portraits
Portrait
Cinema

Vincent Lindon

I know a bit about what I represent, but I don’t want to know too much about it.

An explosive and sensitive performer, Vincent Lindon is now considered one of the greatest actors in French cinema. A modest rise marked by socially-aware roles.

 

Published on 26/06/2019

2 min

When discussing his career, Vincent Lindon compares it to a game of “Red Light, Green Light”: He advanced through the world of French cinema without rushing things, and has now become one of the biggest actors in the country.

After graduating from the Cours Florent acting school and having been cast in a few small roles, the actor saw his career take on another dimension in 1988 when he acted opposite Sophie Marceau in The Student (“L'Étudiante”). This film made him known to the general public and marked the beginning of a very rich career.

Whether he is acting in comedies (Crisis-Go-’Round (“La Crise"), 1992, My Little Business (“Ma petite entreprise"), 1999) or in dramas (Those Who Remain (“Ceux qui restent"), 2007, Welcome, 2009, The Measure of a Man (“La Loi du marché”), 2015), Vincent Lindon is passionate about his roles, explaining that to him, "in cinema, you can judge a book by its cover". 2009

Focusing on acting in films which stick close to reality, "which speak about our contemporaries, about our society", Vincent Lindon is seen as a socially-engaged actor, representing a part of the population that suffers in silence.

In 2009, with Welcome, he turned his attention to the situation of migrants. The actor portrayed an elite swimmer who decides to help a young person without papers. Another film, another fight: In 2015, the actor was in The Measure of a Man, a film about a man seeking to rebuild his life after losing his job.

While Vincent Lindon admits that he is outraged and angry, he explains that these choices are not made consciously, and that it is above all by reading scripts that he chooses his roles.

A well-known actor in France and abroad – notably, he was jury president at the Deauville American Film Festival in 2013 – Vincent Lindon saw his brilliant career recognized beginning in 2015: He won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 for his role in The Measure of a Man, a César for Best Actor in 2016 and, the same year, a lifetime achievement Magritte Award in Belgium.

Not to mention his success in the United States: The Measure of a Man was released across the Atlantic and a retrospective of his works was organized in April 2016 by the Metrograph in New York, where five of its greatest films were screened.

The White Knights (“Les Chevaliers blancs") ( trailer)
The White Knights (“Les Chevaliers blancs") ( trailer)
  • 1988

    1988

    Vincent Lindon plays his first major role alongside Sophie Marceau in The Student.

  • 1989

    1989

    He receives the Jean Gabin Prize, which recognizes rising stars of French cinema.

  • 1993

    1993

    The actor is nominated for his first César Award, in the Best Actor category for his role in Crisis-Go-Round.

  • 2015

    2015

    Vincent Lindon receives the Best Actor Prizes at the Cannes Film Festival for The Measure of a Man.

  • 2016

    2016

    Vincent Lindon receives the César Awards for The Measure of a Man.

  • 2016

    2016

    A retrospective is organised in his honour in New York, screening five of his films.

The Institut français and the actor

Four films featuring Vincent Lindon are distributed internationally by the Institut français: Seventh Heaven (“Le Septième Ciel”, 1997), A Few Hours of Spring (“Quelques heures de printemps”, 2011), Pater (2011) and The White Knights (“Les Chevaliers blancs”, 2014). 

 

The Institut français offers a catalogue of over 2,500 titles, enabling the French cultural network and its partners to screen French films around the world.

 

Learn more about the film catalogue.

L'institut français, LAB