Vincent Cassel | |
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 Cassel in 2018 | |
| Born | Vincent Crochon (1966-11-23)23 November 1966 (age 58) Paris, France |
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 4 (includingDeva Cassel) |
| Parents |
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| Relatives |
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Vincent Cassel (French:[vɛ̃sɑ̃kasɛl];né Crochon[kʁɔʃɔ̃]; born 23 November 1966) is a French actor. He has earned aCésar Award and aCanadian Screen Award as well as nominations for aEuropean Film Award and aScreen Actors Guild Award.
Cassel first achieved recognition for his performance as a troubled Jewish youth inMathieu Kassovitz's 1995 filmLa Haine (Hate) for which he received two César Award nominations. He also garnered attention forGaspar Noé's filmIrréversible (2002) which he acted in and co-produced. He received theCésar Award for Best Actor for his role as the criminalJacques Mesrine inMesrine (2008). His other César-nominated roles includeRead My Lips (2001),Mon Roi (2015),It's Only the End of the World (2016), andThe Specials (2019).
Cassel garnered recognition with English-speaking roles inElizabeth (1998),Ocean's Twelve (2004) andOcean's Thirteen (2007),Eastern Promises (2007),Black Swan (2010), andJason Bourne (2016). In 2020, he appeared on theHBO seriesWestworld.
Cassel was born in Paris, France, to journalist Sabine Litique and actorJean-Pierre Cassel (born Jean-Pierre Crochon).[2][3] Cassel's brother, Mathias, is a rapper with the groupAssassin under the name "Rockin' Squat".[4] His half-sister,Cécile Cassel, is also an actress.[5]
One of Cassel's first on-screen appearances was abit part in a 1994Renault Clio advert which was used in the UK.[4]
Cassel's breakthrough role was inMathieu Kassovitz's critically acclaimed filmLa Haine (1995), in which he portrayed a troubled youth living in the deprived outskirts of Paris. For his role inLa Haine, Cassel was nominated for twoCésar Awards, forBest Actor andMost Promising Actor.[6]
Throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s, Cassel performed in a string of French films. In 1996, he starred oppositeMonica Bellucci (before they married) in the moody French filmL'Appartement.[4] The film was a critical success, winning aBAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and the firstBritish Independent Film Award for the Best Film in a Foreign Language. The film was also a modest hit in France gaining 55,565 admissions its opening weekend and 152,714 admissions total.[7] Although the film was never released theatrically in the United States, it was released on DVD on 22 August 2006.
In 1998, he portrayedHenry, Duc d'Anjou inElizabeth. In 1999, he portrayedGilles de Rais inLuc Besson'sThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. Other notable roles during this period of his career include the violent filmDobermann (1997), the genre-bendingBrotherhood of the Wolf (2001), and the highly controversialIrréversible (2002), where he appears fully nude (with Monica Bellucci, after they married).
Since the early 2000s, Cassel has also appeared in a number of English-language films, such asShrek (as the voice of Monsieur Hood) andBirthday Girl (both 2001)Ocean's Twelve andOcean's Thirteen (2004, 2007), andDerailed (2005). He has also dubbed the voice of Diego(Denis Leary) in theIce Age franchise and Rodney Copperbottom(Ewan McGregor) inRobots.
In 2007, Cassel attracted significant critical acclaim for his performance inDavid Cronenberg's thriller filmEastern Promises, in which he starred oppositeViggo Mortensen andNaomi Watts. The filmpremiered on 8 September 2007 at the2007 Toronto International Film Festival where it won the Audience Prize for best film on 15 September 2007.[8]Film Journal International critic Doris Toumarkine dubbed Cassel's performance "particularly delicious".[9]J. Hoberman ofThe Village Voice wrote that "Cassel literally flings himself into [his role]".[10]
In October 2008, Cassel was signed to be the face of a newYves Saint Laurent men's fragrance. The new fragrance,La Nuit de l'Homme, was launched worldwide in 2009. Cassel appeared in a two-part film aboutJacques Mesrine, who was France's "public enemy number one" in the seventies.[4] He won theCésar Award for Best Actor for his performance as Mesrine. Also that year, he starred in the Portuguese-language, Brazilian filmAdrift (À Deriva), and made his debut as a singer onZap Mama's albumReCreation, singing alongside them on the singles "Paroles, Paroles" and "Non, Non, Non".
The following year, in 2010, Cassel played Thomas Leroy inDarren Aronofsky's critically acclaimedBlack Swan (2010), alongsideNatalie Portman andMila Kunis, which attracted considerable acclaim. For his performance inBlack Swan, he was nominated alongside his cast for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
In 2011, Cassel played the lead role in the French-Spanish thriller-drama filmThe Monk, directed byDominik Moll.Screen Daily praised his performance, writing that "Cassel exudes otherworldly gravitas and his singular looks are perfect for the role."[11] That year, he also starred in the German-Canadianhistorical filmA Dangerous Method, directed byDavid Cronenberg; in the latter, he starred oppositeKeira Knightley,Michael Fassbender, and Mortensen (marking their second film together). The film premiered at the68th Venice Film Festival and was also featured at the2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[12][13]
In 2014, he portrayed The Beast oppositeLéa Seydoux as Belle in theFrench-language adaptation ofBeauty and the Beast. The film was screened out of competition at the64th Berlin International Film Festival.[14] It was released in France on in February 2014 to positive reviews, becoming a box office success. In Japan, the film topped the box office on its release, making it the first non-English-language foreign film to top the Japanese box office sinceRed Cliff II in 2009, and the first French film to top the Japanese box office sinceMathieu Kassovitz'sThe Crimson Rivers in 2001.[15]
In 2016, Cassel was featured in Americanactionthriller filmJason Bourne, directed byPaul Greengrass; the film is the fifth installment of theBourne film series and a directsequel toThe Bourne Ultimatum (2007). Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office success, grossing more than $400 million worldwide.[16] That year, he also attracted critical acclaim for his performance as Antoine inXavier Dolan'sIt's Only the End of the World, which premiered at theCannes Film Festival. For his work in the film, Cassel won theCanadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor;[17] he also received nominations for theCésar Award for Best Supporting Actor, theGlobes de Cristal Award for Best Actor, and theJury Prize forBest Actor at theRiviera International Film Festival.[18]
In 2019, Cassel played the lead role inThe Specials directed byÉric Toledano and Olivier Nakache based on the true story of Stephane Benhamou who ran an organization helping people withautism find employment and activities outside the confines of the institutionalized setting. It was screened out of competition at the2019 Cannes Film Festival and Cassel was nominated for theCésar Award for Best Actor.[19]
In 2020, he portrayed trillionaire Engerrand Serac, the main antagonist of the third season of the HBO seriesWestworld.
In 2021, he narrated the documentaryReset, directed by Thierry Donard.[20]
In 2023, he starred in the Apple TV+ spy thriller series"Liaison" with Eva Green. In November the same year, he was revealed as the voice actor for United Nations' French agent Victor Chevalier in the upcoming 2024 video gameTekken 8,[21] making it his first role in a video game. Vincent first came to knowTekken back in the 1990s, with his favorite character beingEddy Gordo.
Cassel met Italian actressMonica Bellucci on the set of their 1996 filmThe Apartment.[23][24] They married on 2 August 1999 inMonaco.[25] They have two daughters,Deva (born 12 September 2004)[26] and Léonie (born 21 May 2010).[27] Cassel and Bellucci announced their separation on 26 August 2013.[28] Bellucci filed for divorce the same year.[22] They later divorced.[29][30] At the age of 15, Deva wasDolce & Gabbana's muse to embody their Dolce Shine perfume and later became theirrunway model.[31][32]
He married 21-year-old French modelTina Kunakey [fr] on 24 August 2018 inBidart, France, after being in a relationship for more than two years.[33][34] They have a daughter, Amazonie (born 19 April 2019).[35] Cassel and Kunakey separated in 2023.[36]
On October 20, 2023, media outlets revealed that Cassel is in a relationship with Brazilian model Narah Baptista, who is twenty-nine years younger than he, six months after separating from his second wife of five years, Tina Kunakey.[36] On January 7, 2025, he welcomed the birth of his fourth and Baptista's first child, a son named Caetano.[37]
Besides his native French, Cassel speaks English, Portuguese, Italian, and basic conversational Russian, which he learned for his role inEastern Promises.[38] Cassel lived inRio de Janeiro for five years, before moving back to Paris in 2018, and he used to have Brazilian citizenship.[39][1] Cassel is known for having a great identification with Brazil, being a practitioner of themartial art ofcapoeira; he displayed this talent in the movieOcean's Twelve.[40]
Cassel went to different schools, including a Catholic school, eventually becomingirreligious. He opened up about his religious views in an interview, saying: "I'm totally secular myself, and I have a tremendous respect for life. Which means that I essentially believe in God in a certain sense, but I'm not aCatholic orJewish orMuslim. I'm without a religion."[41]
His father,Jean-Pierre Cassel, died of cancer on 19 April 2007 at age 74.[42][43]
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Porta dos Fundos | James Bond | Portuguese | Episode: "007 in Brazil"[46] |
| 2020 | Westworld | Engerraund Serac | English | TV series |
| 2023 | Liaison | Gabriel Delage | French, English | Apple TV+ series |
| 2024 | Fiasco | Robin Jacomet | French | Netflix series[47] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tekken 8[48] | Victor Chevalier |
Vincent Cassel, bearded and barefoot, is at home in these conditions – until recently he lived in Rio de Janeiro", "After five years in Brazil, Cassel is moving back to Paris to be closer to his children, Deva, 13, and Léonie, 8, where they live with their mother – he and Bellucci separated in 2013. Cassel had to renounce his Brazilian citizenship: "I've become French again, does it show?"
In a statement released to the Agence France-Presse, Cassel's rep confirmed the 46-year-old actor and his wife are separating by 'mutual agreement'.
Cassel is taking another break from France – he and his family recently moved to Rio de Janeiro.
