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01
John Travolta asked Depardieu to provide his French voice for the dubbed version of Brian De Palma’s Blow Out 1981, as the two were friends.
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02
In December 2012, Depardieu moved to Belgium as a self-exile to avoid French taxes, surrendering his French passport and social security card. He wrote an open letter to the prime minister saying he had nothing to do in France and accused the government of wanting to punish success.
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03
He speaks Italian fluently.
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04
He is an accomplished winemaker.
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05
He underwent emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery in Paris following a heart attack on July 10, 2000.
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06
He has played several classic French literary characters: the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac 1990, Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask 1998, Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo 1998, and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables 2000.
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07
He became so engrossed in his role of Cyrano de Bergerac that he refused to shave off the Cyrano beard for a long time after filming completed.
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08
He became attracted to acting while working as a beach boy in Cannes during the film festival and went to Paris to train.
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09
He was considered for the role of Max in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America 1984 but James Woods was cast instead, despite Depardieu’s willingness to perfect an American accent.
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10
When he appeared on So Graham Norton in 2001, it was his first ever interview in the UK. He also confessed to traveling to the hospital on his motorcycle for his bypass operation.
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11
He owns vineyards in France, Italy, Argentina, Morocco, and Algeria.
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12
He smoked three packs of cigarettes a day until his heart surgery in 2000.
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13
He was the best-paid French actor, earning EUR 800,000 per movie as of 2005.
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14
He has been good friends with Robert De Niro for more than 30 years, since they worked together in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900 1976 in 1974–1975.
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15
He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.
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16
His son Guillaume Depardieu died on October 13, 2008, at age 37 from complications from pneumonia.
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17
In a March 2005 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Depardieu said he used to drink six bottles of red wine a day.
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18
He announced his intention to retire from acting in October 2005, saying he believed he had made enough films and wanted to concentrate on his other interests.
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19
His favorite actor and close friend was Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
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20
He left school at age 13 to train as a printer.
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21
He received more César nominations than any other actor: 16.
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22
He owns two restaurants in Place Gaillon in Paris: La Fontaine Gaillon and L’Ecaille de la Fontaine.
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23
He was convicted of drunk driving in France in 1990 and received a 2-month suspended jail sentence and loss of his license for 6 months.
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24
He became a Russian citizen in 2013.
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25
Time magazine ran a profile that mistakenly suggested Depardieu might have participated in a rape at age nine, based on an incorrect translation from an interview 13 years earlier. He is now careful about proper translation.
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26
He was engaged to Carole Bouquet, his longtime companion since 1997, from 2003 to 2005.
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27
Depardieu is a typical name from the center of France.
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28
On January 3, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to Depardieu, whose tax dispute with France led him to give up his passport.
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29
He was offered the main role in the action film Malone 1987 but turned it down; the part later went to Burt Reynolds.
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30
He grew up in Châteauroux in the Indre region.
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31
He had a motorcycle accident and was hospitalized while filming Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar 1999 in Paris.
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32
He appeared in five movies that won the César for Best Picture: The Last Metro 1980, Camille Claudel 1988, Too Beautiful for You 1989, Cyrano de Bergerac 1990, and All the Mornings of the World 1991; the last four were consecutive winners.
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33
He served as president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992.
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34
He has appeared in two remakes of films that previously featured José Ferrer: Depardieu played Cyrano de Bergerac Ferrer played Cyrano in 1950, and he played Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask 1998 while Ferrer played Athos in The Fifth Musketeer 1979.
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35
He is the father of Roxane Depardieu with Karine Silla.
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36
He admires bishop, theologian, and philosopher Saint Augustine 354–430.
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37
He is the father of Guillaume Depardieu and Julie Depardieu with Elisabeth Depardieu.
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38
He was born to René Maxime Lionel Depardieu called Le Dédé, a metal worker and firefighter, and Anne Jeanne Josèphe Marillier called La Lilette, and was the third of five children.
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39
He fathered a son, Jean Depardieu born July 14, 2006, with jewelry designer Hélène Bizot.
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40
He has lived together with Clémentine Igou since 2005.
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41
To date, he and Catherine Deneuve have made ten movies together: The Last Metro 1980, I Love You All 1980, Choice of Arms 1981, Fort Saganne 1984, Strange Place for an Encounter 1988, One Hundred and One Nights 1995, Changing Times 2004, Potiche 2010, Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia 2012, and Nobody’s Perfect! 2017.
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42
Two of his literary characters influenced the French playwright Molière: in Cyrano de Bergerac, it is said Molière plagiarized Cyrano’s plays; in Alexandre Dumas’s The Viscount of Bragelonne, Molière takes Porthos’s measurements, inspiring the character Monsieur Jourdain. Depardieu played Porthos in The Man in the Iron Mask.
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43
He appeared with his wife Elisabeth in Le Tartuffe 1984.
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44
He supported Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2012 presidential campaign.
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45
He has a look-alike puppet in the French show Les Guignols de l’info.
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46
He is the grandfather of Billy and Alfred Julie’s sons and Louise Depardieu.
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47
Guillaume Depardieu’s wife Elise gave birth to a daughter in January 2001, making Gérard a grandfather.
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48
His former girlfriend Karine Silla, mother of his daughter Roxanne, is now married to actor Vincent Perez, Depardieu’s co-star in Cyrano de Bergerac 1990.
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49
He was a classmate of Claude Jade and Alain Doutey at the École d’art dramatique in 1966.
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50
He has two roles in common with Frank Finlay: Finlay played Jean Valjean in Les Misérables 1967, while Depardieu played him in the 2000 version; Finlay played Porthos in the 1973–1974 The Three Musketeers films, while Depardieu played him in The Man in the Iron Mask.
