Jalil Lespert

Jalil Lespert (born 11 May 1976) is a French actor, screenwriter and director. He has been described as "one of the best actors of his generation."^[1]

Jalil Lespert
Lespert in Nominee Luncheon for the 2015 César Awards
Born	(1976-05-11) 11 May 1976 (age 48)[citation needed] Paris, France
Occupation(s)	Film director, actor, screenwriter
Years active	1995–present

Early life and education

Lespert was born in Paris to a pied-noir father, actor Jean Lespert, and a Kabyle Algerian mother,^[2] who is an attorney and a jurist, Lespert initially studied law to please his mother.

Career

Lespert made his film debut in 1995, in Laurent Cantet's short film Jeux de plage, alongside his father.^[3] His first major role came in 1999, in Jacques Maillot's film Our Happy Lives. The following year, he appeared in another Cantet film, Human Resources, which earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2001.^[4]

Jalil Lespert at the 2000 César Awards ceremony

Lespert's career took off and he appeared in several films, playing a wide range of characters, such as a sensual gardener in Sade,^[5] a body builder addict in Vivre me tue,^[1] a boxer in Virgil,^[6] a pretentious artist in Alain Resnais's Not on the Lips,^[7] and a journalist in Robert Guédiguian's The Last Mitterrand.^[8]

Lespert directed his first film in 2007, 24 mesures, featuring Benoît Magimel and Sami Bouajila.^[9] His second feature as director, Headwinds in 2011, featured Magimel alongside Audrey Tautou and Isabelle Carré.^[10]

In 2010, he appeared in the French television series Pigalle, la nuit.^[11]

Personal life

In 2009, Lespert married Sonia Rolland, a former Miss France. The couple had one child (born 2010), and separated in 2018.^[12] He also has two other children from a previous relationship.^[13]

Filmography

As actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1995	Jeux de plage	Éric	Short film; directed by Laurent Cantet Credited as Djellil Lespert	[3]
1997	Les Sanguinaires	Stéphane	Credited as Djallil Lespert	[14]
1999	Our Happy Lives	Etienne	French: Nos vies heureuses
	Human Resources	Franck	French: Ressources humaines	[15]
	A Major Inconvenience	Laurent	French: Un dérangement considérable
2000	Sade	Augustin		[5]
2001	Inch'Allah Dimanche	Le chauffeur de bus	English: Sunday God Willing	[16]
	Bella ciao	Oreste Mancini	Directed by Stéphane Giusti	[17]
2002	L'idole	Philippe	English: The Idol
	Vivre me tue	Daniel Smaïl	English: Life Kills Me	[1]
2003	Les Amateurs	Jamel Mezaoui "J.P."	Directed by Martin Valente	[18]
	Not on the Lips	Charley	French: Pas sur la bouche	[19]
2004	L'ennemi naturel	Lieutenant Luhel	Directed by Pierre Erwan Guillaume	[20]
2005	The Last Mitterrand	Antoine Moreau	French: Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars	[8]
	Virgil	Virgil
	Le Petit Lieutenant	Antoine Derouère	English: The Young Lieutenant	[21]
2006	Le voyage en Arménie	Simon	Directed by Robert Guédiguian	[22]
	Tell No One	Yaël Gonzales	French: Ne le dis à personne	[23]
2008	Pa-ra-da	Miloud		[24]
2009	Ligne de Front	Antoine	Directed by Jean-Christophe Klotz	[25]
2011	Chez Gino	Oncle Giovanni
	A Butterfly Kiss	Paul	French: Un baiser papillon
	Love and Bruises	Giovanni		[26]
2013	Landes	Txomin Iban
	Post partum	Ulysse
2014	De guerre lasse	Alex	Directed by Olivier Panchot	[27]
2015	First Growth	Charlie Maréchal	French: Premiers crus	[28]
2016	Orphan	Darius	French: Orpheline	[29]
	Iris	Antoine Doriot		[30]
2017	The Escape	Philippe		[31]
2018	Magical Nights	Jean-Claude Bernard	Italian: Notti magiche	[32]
2019	Mon frère	Igor	English: Brother
2020	Dreamchild	François	French: L'enfant rêvé	[33]
	Beasts	Sylvain Rousseau	French: La terre des hommes	[34]
2021	Tralala	Benjamin Trescazes		[35]
	With or Without You	Mathieu	Italian: Una relazione
2023	Infinity Pool	Alban Bauer		[36]
2024	GTMax	Elyas		[37]

As director and writer

• 2007 - 24 Bars (24 mesures)^[9]
• 2011 - Headwinds (Des vents contraires)^[10]
• 2014 - Yves Saint Laurent ^[38]
• 2016 - Iris ^[30]
• 2024 - Dakar Chronicles^[39]

Awards and accolades

• César Award for Most Promising Actor (26th César Awards, for Human Resources)^[4]
• Lumières Award for Most Promising Actor (6th Lumières Awards, for Human Resources)^[40]
• Étoiles d'or du cinéma français [fr] (2001, Best Actor, for Human Resources)^[40]