote" by director Terry Gilliam. Rochefort learned to speak English just for the part. Unfortunately, amongst other production problems, he began suffering from a herniated disc. Unable to film for months, production was cancelled. A documentary, Lost in La Mancha, was made about the failed production.

In 1960, he married Alexandra Moscwa, with whom he had two children: Marie (1962) and Julien (1965). With actress-filmmaker Nicole Garcia, he also had a son Pierre. Through his second marriage with Françoise Vidal, he had two children, Louise (1990) and Clémence (1992).

## Death

Rochefort died on 9 October 2017 at the age of 87.

## Awards

Rochefort won many awards throughout his career, most notably three César Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Que La Fête Commence, Best Actor for Le Crabe-Tambour and an honorary prize in 1999. He was nominated for many more awards.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1956 | Rencontre à Paris (Meeting in Paris) | Intern | Uncredited |
| 1958 | Une balle dans le canon (A Bullet in the Gun Barrel) | Léopold | |
| 1961 | Vingt mille lieues sur la terre (20,000 Leagues Across the Land) | Fernand | |
| 1961 | Le Capitaine Fracasse | Malartic | |
| 1962 | Cartouche (Swords of Blood) | La Taupe | |
| 1962 | Le Soleil dans l'oeil (Sun in Your Eyes) | Cameo appearance | |
| 1962 | Le Masque de fer (The Iron Mask) | Lastréaumont | |
| 1963 | Fort-du-fou (Outpost in Indo-china) | Sergeant Hérange | |
| 1963 | Symphonie pour un massacre [fr] (Symphony for a Massacre) | Jabeke | |
| 1963 | The Bread Peddler | Ovide Soliveau | |
| 1963 | La Foire aux cancres [fr] (The Blockhead Fair) | Sigoules | |
| 1964 | Du grabuge chez les veuves [fr] (Trouble Among Widows) | Inspector Laforêt | |
| 1964 | Les Pieds nickelés [fr] | Croquignol | |
| 1964 | Angélique, Marquise des Anges | François Desgrez | |
| 1964 | Beautiful Families | Marquis Osvaldo | (segment "Amare è un po' morire") |
| 1965 | Merveilleuse Angélique (Marvelous Angelique) | François Desgrez | |
| 1965 | Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine (Up to His Ears) | Leon | |
| 1966 | Angélique et le roy (Angelique and the King) | François Desgrez | |
| 1966 | Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (Who Are You, Polly Magoo?) | Grégoire Pecque | |
| 1967 | Le Dimanche de la vie [fr] | Capitain Bordeille | |
| 1967 | À cœur joie (Two Weeks in September) | Philippe | |
| 1968 | Ne jouez pas avec les Martiens (Don't Play with Martians) | René Mastier | |
| 1968 | Pour un amour lointain | Guillaume | |
| 1969 | The Devil by the Tail | Count Georges de Coustines | |
| 1970 | Le Temps de mourir (The Time to Die) | Hervé Breton | |
| 1970 | La Liberté en croupe [fr] | Moss | |
| 1970 | Céleste [fr] | Georges Cazenave | |
| 1972 | Les malheurs d'Alfred | | Uncredited |
| 1972 | L'Œuf [fr] ("The Egg") | Victor Dugommier | |
| 1972 | Les Feux de la chandeleur (Hearth Fires) | Alexandre Boursault | |
| 1972 | Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire (The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe) | Colonel Louis Toulouse | |
| 1973 | L'Héritier (The Inheritor) | André Berthier | |
| 1973 | Le Complot [fr] (The Conspiracy) | Dominique Clavet | |
| 1973 | Bel ordure [fr] (Lovely Swine) | Police Inspector | |
| 1973 | Dio, sei proprio un padreterno! (Mean Frank and Crazy Tony) | Louis Annunziata | |
| 1973 | Salut l'artiste (Hail The Artist) | Clément Chamfort | |
| 1974 | L'Horloger de Saint-Paul (The Clockmaker) | Inspector Guilboud | |
| 1974 | Comment réussir quand on est con et pleurnichard (How to Make Good When One Is a Jerk and a Crybaby) | Foisnard | |
| 1974 | Le fantôme de la liberté (The Phantom of Liberty) | Mr. Legendre | |
| 1974 | Mio Dio, come sono caduta in basso! (Till Marriage Do Us Part) | Baron Henri De Sarcey | |
| 1974 | Retour du grand blond (The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe) | Colonel Toulouse | |
| 1975 | Isabelle devant le désir [fr] (Isabelle and Lust) | Mr. Vaudois | |
| 1975 | Que la fête commence... (Let Joy Reign Supreme) | Dubois | |
| 1975 | Les innocents aux mains sales (Innocents with Dirty Hands) | Albert Légal | |
| 1975 | Un divorce heureux (A Happy Divorce) | Jean-Baptiste Morin | |
| 1976 | Les vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur [fr] | Commissioner Pichard | |
| 1976 | Calmos (Cool, Calm and Collected) | Albert | |
| 1976 | Les Magiciens (Death Rite) | Edouard | |
| 1976 | Pardon Mon Affaire (An Elephant Can Be Extremely Deceptive) | Étienne Dorsay | |
| 1977 | Le Diable dans la boîte [fr] (The Devil in the Box) | Alain Brissot | |
| 1977 | Nous irons tous au paradis (We Will All Meet in Paradise) | Étienne Dorsay | |
| 1977 | Le Crabe-tambour (Drummer-Crab) | The Captain | |
| 1978 | Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? | Auguste Grandvilliers | |
| 1979 | Le Cavaleur [fr] (Practice Makes Perfect) | Édouard Choiseul | |
| 1979 | Grandison [fr] | Carl Grandison | |
| 1979 | Courage - Let's Run | Martin Belhomme | |
| 1979 | French Postcards | Mr. Tessier | |
| 1980 | Chère inconnue [fr] (Sent a Letter to My Love) | Gilles Martin | |
| 1980 | Odio le bionde (I Hate Blondes) | Donald Rose | |
| 1981 | Un étrange voyage | Pierre | |
| 1981 | Il faut tuer Birgitt Haas (Birgitt Haas Must Be Killed) | Charles-Philippe Bauman | |
| 1982 | L'Indiscrétion [fr] | Alain Tescique | |
| 1982 | Le Grand Frère (The Big Brother) | Charles-Henri Rossi | |
| 1983 | Un dimanche de flic [fr] ("A Cops' Sunday") | Rupert | |
| 1983 | L'Ami de Vincent [fr] (A Friend of Vincent) | Vincent Lamarre | |
| 1984 | Frankenstein 90 | Victor Frankenstein | |
| 1984 | Réveillon chez Bob [fr] | Louis Alban | |
| 1985 | David, Thomas et les autres ("A Volley for a Black Buffalo") | Mr. Louis | |
| 1986 | La Galette du roi [fr] | Arnold | |
| 1987 | Le Moustachu [fr] (The Field Agent) | Capitain Duroc | |
| 1987 | Tandem | Michel Mortez | |
| 1987 | My First Forty Years (also known as My Wonderful Life) | Prince Riccio | |
| 1989 | Je suis le seigneur du château (I'm the King of the Castle) | Jean Bréaud | |
| 1990 | Le Mari de la coiffeuse (The Hairdresser's Husband) | Antoine | |
| 1990 | Le Château de ma mère (My Mother's Castle) | Loïs de Montmajour / Adolphe Cassignole | |
| 1991 | Amoureux fou ("Love Crazy" or "Madly in Love") | Rudolph | |
| 1992 | Le Bal des casse-pieds [fr] | Henri Sauveur | |
| 1992 | El largo invierno | Jordi Casals | |
| 1992 | The Timekeeper | Louis XV of France | Short |
| 1992 | L'Atlantide | Le Meige | |
| 1993 | Tango | Bellhop | |
| 1993 | Cible émouvante [fr] (Wild Target) | Victor Meynard | |
| 1993 | La prossima volta il fuoco ("Next Time the Fire") | Amedeo | |
| 1993 | Tombés du ciel (Lost in Transit) | Arturo Conti | |
| 1994 | Tutti gli anni una volta l'anno (Once a Year, Every Year) | Raffaele | |
| 1994 | Prêt-à-Porter | Inspector Tantpis | |
| 1995 | Tom est tout seul | Jean-Pierre | |
| 1995 | Palace | Thomas Fausto | |
| 1996 | Les Grands Ducs | Eddie Carpentier | |
| 1996 | Ridicule | Marquis of Bellegarde | |
| 1996 | Never Ever | Gerard Panier | |
| 1997 | Barracuda [fr] | Mr. Clément | |
| 1998 | Le Serpent a mangé la grenouille | Mr. Moreau | |
| 1998 | Le Comte de Monte Cristo ("The Count of Monte Cristo") | Fernand de Morcerf | 4 episodes |
| 1998 | El viento se llevó lo qué [it] ("Wind with the Gone") | Edgar Wexley | |
| 1999 | Rembrandt | Nicolaes Tulp | |
| 2001 | Le Placard | Kopel | |
| 2001 | Honolulu Baby | Cri Cri | |
| 2001 | La Vie sans secret de Walter Nions | Walter Nions | Short |
| 2002 | L'homme du train (The Man on the Train) | Manesquier | |
| 2002 | Blanche [fr] | Cardinal Mazarin | |
| 2002 | Lost in La Mancha | Himself | Uncredited |
| 2003 | Fanfan la tulipe | Narrator | Voice |
| 2003 | Il était une fois Jean-Sébastien Bach | Narrator | Voice |
| 2003 | Les Clefs de bagnole (The Car Keys) | Himself | cameo appearance |
| 2004 | RRRrrrr!!! | Lucie | |
| 2004 | Les Dalton (The Daltons) | Jolly Jumper | Voice |
| 2005 | Akoibon [fr] | Chris Barnes | |
| 2005 | L'enfer (Hell) | Louis | |
| 2006 | Ne le dis à personne (Tell No One) | Gilbert Neuville | |
| 2006 | Désaccord parfait [fr] | Louis Ruinard | |
| 2007 | Mr. Bean's Holiday | Head Waiter | |
| 2007 | I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster | Jean | |
| 2007 | La clef | Joseph Arp | |
| 2008 | id - Identity of the Soul | Narrator | |
| 2008 | Agathe Cléry | Louis Guignard | |
| 2011 | Titeuf | Pépé | Voice |
| 2012 | The Artist and the Model | Marc Cros | |
| 2012 | Astérix et Obélix: Au service de sa Majesté (Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia) | Lucius Fouinus | |
| 2013 | Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart | Méliès | Voice |
| 2013 | Jappeloup | Himself | Uncredited |
| 2015 | April and the Twisted World | Pops | Voice |
| 2015 | Floride | Claude Lherminier | |

## Theater

* 1953: Azouk by Alexandre Rivemale, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
* 1953: L'Huitre et la perle by William Saroyan, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
* 1953: Les Images d'Épinal by Albert Vidalie, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Cabaret La Fontaine des Quatre-Saisons
* 1954: Responsabilité limitée by Robert Hossein, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
* 1954: L’Amour des quatre colonels by Peter Ustinov, adaptation Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
* 1957: Romanoff et Juliette by Peter Ustinov, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
* 1957: L’Amour des quatre colonels by Peter Ustinov, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique
* 1958: Tessa by Jean Giraudoux from the work of Basil Dean and Margaret Kennedy, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
* 1958: L’Étonnant Pennypacker by Liam O'Brien, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
* 1960: Champignol malgré lui by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
* 1960: Le Comportement des époux Bredburry by François Billetdoux, staging by the author, Théâtre des Mathurins
* 1960: Génousie by René de Obaldia, staging Roger Mollien, TNP Théâtre Récamier
* 1961: Loin de Rueil by Maurice Jarre and Roger Pillaudin from the work of Raymond Queneau, staging Maurice Jarre and Jean Vilar, TNP Théâtre national de Chaillot
* 1962: Frank V by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, staging André Barsacq, Théâtre de l'Atelier
* 1964: Cet animal étrange by Gabriel Arout from the work of Anton Tchekhov, staging Claude Régy, Théâtre Hébertot
* 1965: La Collection and L’Amant by Harold Pinter, staging Claude Régy, Théâtre Hébertot
* 1966: La prochaine fois je vous le chanterai by James Saunders, staging Claude Régy, Théâtre Antoine
* 1969: Le Prix by Arthur Miller, staging Raymond Rouleau, Théâtre Montparnasse
* 1970: Un jour dans la mort de Joe Egg by Peter Nichols, staging Michel Fagadau, Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse
* 1971: C'était hier by Harold Pinter, staging Jorge Lavelli, Théâtre Montparnasse
* 1982: L'Étrangleur s'excite by Éric Naggar, staging Jean Rochefort, Théâtre Hébertot
* 1985: Boulevard du mélodrame by Juan Pineiro and Alfredo Arias, staging Alfredo Arias, National Dramatic Center of Aubervilliers
* 1988: Une vie de théâtre by David Mamet, adaptation Pierre Laville, staging Michel Piccoli, Théâtre des Mathurins
* 1988: La femme à contre-jour by Éric Naggar, staging Jean Rochefort, Théâtre des Mathurins
* 1988: Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) by Igor Stravinsky, staging Jean Rochefort, Théâtre de Paris
* 1988: Le Carnaval des animaux musique Camille Saint-Saëns
* 1989: Une vie de théâtre by David Mamet, staging Michel Piccoli
* 1991: Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) by Igor Stravinsky, staging Jean Rochefort
* 1995: Oraison funèbre sur la mort de Condé by Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, music Jean-Baptiste Lully, direction Hervé Niquet, Royal Chapel of the Château de Versailles
* 1996: Le Petit Tailleur music Tibor Tibor Harsányi and Le Carnaval des animaux music Camille Saint-Saëns, Théâtre du Châtelet, Bruxelles
* 1998: Art by Yasmina Reza, staging Patrice Kerbrat, with Pierre Vaneck and Jean-Louis Trintignant, Théâtre Hébertot
* 2004: Heureux ? sketches by Fernand Raynaud, with Bruno Fontaine, Comédie des Champs-Élysées
* 2006: Mousquetaires de Richelieu, show of the Puy du Fou
* 2007: Entre autres, a one-man show with Lionel Suarez playing accordion, in which he pays a tribute to the authors who influenced him, from Roland Barthes to Jean Yanne, notwithstanding Fernandel, Verlaine, Boby Lapointe or Primo Levi, Théâtre de la Madeleine
* 2007 at the Olympia: where he sang "Félicie aussi", a song by Fernandel, during the last three concerts of Vincent Delerm's tour 30 and 31 May 2007 and 1 June 2007

## Audio book

* Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï (The Bridge over the River Kwai) by Pierre Boulle
