Benoît Magimel

Benoît Magimel (French: [bənwa maʒimɛl]; born 11 May 1974) is a French actor. He was 14 when he appeared in his first film, and has starred in a variety of roles in French cinema. At age 16, Magimel left school to pursue acting as a career. In 2001, he won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in Michael Haneke's The Piano Teacher. He also starred in Claude Chabrol's La Demoiselle d'honneur.

He won two consecutive César Awards for Best Actor for starring as an acting teacher diagnosed with late-stage cancer in Peaceful (2021) and the High Commissioner of French Polynesia De Roller in Pacifiction (2022).

Magimel was named Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2006 and was promoted to the rank of Officier in 2013.

Early life

Benoît Magimel was born in Paris on 11 May 1974. His mother was a nurse and his father worked in a bank. Through his maternal grandfather he is of Hungarian Jewish descent. He has a brother, Arnaud, and a sister, Bénédicte.

In 1988, he landed his first film role in Étienne Chatiliez's comedy Life Is a Long Quiet River, in which he played Maurice "Momo" Groseille. At sixteen, while in première (the second year of lycée), Magimel left school without a diploma to pursue acting as a career.

Career

Breakthrough (1990s)

For his second film, the Christine Lipinska-directed comedy Papa est parti, maman aussi (1989), his name appeared at the top of the bill alongside Sophie Aubry and Jérôme Kircher.

He spent the decade accumulating roles, on television and in cinema, growing up in front of the camera, often under the direction of respected filmmakers.