Jean-pierre Cassel
About
Biography
Filmography
Notes
On his part in the Lifetime remake of "Notorious": "Alex is a marvelous character because he is a man in love. It's a great quality for a man to be able to be in love. After that, he may be a villain or a nice guy but the principle is that he's in love and that, to me, is always interesting." --Jean-Pierre Cassel
Biography
A tall, attractive leading man who worked as an extra and nightclub dancer before being "discovered" by Gene Kelly and cast in "The Happy Road" (1956), Jean-Pierre Cassel went on to establish himself in a series of Phillipe de Broca comedies, developing the persona and facile smile for the farcical romantic roles that became his metier. The whimsical Frenchman began appearing in English-language films of the 60s like "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines" (1965) and "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969), both featuring star-studded international casts. He was the dinner host in Luis Bunuel's award-winning "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" (1972) and also acted in Sydney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) about the time he was embarking on the Richard Lester "Musketeer" franchise, which saw him play King Louis XIII in "The Three Musketeers" (also 1974) and "The Four Musketeers" (1975), then Cyrano de Bergerac for "The Return of the Musketeers" (1989). The older Cassel has portrayed such character parts as Dr. Paul Gachet in Robert Altman's "Vincent & Theo" and Police Inspector Ledoux for the NBC-miniseries "The Phantom of the Opera" (both 1990), directed by Tony Richardson. More recently, he co-starred with Marisa Berenson in the Lifetime remake of "Notorious" (1992) and portrayed Jacqueline Bisset's wealthy husband in Claude Chabrol's "La Ceremonie" (1994).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1956
Discovered as a dancer in a Paris nightclub by Gene Kelly who cast him in first film, "The Happy Road"
1960
First of five films with writer-director Philippe de Broca, "The Love Game"
1960
Broadway debut, "L'Idiote"
1961
Reteamed with de Broca for "The Five-Day Lover"
1965
Played French aviator in "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines"
1966
Appeared in Rene Clement's "Is Paris Burning?"
1969
Played French colonel in Richard Attenborough's directing debut, "Oh! What a Lovely War"
1972
Acted in Luis Bunel's deliciously comic "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise", which won the Oscar as Best Foreign Film
1974
Part of the all-star international cast of Sidney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express"
1974
Portrayed Louis XIII in Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers"
1975
Reprised Louis XIII for Lester's "The Four Musketeeers"
1978
Acted the part of an endangered chef in "Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?"
1988
Fifth and last feature (to date) with de Broca, "Chouans!"
1989
Played Cyrano de Bergerac in Lester's "Return of the Musketeers"
1990
Appeared as Police Inspector Ledoux in two-part miniseries version of "The Phantom of the Opera" (NBC), directed by Tony Richardson
1990
Portrayed Dr Paul Gauchet in Robert Altman's "Vincent & Theo"; feature version paired down from four-hour European miniseries
1992
Acted in Lifetime's remake of "Notorious"
1994
Co-starred in "La Ceremonie" (released in the USA in 1995)
1994
Reteamed with Altman, playing the Head of the Fashion Council in "Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Bibliography
Notes
On his part in the Lifetime remake of "Notorious": "Alex is a marvelous character because he is a man in love. It's a great quality for a man to be able to be in love. After that, he may be a villain or a nice guy but the principle is that he's in love and that, to me, is always interesting." --Jean-Pierre Cassel
