From “Wolves’ Pact” to “Paris, I love you” via “A Long Engagement Sunday” and “Kiss whoever you want”, a return in six films to the first cinematographic roles of the late Gaspard Ulliel.
Before obtaining his first major role as a headliner in 2007 with Jacquou Le Croquant, the late Gaspard Ulliel already had a fine career on the big screen to his credit, illustrating himself in front of the big screen camera such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet, André Téchiné or Gus Van Sant. From the Pact of the Wolves to Paris, I love you, via A Long Engagement Sunday and Embrace whoever you want, a return in six films to the actor’s first cinematographic roles.
The Wolf Pact (2001)
Metropolitan FilmExport
After debuts on television, Gaspard ulliel gets his first role for the big screen in 2001. Aged 16, the young actor plays a small role in The Pact of the Wolves by Christophe Gans, a feature film in which he is one of the victims of La Bête du Gevaudan. Sacred first experience for Ulliel, who shares the bill with Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci and Jérémie Renier.
Kiss Whoever You Want (2002)
UFD
Almost two years after its short appearance in the credits of pact of wolves, Gaspard ulliel takes a step forward with the role of Loïc in the comedy Kiss whoever you want. Under the direction of Michel Blanc, he embodies a boy discovering love, not insensitive to the charm of Mélanie Laurent. A performance that won over his peers, Ulliel being nominated for the César for Best Male Hope for the occasion.
The Lost (2003)
March Cast
The Lost, directed by André Techine, is the film that reveals Gaspard ulliel to the general public. The actor plays Yvan, a teenager who, in 1940, will take care of a teacher (Emmanuelle Béart) and her two children. while the Germans are at the gates of Paris. Incandescent and stunningly beautiful, Ulliel captivates the Croisette, where the film is presented in Competition, and does not leave the Académie des César indifferent, which offers him a new nomination for the César for Best Male Newcomer.
A Long Engagement Sunday (2004)
Bruno Calvo and Gilles Berquet
One of his most notable roles. In A long engagement Sunday, Gaspard ulliel embodies Manech, the fiancé of Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) who disappeared during the First World War and whom she will try by all means to find. A man who would be one of the five soldiers judged in court-martial then put in the first line on the front and abandoned to the enemy. For her performance in the feature film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet adapted from the novel by Sébastien Japrisot, Gaspard Ulliel won the César for Best Male Newcomer in 2005.
The Last Day (2004)
Gemini Films
At Christmas, Simon arrives at his parents’ house with a young stranger he met on the night train. During the stay, a phone call comes to stir this family on which a closely guarded secret has weighed for 20 years. Such is the story of the drama The Last Day, whose Gaspard ulliel stars alongside Nicole Garcia and Melanie Laurent, whom he finds shortly after Kiss whoever you want.
Director Rodolphe Marconi remembers a memorable photo session with Gaspard Ulliel before filming The Last Day. “The session is going so well that it lasts two days…”, says the filmmaker. “Gaspard makes me want to make this film, I rewrite for him and he accepts the role (…) We saw each other a lot before shooting. We talked more about ourselves than about the film.”
“After a week of shooting, there was no longer any question of talking to each other about the vision we had of the scenes, the words or the silences; everything was done almost naturally, in a certain fusion, in the common vision of the film. that we had him and me,” continued Marconi. “It was almost confusing to see how he became another, he embodied Simon as I had imagined, that is to say not very far from me.”
Paris, I love you (2006)
The Film Factory
In 2006, Gaspard ulliel figure in the prestigious credits of the sketch film Paris I love you. The actor stars in Le Marais, a segment devoted to the 4th arrondissement of Paris and produced by the American Gus Van Sant. In this sketch, Gaspard Ulliel embodies the assistant of a photographer played by Marianne Faithfull. While working for a printer in the Marais district, he falls in love with an apprentice…
