A writer, director composer, film producer, and occasional singer, [1]BFI Didier Bourdon was born on January 22, 1959, in Algiers (Algeria). The actor began his career at the Café-théâtre in 1982, [2]Allo Cine then created the comic trio Les Inconnus with Pascal Légitimus and Bernard Campan, notably with the television series La Télé des Inconnus, which enjoyed immense success in the 90s.
Wiki/Biography
Many Pieds-noirs families were repatriated to France in 1962, including the Bourdon family. After having lived in Paris, Mulhouse, Biarritz, and Saint-Germain-en-Laye because of the professional transfers of his father, he ended up settling in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
His collège (middle-school) friends staged a play by Courteline in 1970 when he was 11 years old. At 20 years of age, he entered the National Conservatory of Music in 1979 (class of 1981) with Christophe Lambert as ‘playmate 3.’
Settled in Paris in 1982, he made his debut at the Petit Théâtre de Bouvard. This was where he met Bernard Campan, Pascal Légitimus as well as Seymour Brussel. Consequently, a trio of “Les Inconnus” was formed between 1986 and 1988, which was consecrated in 1991 by Molière du Rire.
His immense critical and commercial success was confirmed on the big screen in Les Trois Frères, which he co-directed with Bernard Campan and won the César for the best first film. In 1997, they released Le Pari, they then released The Extraterrestrial in 2000, and in 2001 they released Les Trois Frères.
Physical appearance
- Height: 5 ft 12 in / 182 cm
- Weight: 209 lbs / 95 kg
- Eye Color: Brown
- Hair Color: Brown
Family and ethnicity
Father, Mother, and Siblings
Didier Bourdon was born on January 22, 1959, in Algiers to a father [3]California 18 who worked for EDF (Électricité de France) and a mother who stayed at home. He has an older brother and a younger sister.
Relationships/ Affairs, Wife, Children
His wife is Marie-Sandra Badini Duran. [4]Gala The couple has two children, Clélia Bourdon and Olivier Bourdon.
Career
Career as a Solo Artist
In his beginning years, he played Louis XV in Fanfan la Tulipe, a cloak and dagger comedy by Gérard Krawczyk, before performing and directing ‘7 ans de mariage,’ a comedy about a couple. [5]Cineuropa
In 2005, his satire Vive la vie, by Yves Fajnberg, went unnoticed, but his contribution to the staging of Madame Irma, (where he plays a licensed businessman who turned to clairvoyance) won great success. The same year, he appeared in the country comedy-drama A Great Year, directed by Ridley Scott.
He failed with the film, ‘Le bouquet final’ in 2008. From then on, he tried to return to comedy on the theme of ‘couples’ with Bambou (2009), which he directed with Anne Consigny. The film, however, did not do well, critically or commercially.
On June 13, 2005, he released a song dedicated to the freedom of expression, entitled ‘On peuplu rien dire.’
His return to sets in 2012
He moved away from the sets for a while, only to return in 2012 to participate in an offbeat musical comedy broadcast by Arte, ‘Comme un air d’autoroute’. [6]IMBD Surprisingly, he also accepted a dramatic role – that of an exhausted executive – in the movie ’15 Jours Ailleurs’ by Didier Bivel. Chemla was his co-star in the film. [7]Euro Channel
2014 was especially marked by his reunion with Bernard Campan and Pascal Légitimus for ‘Les Trois Frères : le retour.’ [8]Get to Text He turned down an offer to appear in the low-budget comedy ‘Babysitting’ to star in this sequel to their 1995 hit.
The same year, he also played the main male role in a TV movie, Le Voyage de Monsieur Perrichon, a play by Eugène Labiche which was adapted by Éric Lavaine. Finally, he appeared in a short film for Amnesty International on the prevention of domestic violence. [9]Amnesty France – Twitter
Supporting Roles
He then chose to play supporting roles in popular comedies. In 2015, he appeared in a remake of ‘Un village presque parfait,’ and in ‘Suite de Profs’, by Pierre-François Martin-Laval. He was also a member of the choir of Alexandra Leclere’s Grand Partage.
Working with Philippe Lacheau marked his first collaboration with a writer-director-actor, and Alibi.com was a great success. Moreover, he returned to parody for ‘Nouvelles Aventures de Cendrillon’ by Lionel Steketee which received neither critical acclaim nor commercial success.
His role on television in 2017 was in the TV movie ‘La mort dans l’âme’, a psychological thriller directed by Xavier Durringer.
Prizes/Honors
- Les Trois Frères: César Award for Best First Film
- Madame Irma: Grand Jury Prize – Sarlat Film Festival
- Grand Prize at the Monte-Carlo European Film Festival
- Best Actor Award at the Cosne sur Loire Festival
- 15 Jours Ailleurs: Best Actor Award at the 2013 Luchon Television Film Festival
Autograph
Facts/Trivia
- He first rose to prominence in France when his comedy trio Les Inconnus, which he formed with Bernard Campan and Pascal Légitimus, became hugely popular in the 1990s.
- Towards the end of the year, he took on two very different projects. He returned to drama in Romain Gary’s adaptation of La Promise à l’aube, directed by Éric Barbier. In the film, he adds a beneficial comic dimension to his character. He then tried again for the comedy of couples, this time under the direction of Alexandra Leclère, for a feature film entitled ‘Garde alternatenée’ in which he has Valérie Bonneton as his wife and Isabelle Carré as his mistress. The film had mixed results.
- He appeared in the clip of the singer-rapper ‘Soprano – Près des étoiles’ (24 September 2021.) [11]BFM TV
- In 2021, he announced the release of an album of humorous songs on June 11: Le Bourdon. [12]France TV Info
References