French postcard by Éditions LMP, no. SH 018. Photo: Studio Harcourt, Paris, 1999.
Dutch poster freecard by John v/d Burg Indoor Media BV. Image: Paradiso. Poster of Romain Durys in L'auberge espagnole / Pot Luck (Cédric Klapisch, 2002).
Dutch poster postcard by Cinéart. Juliette Binoche, Fabrice Luchini and Romain Duris in Paris (Cedric Klapisch, 2008).
The Spanish Apartment Trilogy
Romain Duris was born in Paris in 1974. His father is an engineer-architect and his mother a dancer. His sister, pianist Caroline Duris, played on the soundtrack of the film De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped (Jacques Audiard, 2005), in which he acted.
Duris studied applied arts, first at ELMAD Auguste Renoir and then at the Duperré school from 1993 to January 1995, but dropped out to pursue a music career. He formed an acid-jazz band in which he was a drummer. In 1995, he was featured in a pop video for singer Princess Erika, 'Faut qu'j'travaille' (I Need To Work), where he played the role of a young delinquent robbing gas stations.
In 1993, 19-year-old Duris was noticed by a casting director who saw him waiting in a queue. After an open casting call, he made his film debut in Le péril jeune / The Good Old Daze (Cédric Klapisch, 1994). It was a great success, and he became one of director Cédric Klapisch's favourite actors. In the following years, he specialised in playing rebellious or marginalised youths, much like his role in Le Péril jeune. He became known as French exchange student Xavier Rousseau in Klapisch's popular Spanish Apartment Trilogy: L'Auberge Espagnole / Pot Luck (2002), Les Poupées russes / The Russian Dolls (2005) and Casse-tête chinois / Chinese Puzzle (2013). He also appeared in Klapisch's drama Chacun cherche son chat / When the Cat's Away (Cédric Klapisch, 1996), about a young woman living near the Bastille, who has lost her cat.
Romain Duris received his first nomination for a César Award for Most Promising Actor for the French-Romanian film Gadjo dilo / The Crazy Stranger (Tony Gatlif, 1997). He played a Young Romani, Gatjo. Most of the film was shot at the village of Crețulești, some kilometres from Bucharest, and some of the actors are local Romani people. He has since gone on to become a major star in the French film industry, and his roles ranged from gangsters, as in Dobermann (Jan Kounen, 1997), to action heroes as in Arsène Lupin (Jean-Paul Salomé, 2004). In 1998, he reunited with Tony Gatlif for Je suis né d'une cigogne, and then again with Cédric Klapisch for Peut-être / Perhaps, which garnered him a second César nomination for Most Promising Actor.
His first nomination for the César Award for Best Actor was for De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté / The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005), by Jacques Audiard. Duris gained international recognition for this performance and won the Lumière Award for Best Actor. He reunited with Cédric Klapisch for the French comedy-drama Paris (2008), an uneven but often striking multicharacter mosaic which depicts the stories of a diverse group of people living in Paris. He also starred in the romantic drama Persécution (Patrice Chéreau, 2009) with Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jean-Hugues Anglade. It premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion.
French postcard by Télérama. Photo: Jérôme Bonnet. Louis Garrel and Romain Duris in Dans Paris / Inside Paris (Christophe Honoré, 2006).
French postcard by Télérama. Photo: Patrick Swirc. Romain Duris, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Patrice Chéreau in Persécution (Patrice Chéreau, 2009).
Ever-charming heartbreaker
Romain Duris became a major star in French cinema with his romantic lead in the successful and critically acclaimed romantic comedy L'Arnacoeur / Heartbreaker (Patrick Chaumeil, 2010). Rotten Tomatoes: " While definitely on the fluffier side of French comedy, Heartbreaker benefits from never taking itself too seriously – and from the performance of the ever-charming Romain Duris." Another critical success was his leading role in the psychological thriller L'Homme qui voulait vivre sa vie / The Big Picture (Éric Lartigau, 2010), also with Niels Arestrup and Catherine Deneuve. The story is adapted from the 1997 novel 'The Big Picture' by Douglas Kennedy.
Also interesting was L'écume des jours / Mood Indigo (Michel Gondry, 2013) with Audrey Tautou and Omar Sy. It is an adaptation of Boris Vian's surrealistic romantic novel. He had a supporting role as a kidnapper in the international crime thriller All the Money in the World (Ridley Scott, 2017), based on John Pearson's 1995 book 'Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty'. The film depicts the events surrounding the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III and the refusal of his grandfather, the multi-billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer), to cooperate with the kidnappers' extortion demands.
Duris was again nominated for the César for Best Actor for his role in the French erotic drama Une nouvelle amie / The New Girlfriend (2014), written and directed by François Ozon, based on the short story of the same name by Ruth Rendell. Alan Zilberman at Roger Ebert.com: "The New Girlfriend is told from the perspective of a woman who observes the transition in someone else. Anaïs Demoustier stars as Claire, a woman who has deep concern for David (Romain Duris) after his wife—and Claire’s best friend—dies suddenly. Visiting his home one afternoon, Claire sees David in women’s clothing. Soon, David starts living as Virginia, her secret known only to Claire, and their relationship grows more intense and more sexual. (...) As David/Virginia, Duris is compelling because defiance ultimately defines his role. It also requires more depth, since Virginia has a child and must reconcile her new gender identity with parenthood. Demoustier and Duris have surprising chemistry—we want them together long before they do." His next César nomination was for the Belgian-French comedy-drama Nos batailles / Our Struggles (Guillaume Senez, 2018).
The 2020s marked a new beginning in Romain Duris's career. The actor made a strong comeback at the box office. He played inventor Gustave Eiffel in the semi-biographical romance Eiffel (Martin Bourboulon, 2020), which focuses on the construction of the Eiffel Tower. H The film was controversial due to the romance between Duris's historical character and Emma Mackey's, the age difference between the two actors, and internal discussions between screenwriter Caroline Bongrand and the director. Upon its theatrical release, Eiffel received mixed reviews but reached number one at the French box office. Another blockbuster was Les Trois Mousquetaires: D'Artagnan / The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan (Martin Bourboulon, 2023) based on Alexandre Dumas's 1844 novel. He played Aramis opposite François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Eva Green and Louis Garrel.
Next year, he can be seen in the upcoming French period thriller Fantômas – Le nouveau monde (Frédéric Tellier, 2027). He plays Inspector Juve who investigates a series of brutal crimes committed by an enigmatic master criminal known as Fantômas... Romain Duris was in a relationship with Élodie Bouchez for approximately five years, following the filming of Le Péril Jeune. Since 2008, he has lived with his actress girlfriend, Olivia Bonamy, near the Bastille in Paris. They have two sons, Luigi (2009) and another son (20213) whose name has not been revealed.
French poster freecard by Cart'Com. Image: Ce qui me meut / Studio Canal. Affiche for L'auberge espagnole / Pot Luck (Cédric Klapisch, 2002), with Romain Duris. Caption: Step into the shoes of Xavier, Wendy, Lars... And you too, experience the Inn!
Swiss postcard by Frenetic.ch. Photo: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou and Omar Sy in L'écume des jours / Mood Indigo (Michel Gondry, 2013).
Swiss postcard by Frenetic.ch. Photo: Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris in L'écume des jours / Mood Indigo (Michel Gondry, 2013).
Sources: Alan Zilberman (Roger Ebert.com), Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia (French and English) and IMDb.
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