Alain Chabat
Alain Chabat (French pronunciation: [alɛ̃ ʃaba(t)]; born 24 November 1958) is a French actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer and television presenter. He was originally known for his work in the comedy group Les Nuls, including as the co-writer and lead actor of La Cité de la peur (1994). He has since then become a notable filmmaker of his own, typically both writing and starring in the movies he directed, which include cult comedy films such as Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, RRRrrrr!!!, Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami and Santa & Cie.
Alain Chabat | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer, television presenter |
Years active | 1987–present |
He also appeared in French Twist, The Taste of Others, The Science of Sleep, Happily Ever After and the television series Kaamelott.[1] Additionally, he voiced the title character in the French dubbing of the Shrek franchise.
Life and career
Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria.[2] He is Jewish.[2]
His media career began in 1987 when he founded the comedy group "Les Nuls" (The Lame-os) with Bruno Carette, Chantal Lauby and Dominique Farrugia.[3] Les Nuls' first appearance on French television, on the subscriber channel Canal Plus, was a sci-fi spoof entitled Objectif Nul (a word play with Objectif Lune, the French title of the comic album Destination Moon, one of The Adventures of Tintin). The show shares striking similarities with the British TV series Red Dwarf, although both shows were released at roughly the same time and it is unlikely one influenced the other.[4]
Both as a member of Les Nuls (in La Cité de la Peur) and in his solo efforts (including Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, in which he both directed and acted), Chabat is one of the few French comedians who has managed to successfully emulate the heavily referential, pop-culture-based writing style of the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker trio and adapt it to the tastes of the French audience.[5]
Chabat also voiced the title character in the French dubs of all four Shrek films, replacing Mike Myers. He won the César Award for Best Debut in 1998 for Didier.[6]
He co-starred in Happily Ever After (2004) and in Prête-moi ta main (2006) (which he also wrote) alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg. He played Napoleon Bonaparte in the 2009 film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.[7]
In November 2022, Chabat hosted Le Late avec Alain Chabat on TF1 which ran for 10 episodes during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[8]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Baby Blood | Slain Passerby | |
1991 | The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck | Gérard Martinez | |
1992 | Pizza blob | Professor Liégeois | Short |
1994 | La Cité de la peur | Serge Karamazov / Youri / Jacques | Also co-writer |
Parano | Pilot | ||
6 Days, 6 Nights | Thomas | ||
One Night of Hypocrisy | Short | ||
1995 | French Twist | Laurent Lafaye | Nominated - César Award for Best Actor |
1996 | Beaumarchais | Courtier | |
Delphine 1, Yvan 0 | Pierre Krief | ||
1997 | Didier | Didier / Didje Hazanavicius | Also director and writer César Award for Best Debut Nominated - César Award for Best Actor |
Le cousin | Gérard Delvaux | ||
1998 | Quest for Camelot | Devon / Cornwall (voice) | French dub |
1999 | Trafic d'influence | Priest | |
Mes amis | Etienne | ||
La débandade | Specialist | ||
2000 | The Taste of Others | Bruno Deschamps | Nominated - César Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - Chlotrudis Award - Best Cast |
Kitchendales | Enzo's Mother | Direct-to-video | |
2001 | L'art (délicat) de la séduction | Master Zen | |
Shrek | Shrek (voice) | French dub | |
2002 | Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra | Julius Caesar | Also director, writer and co-producer Nominated - European Film Award - Best Actor |
2003 | Chouchou | Stanislas de la Tour-Maubourg | |
Laisse tes mains sur mes hanches | Bernard | ||
Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose ? | Peter Mc Gray | ||
The Car Keys | Dog Seller | ||
2004 | RRRrrrr!!! | Pierre the Medicine Man | Also director, writer and co-producer |
Casablanca Driver | Doctor Brenson | ||
Happily Ever After | Georges | ||
Shrek 2 | Shrek (voice) | French dub | |
2005 | Papa | Papa | |
2006 | The Science of Sleep | Guy | |
I Do | Luis Costa | Also co-writer and producer Nominated - César Award for Best Actor | |
2007 | Garage Babes | Narrator/The Cacou | Direct-to-video |
Shrek the Third | Shrek (voice) | French dub | |
2008 | 15 ans et demi | Norbert | |
Me Two | Gilles Gabriel | Also producer | |
Un monde à nous | English Teacher | Also producer | |
2009 | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Napoleon Bonaparte | Also French dub |
Trésor | Jean-Pierre | ||
Le siffleur | Tax Auditor | ||
2010 | Shrek Forever After | Shrek (voice) | French dub |
2011 | War of the Buttons | Monsieur Labru | |
Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2 | Silas (voice) | Short film, English and French dub | |
2012 | A Thousand Words | Christian Léger de la Touffe | Also producer Also French dub |
Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami | Dan Geraldo | Also director, writer and producer | |
Ice Age: Continental Drift | Silas (voice) | English and French dub | |
2013 | Turf | Nicos Fivos | Also producer |
Les gamins | Gilbert | ||
Mood Indigo | Jules Gouffé | ||
2014 | Reality | Jason Tantra | |
Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods | Senator Prospectus (voice) | ||
2017 | Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | Bob the Pirate | |
Santa & Cie | Santa | Also director, writer and producer | |
2018 | Keep an Eye Out! | Screams of pain (voice) | Cameo |
2019 | Play | Max's father | |
#Jesuislà | Stéphane | ||
2021 | Kaamelott: The First Chapter | The Duke of Aquitaine | |
2022 | Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be[9] | René Goscinny (voice) | |
Incredible but True | Alain | ||
Smoking Causes Coughing | Chief Didier (voice) | ||
2024 | L'Amour ouf † |
† | Denotes films not yet released |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Objectif: Nul | Capitain Lamar/Various characters | TV series (all episodes) |
1989 | Palace | Cédric | TV series (1 Episode) |
1990 | Histoire(s) de la télévision | Roland Gilet | TV series |
1993 | La Classe américaine | Deep Throat | Voice role TV Movie |
1998 | Ivre mort pour la patrie | German General | TV Short |
2001 | La cape et l'épée | Minstrel | TV series (2 Episodes) |
2001–2002 2018–present |
Burger Quiz | Himself (host) | Broadcast: Canal + (2001–2002) / TMC (2018–present) Also co-creator and co-writer |
2006 | Avez-vous déjà vu..? | Narrator/Various voices | TV series (all episodes) |
2007 | Kaamelott | The Duke of Aquitaine | TV series (4 Episodes) |
2008 | Rien dans les poches | Rita | Also producer TV Movie |
2011 | Le grand restaurant II | A Client | TV movie |
2022 | Le Late avec Alain Chabat | Himself (host) | TV series |
References
- "Alain Chabat". unifrance.org. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- "Un Nul bourré de talents". L'Express (in French). 24 January 2002. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- ""Nulle part ailleurs", l'esprit potache du "Canal" historique". Le Figaro (in French). 13 August 2009. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- "Red Dwarf Saison 1". Devildead DVD (in French). 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- "Bienvenue chez les ZAZ !". Allociné (in French). 24 September 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- "Allocine Alain Chabat Récompenses". Allociné (in French). 16 May 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
- "Night at the Museum 2". The Sunday Times. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
- "Le Late avec Alain Chabat: votre nouveau rendez-vous sur TF1". TF1 et Vous (in French). 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- Gallegos, Ricardo (27 May 2022). "Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be Review - Cannes 2022". But Why Tho? A Geek Community. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
External links
- Alain Chabat at IMDb
- (in French) Interview of Alain Chabat. Artistik Rezo. 2010-06-15.