In a country like Colombia where the headlines are often comparisons with famous foreigners, we will refuse to compare this character with anyone other than himself. Vincent Cassel is the Vincent Cassel of France, Europe and the world. For some years he was considered the new Depardieu, but we believe that he is already a proper name in his country.
This actor born in Paris on November 23, 1966, and with the original surname Crochon, has as parents a journalist and the actor Jean Pierre Cassel who worked a lot with Claude Brunol and Luis Bunuel (Cassel senior starred in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie ) . . He began by educating himself as an actor at the school of the renowned mime, actor and theater director Jean-Louis Barrault.
His career began to be recognized when together with the director Mathieu Kassovitz -Amelie ‘s heartthrob- (with whom he had filmed a romantic comedy that is not widely recognized called Metisse in 1993) they premiered El Odio ( La Haine ).
Vincent Cassel and racist France
Here Cassel at 28 years old was a Vinz, a boxer of a frightful genius. This film is iconic, as it set a precedent by showing the reality of a postmodern racist France. This is how the world got to know the exotic face of the French actor, among the immigrant suburbs of Paris, in black and white and with a street language that was a precursor to introducing this kind of slang into the world of cinema. Here he received his first Cesar Award nomination.
Other films came after this success and I continue the recognition with The Apartment ( L’Appartement ), a film that won a Bafta for best film and was directed by Gilles Mimouni, a completely opposite and glamorous role that showed his ability to act in adaptation. Here Monica Bellucci met, who would be her partner for more than 20 years.
In multifaceted roles
Little by little, more roles arrived that we all remember, such as Dobermann’s –also with Bellucci- in which he played a hitman named Yan Lepentrec alias Dobermann.
In 2002 he returned to be directed by Kassovitz in The Purple Rivers , co-starring with Jean Reno ( The Perfect Assassin ).
In 2001, he filmed Read My Lips for director Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) and received his second Cesar nomination (the French Oscar).
Marriage movies
There have been 9 films in total in the company of who was his wife. Perhaps the most controversial was Irreversible from 2002 by Argentine Gaspar Noe. Cassel also co-produced the psychological horror film that featured a heavy rape scene.
The chronology of the film happens in reverse and although this narrative form is one of its strengths, its harshness earned it many detractors to the point of being prohibited for distribution in some countries. It is still considered a cult film.
While his career was projected in French-speaking cinema, English-language cinema has also used his talent in stories such as Birthday Girl (in which Kassovitz also stars) with Nicole Kidman and Ben Chaplin or in Trance , directed by Danny Boyle and sharing scenes with James McAvoy and one more remembered, Ocean’s Twelve as the rival of the group led by George Clooney where his talent with capoeira produced a perfect scene of a white-collar thief who evades laser sensors.
Another Caesar in the bag
Mesrine arrived in 2007 , the film that finally gave him the Cesar and many other awards as best actor. Jaques Mesrine is considered one of the great French criminals; con man, thief, murderer, kidnapper who became the most wanted criminal in the 60’s, 70’s. It was directed by Jean Francois Richet and has two parts.
Cassel was applauded by critics playing this ex-military man who went rogue and became a public menace. According to the actor, something that he feared from his performance is that he would end up extolling the character as has happened with other criminal bosses, but he achieved the perfect balance between the role and reality.
Passing through the Black Swan
In 2010 it was the evil ballet instructor Thomas Leroy who made life miserable for Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder in The Black Swan . For this performance he received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
Cassel no longer does casting , they call him to interpret characters defined for him, many times he has had the luxury of saying no, especially if there is not much depth in the role, his motivation has never been money and those who know him affirm which is far from being considered a sex symbol.
With Belluci he had two daughters and they lived between Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Paris and London. They divorced in 2013, after being one of the most stable couples on the scene for 14 years. He recently revealed his romance with a 19-year-old model with whom he is very active on the networks.
In 2014 he made the French version of Beauty and the Beast in the role of the prince with the promise of French cinema Lea Seydoux ( La vida de Adele ). The last film that Colombians could see of him in theaters was Mon Roi with Emmanuelle Bercott like your partner.
Vincent’s life in recent years until 2022
Cassel has not stopped working for a single year of his life. Since 2014, she has been in 24 movies and series, including My Love (2015); Jason Bourne (2016) ; The Emperor of Paris (2018); the Westworld series (2020) and the movie Fireheart (2022). Vincent shows that at 56 she still has a lot to give for world cinema and television.
