Vincent Perez born 10 June 1964 is a Swiss actor, director and photographer. He is best known internationally for playing the title character, Ashe Corven, in The Crow: City of Angels, and for starring in Queen of the Damned, playing Marius de Romanus. Some of his notable films in French cinema include Cyrano de Bergerac, Le Bossu, La Reine Margot and Indochine.
Early life
Perez was born on 10 June 1964 in Lausanne, Switzerland, to a Spanish father and a German mother. His mother was a housewife and his father worked in the import-export business. He commenced acting studies in Geneva, followed by the CNSAD and completed his training at the school of the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers. He started acting in theatre before starring in films.
Career
Cinema
His breakthrough role was starring as Christian opposite Gérard Depardieu in Cyrano de Bergerac. He was nominated for a César Award. He has since appeared in various films and his onscreen leading ladies have included Catherine Deneuve, Kim Basinger, Isabelle Adjani and Aaliyah.
On television, he starred in Paris enquêtes criminelles, the French remake of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Perez starred as Lieutenant Vincent Revel.
He has also gone into directing. Two of his shorts, L’échange and Rien à dire, have been nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Photography
He has exhibited his photographic work during festivals and in art galleries. For example, his exhibition entitled Face to Face, which featured photographs of Carla Bruni, Johnny Hallyday and Gérard Depardieu, was unveiled at Rencontres d’Arles, an annual photography festival in Arles, France. In December 2012, he exhibited his photographs of dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet at the RuArts in Moscow, Russia. Two years later, in December 2014, he exhibited them again at the Accademia Fine Art Gallery in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Personal life
He is married to French actress Karine Silla, ex-partner of Gérard Depardieu and sister of French producer Virginie Besson-Silla. Perez and Silla have three children together, including model Iman Perez.
Work
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Gardien de la nuit (Guardian of the Night) | Armand | French | |
| 1987 | Hôtel de France | Serge | French | |
| 1988 | La Maison de jade (The House of Jade) | Bernard Gretz | French | |
| 1990 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Christian de Neuvillette | French | César Award Nominee for Most Promising Actor (Meilleur espoir masculin) |
| Il viaggio di Capitan Fracassa (Captain Fracassa’s Journey) | Baron of Sigognac | Italian | ||
| 1991 | La Neige et le feu | Jacques Sénéchal | French | |
| 1992 | Cendre d’or | French | Short film | |
| Indochine (Indochina) | Jean-Baptiste | French | ||
| L’Échange | — | French | Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award Nominee for Best Short Film Short written and directed by Vincent Perez |
|
| 1993 | Fanfan | Alexandre | French | |
| 1994 | La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) | La Môle | French | |
| 1995 | Al di là delle nuvole (Beyond the Clouds) | Niccolo | ||
| 1996 | Ligne de vie (Линия жизни, Lifeline) | Philippe | Russian | |
| The Crow: City of Angels | Ashe Corven/The Crow | English | ||
| 1997 | Swept from the Sea | Yanko Gooral | English | |
| Le bossu (On Guard) | Duc de Nevers | French | César Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur second rôle masculin) Cabourg Romantic Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
|
| 1998 | Ceux qui m’aiment prendront le train (Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train) | Viviane | French | César Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur second rôle masculin) |
| The Treat | Pierre | English | ||
| Talk of Angels | Francisco Areavaga | English | ||
| Shot Through the Heart | Slavko Stanic | English | TV film | |
| 1999 | Le Temps retrouvé (Time Regained) | Morel | French | |
| Rien à dire | — | French | Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Award Nominee for Best Short Film Short directed by Vincent Perez |
|
| 2000 | Épouse-moi (Marry Me) | Hadrien Roche | French | |
| Le Libertin (The Libertine) | Denis Diderot | French | ||
| I Dreamed of Africa | Paolo Gallmann | English | ||
| 2001 | Les Morsures de l’aube (Love Bites) | Young actor | French | |
| Bride of the Wind | Oskar Kokoschka | English | ||
| 2002 | Queen of the Damned | Marius de Romanus | English | |
| Peau d’Ange (Once Upon An Angel) | — | French | Nominated at the Montreal World Film Festival for the Grand Prix des Amériques Written and directed by Vincent Perez |
|
| 2003 | Le pharmacien de garde (The Pharmacist) | Yan Lazarrec | French | |
| La felicità non-costa niente (Happiness Costs Nothing) | Francesco | Italian | ||
| Fanfan la Tulipe | Fanfan la Tulipe | French | ||
| I’m Staying! | Bertrand Delpire | French | ||
| 2004 | Bienvenue en Suisse (Welcome to Switzerland) | Aloïs Couchepin | French | |
| Nouvelle-France (Battle of the Brave) | Intendant le Bigot | English | ||
| 2007 | The Apocalypse Code | Lui | Russian | MTV Movie Award (Russia) Nominee for Best Fight; shared with Anastasiya Zavorotnyuk Credited as Vensan Peres |
| Arn – Tempelriddaren (Arn – The Knight Templar) | Brother Guilbert | Swedish | ||
| The Secret | — | English | Produced and directed by Vincent Perez | |
| 2009 | Demain dès l’aube (Tomorrow at Dawn) | Mathieu | French | |
| 2010 | Inhale | Dr. Martinez | English | |
| Bruc | Maraval | Catalan | ||
| 2012 | Lines of Wellington | Lévêque | Portuguese | |
| 2012 | Ce que le jour doit à la nuit (What the Day Owes the Night) | Juan Rucilio | French | |
| 2013 | Puppy Love | Christian | French | |
| 2014 | The Kitchen in Paris (Cuisine in Paris) | Nicolas DuPont | Russian | |
| 2016 | Alone in Berlin | — | English | Director, writer |
| 2017 | Dalida | Eddie Barclay | French | |
| 2017 | Chacun sa vie et son intime conviction (Everyone’s Life) | The Count | French | |
| 2017 | Hochelaga, Land of Souls | Jacques Cartier | ||
| 2018 | L’intervention | General Favrart | French | |
| 2018 | At Eternity’s Gate | The Director | English | |
| 2018 | Ladies in Black | Stefan | English | |
| 2018 | The Summer House | The Swiss actor | French | |
| 2019 | The Aeronauts | Pierre Rennes | English |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Série noire | Yvon | French | 1 episode: Piège à flics |
| 1990 | Hamlet | Laerte | French | |
| 1998 | Shot Through the Heart | Slavko | English | |
| 2000 | Scénarios sur la drogue | — | French | Directed 1 episode, Scénarios sur la drogue |
| 2004 | Frankenstein | Deucalion | English | |
| 2005 | Le juge | Marc Steiner | French | |
| 2006 | Avec le temps… | Philippe Julliart | French | |
| Jeanne Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour | Louis XV | French | ||
| 2007 | Paris enquêtes criminelles (Law & Order: Paris) | Vincent Revel | French | 20 episodes |
| 2008 | Die Jahrhundertlawine (Avalanche) | Marc | German | |
| 2010 | Lo scandalo della Banca Romana | Clemente Claudet | Italian | |
| Trahie! | Paul/Antonio | French |
Awards and nominations
César Awards
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Most Promising Actor (Meilleur jeune espoir masculin) | Cyrano de Bergerac | Nominated |
| 1998 | Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur second rôle masculin) | Le bossu | Nominated |
| 1998 | Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur second rôle masculin) | Ceux qui m’aiment prendront le train | Nominated |
Palme d’Or
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Best Short Film | L’échange | Nominated |
| 1999 | Best Short Film | Rien à dire | Nominated |
Montréal World Film Festival
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Grand Prix des Amériques | Peau d’ange | Nominated |
MTV Movie Awards, Russia
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Best Fight | Kod apokalipsisa | Nominated |
Cabourg Romantic Film Festival
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Prix Jean Gabin | Won | |
| 2008 | Best Actor | Le bossu | Won |