Vincent Cassel

Who On Earth Is Vincent Cassel? "The angry young man, acclaimed as the best French actor of his generation."

Vincent Cassel was born in cultural capital of the world Paris, France, on 23rd November 1966, the son of so-famous-you've-probably-never-heard-of-him actor Jean-Pierre Cassel. Reluctant to throw himself into an industry which would perhaps always connect him with his father, he nevertheless put himself through theatre school during which time he met fellow young French talent Mathieu Kassovitz. Vincent's film debut came relatively late in modern terms, appearing in 1989's 'Cigognes n'en font qu'à leur tête' at the grand old age of 23. Putting in his apprenticeship as cheap labour on the Kassovitz-directed, Jean-Pierre-starring 'Metisse', with a brief appearance in his first international film, 'Jefferson In Paris', in 1995, his breakthrough role would prove that old friendships die hard.

Kassovitz had decided to write and direct a film which would change the face of French cinema forever and cause such an effect beyond the boundaries of film that the French government had a private screening. The film, titled simply 'La Haine', or 'Hate', could easily be mistaken for a documentary. Filmed in stark black and white, the three main characters: Vinz, Said and Hubert have the same first names as the unknown actors who play them: Cassel, Taghmaoui and Kounde.

'La Haine' was accepted as a bona fide representation of life for the youth of Parisian housing estates, however horrific this idea might be to the outside world. Fortunately, 'La Haine' was also applauded for its filmic qualities, making Mathieu Kassovitz a director to be reckoned with, while Vincent Cassel well deserved the Cesar nominations for Best Actor and Most Promising Young Actor for his performance as the personification of the Hate of the title, determined to kill a cop with his own gun.

Unlike many actors who make a huge impression with their first major role, Vincent Cassel avoided stereotyping as "the angry young man", exemplified by 1996's 'L'Appartement' ('The Apartment'), a labyrinthine romance winding through both time and the streets of Paris. 'L'Appartement' paired Vincent with another hot young talent of European cinema, the Italian-born Monica Bellucci, who would become Vincent's most frequent co-star and, in 1999, his wife. Cassel and Bellucci returned in 1997's frenetic futuristic comic book crime thriller 'Dobermann', admirably serving their time in Jan Kounen's violent world through looking good and not saying much.

The international receptions for 'La Haine', 'L'Appartement' and 'Dobermann' ranged from the critically acclaimed to the commercially successful, and the world was beginning to take note. Vincent Cassel joined the French contingent of actors, including Fanny Ardant and ex-footballer Eric Cantona, heading over the Channel to appear in Oscar®-nominated historical drama 'Elizabeth'. Re-affirming a reputation as a performer not afraid to take controversial roles, Vincent had a small but memorable role as the petulant and cross-dressing Duc d'Anjou, and his scenery chewing came off very well, even in the face of seasoned stage performers and international stars such as Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush. Luc Besson's Milla Jovovich-starring epic 'Joan of Arc' was much less successful, but here Vincent merely hung about in the background for much of the film - the same could be said for most of the rest of the cast. And Vincent's other movie in 1999, the British comedy 'Guest House Paradiso', in which he plays a sex-crazed Italian drug dealer, is only worth a mention because he's probably the first person ever to die on screen due to radioactive fish poisoning and resultant projectile vomiting!

Talk Back

Cassel reunited with Mathieu Kassovitz for 'The Crimson Rivers' in 2000, a film project which paired him up with Hollywood's favourite Frenchman, Jean Reno. Despite Vincent's father Jean-Pierre also being in the cast list, they have no scenes together as the one time their characters are in the same room, Jean-Pierre is doubled with a very realistic dummy.'The Crimson Rivers', a murder mystery so complex that Vincent's attitude to the film mirrored his character's most-used phrase of "I don't understand!", was nevertheless a domestic and international success in the wake of similarly-themed films such as 'Seven'. The film also shows off Vincent's newly-acquired capoeira skills, even if they did result in him having his nose broken in a fight scene.

Immediately after 'The Crimson Rivers' , Vincent started work on the biggest budget French film of the year, 'Le Pacte Des Loups' ('Brotherhood Of The Wolf') together with Monica Bellucci, American martial artist Mark Dacascos, and all of the native French talent director Christophe Gans could get his hands on. 'Brotherhood Of The Wolf' was a huge success across Europe, and is currently on release in the United States. Recently, Cassel contributed voice work to 'Shrek', acted with Mathieu Kassovitz and Nicole Kidman in the newly released 'Birthday Girl' and collaborated with both Bellucci and "the best director in the universe" Gaspar Noe on the rape drama 'Irreversible'. He will also appear in the Heath Ledger-starring 'The Sin Eater', which is released in the USA in November.

Buy Vincent Cassel DVDs, videos and more

Later this year, Vincent Cassel will team up again with Christophe Gans and Mark Dacascos to film an adaptation of the Bob Morane novels entitled 'The Adventurer'. He faces perhaps a great challenge in personifying Morane, something of a great French cultural hero, but to say that he was doomed to failure would be to ignore his enviable status as a European superstar. Whether the "angry young man", acclaimed as the best French actor of his generation, can win over the world remains to be seen, but his ability and will to do practically anything on screen, from historical drama to toilet humour, and still remain that most elusive of creatures - a star - may point the world in the right direction.

- Lonely Walker

Talk Back