Guillaume Gallienne | |
|---|---|
 Gallienne in 2014 at the 39th César Awards | |
| Born | 8 February 1972 Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, screenwriter, director, producer |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse |
Amandine Gallienne (m. 2005) |
Guillaume Gallienne (born 8 February 1972) is a French actor, screenwriter and film director. He has received two Molière Awards for his stagework and has won two César Awards, one for writing and the other for his performance in his autobiographical comedy film Me, Myself and Mum (2013).
Gallienne was born in Paris to French businessman Jean-Claude and Russian-Georgian aristocrat Melitta Gallienne, the third of four sons.[1] From the age of 10, he attended La Salle Passy Buzenval where he was bullied for his effeminate personality.[2] Two years later, after a nervous breakdown, he was sent to St John's College near Portsmouth in England.[3] The death of a close cousin convinced him to take up acting at the age of 19.[4] He attended Cours Florent for three years before studying under Daniel Mesguich, Stéphane Braunschweig and Dominique Valadié at the French National Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1998.[5]
Gallienne made his film debut in 1992 in Tableau d'honneur and he has starred in Sofia Coppola's 2006 film Marie Antoinette. Between 2008 and 2010, he had a short sketch segment entitled Les Bonus de Guillaume on Le Grand Journal, parodying DVD bonus features.[6] He won a Molière Award for Best Newcomer in 2010 in his one-man stage show Boys and Guillaume, to the table! (Les Garçons et Guillaume, à table!) and another for Best Supporting Actor in 2011 in Un fil à la patte.[7][8] He collaborated with choreographer Nicolas Le Riche to write the libretto for the 2011 Paris Opera Ballet production of Caligula.[9] He adapted Bolshoi Ballet's 2014 Parisian production of Illusions perdues, choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky.[10]
His 2013 film Me, Myself and Mum, an adaptation of his stage show, was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival where it won the top prize (Art Cinema Award) and the Prix SACD.[11] The film was nominated for ten Césars, the most in 2014, winning five in total. Individually, he was awarded the César Award for Best Actor and the César Award for Best Writing.[12]
Gallienne has been a member (Sociétaire) of the Comédie-Française company since 2005, having first entered in 1998.[13] He became a Knight of the National Order of Merit in November 2008 and an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters at the start of 2013.[14][15] He has hosted a weekly literature show Ça peut pas faire de mal on France Inter since September 2009.[16]
In 2001, Guillaume met his wife Amandine, a stylist, whom he married in 2005.
