Denis Lavant
Denis Lavant is a French actor known for his distinctive face and the physically demanding aspects of the roles he plays, which often involve slapstick, acrobatics or dance, as well as for his longstanding association with director Leos Carax. Lavant has played the lead role in all but one of Caraxs films. Lavant is also known for his roles in Claire Denis Beau Travail, and Harmony Korines Mister Lonely.
Lavant was born in NeuillysurSeine, HautsdeSeine, in France. At 13, he took courses in pantomime and the circus, fascinated by Marcel Marceau. He trained at the Paris Conservatoire under Jacques Lassalle, and began his professional career in 1982 in theatre, acting in Shakespeares Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice. In 1982 he appeared in the television film LOmbre sur la plage, before playing the minor part of Montparnasse in Robert Hosseins Les Misrables, which was entered into the 13th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize. He appeared in several further minor roles before making his breakthrough in 1984 as the lead in Boy Meets Girl, playing a depressed, aspiring filmmaker who falls in love with a suicidal young woman. The film marked the directorial debut of Leos Carax, with whose films Lavant has been associated ever since.
Source: Wikipedia