Smoldering eyes, slicked-back hair, a dazzling smile… Thinking of James Bond? You’re not (that) far off. We’re happy to (re)introduce Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, alias OSS 117, AKA Jean Dujardin himself. At your service.
In 2006, “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies” established itself as such a brilliant parody of 1950s and 1960s spy films that it was followed, three years later, by “OSS 117: Rio Doesn’t Answer,” and then, in 2021, by “OSS 117: Red Alert in Black Africa.” These three films are highlights of Jean Dujardin’s career; he masterfully handles the absurd humor and now-cult-classic dialogue of France’s most bumbling spy like no one else.
Rights Holders: Gaumont
Jean Dujardin began his working life as a mirror maker and locksmith. It was during his military service that his comedic talent came to light: the army would prove to be a major source of inspiration for him. After moving to Paris and appearing on the show *Graine(s) de star*, Jean Dujardin first found his niche on television, where he played Loulou, the alter ego of Chouchou (Alexandra Lamy), in the sitcom*Un gars, une fille*.
From *”Mariages!” * to *”Brice de Nice,”* via *”L’Amour aux trousses,”* and *”Les petits mouchoirs,”* he cemented his status as the darling of French cinema before becoming the darling of American cinema: “The Artist” earned him the Best Actor Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and the Oscar for Best Actor. On this side of the Atlantic, he also appeared in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013) and“Monument Men.” On that side, the fingers of both hands aren’t enough to count them all…
Sharp, funny, elegant, and complex, Jean Dujardin—”France’s most down-to-earth star”—is sure to be the star of the red carpet at the11th Liège International Comedy Film Festival.
Texts by Frédérique Siccard
The screenwriter
Jean-François Halin, along with Benoît Delépine and Bruno Gaccio, was a writer for *Les Guignols de l’info*, which aired on Canal+ from 1990 to 1996. He is also the screenwriter—either alone or in collaboration with Michel Hazanavicius—of the *OSS 117* films. For the bathrobe scene, he “parodied James Bond clichés and, in particular, Sean Connery in *Goldfinger*: the tall, muscular brunette, hairy all over, the epitome of virility, wearing that improbable, unwearable bathrobe-shorts hybrid as if it were the height of chic.”
When OSS 117 returns from the pool with the stunning Carlotta (Reem Kherici), “he, too, is wearing that ridiculous sky-blue bathrobe-shorts combo and is trying his best to strike the most charming pose possible while waiting for Carlotta to come out of the bathroom. He can’t imagine just how ridiculous it all is—both the pose and the outfit. And Jean Dujardin is absolutely wonderful, with that huge smile, that vacant gaze, and that ability to pretend he’s always one step ahead—when the viewer is already four or five steps ahead of him.”
