Alain Chabat

Alain Chabat
Chabat in 2006
Born	(1958-11-24) 24 November 1958 Oran, Algeria
Occupation	Actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer, television presenter
Years active	1987–present

Alain Chabat (French pronunciation: ​[alɛ̃ ʃaba(t)]; born 24 November 1958) is an Algerian-born French actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer and television presenter. He was originally known for his work in the comedy group Les Nuls, including as the co-writer and lead actor of La Cité de la peur (1994). He has since then become a notable filmmaker of his own, typically both writing and starring in the movies he directed, which include cult comedy films such as Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, RRRrrrr!!!, Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami and Santa & Cie.

He also appeared in French Twist, The Taste of Others, The Science of Sleep, Happily Ever After and the television series Kaamelott. Additionally, he voiced the title character in the French dubbing of the Shrek franchise.

Life and career

Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria. He is Jewish.

His media career began in 1987 when he founded the comedy group "Les Nuls" (The Lame-os) with Bruno Carette, Chantal Lauby and Dominique Farrugia. Les Nuls' first appearance on French television, on the subscriber channel Canal Plus, was a sci-fi spoof entitled Objectif Nul (a word play with Objectif Lune, the French title of the comic album Destination Moon, one of The Adventures of Tintin). The show shares striking similarities with the British TV series Red Dwarf, although both shows were released at roughly the same time and it is unlikely one influenced the other.

Both as a member of Les Nuls (in La Cité de la Peur) and in his solo efforts (including Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, in which he both directed and acted), Chabat is one of the few French comedians who has managed to successfully emulate the heavily referential, pop-culture-based writing style of the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker trio and adapt it to the tastes of the French audience.

Chabat also voiced the title character in the French dubs of all four Shrek films, replacing Mike Myers. He won the César Award for Best Debut in 1998 for Didier.

He co-starred in Happily Ever After (2004) and in Prête-moi ta main (2006) (which he also wrote) alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg. He played Napoleon Bonaparte in the 2009 film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Baby Blood	Slained Passerby
1991	The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck	Gérard Martinez
1992	Pizza blob	Professor Liégeois	Short
1994	La Cité de la peur	Serge Karamazov / Youri / Jacques	Also co-writer
	Parano	Pilot
	À la folie	Thomas
	One Night of Hypocrisy		Short
1995	French Twist	Laurent Lafaye	Nominated - César Award for Best Actor
1996	Beaumarchais	Courtier
	Delphine 1, Yvan 0	Pierre Krief
1997	Didier	Didier / Didje Hazanavicius	Also director and writer César Award for Best Debut Nominated - César Award for Best Actor
	Le cousin	Gérard Delvaux
1998	Quest for Camelot	Devon / Cornwall (voice)	French dub
1999	Trafic d'influence	Priest
	Mes amis	Etienne
	La débandade	Specialist
2000	The Taste of Others	Bruno Deschamps	Nominated - César Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - Chlotrudis Award - Best Cast
	Kitchendales	Enzo's Mother	Direct-to-video
2001	L'art (délicat) de la séduction	Master Zen
	Shrek	Shrek (voice)	French dub
2002	Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra	Julius Caesar	Also director, writer and co-producer Nominated - European Film Award - Best Actor
2003	Chouchou	Stanislas de la Tour-Maubourg
	Laisse tes mains sur mes hanches	Bernard
	Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose ?	Peter Mc Gray
	The Car Keys	Dog Seller
2004	RRRrrrr!!!	Pierre the Medicine Man
	Casablanca Driver	Doctor Brenson
	Happily Ever After	Georges
	Shrek 2	Shrek (voice)	French dub
2005	Papa	Papa
2006	The Science of Sleep	Guy
	I Do	Luis Costa	Also co-writer and producer Nominated - César Award for Best Actor
2007	Garage Babes	Narrator/The Cacou	Direct-to-video
	Shrek the Third	Shrek (voice)	French dub
2008	15 ans et demi	Norbert
	Me Two	Gilles Gabriel	Also producer
	Un monde à nous	English Teacher	Also producer
2009	Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian	Napoleon Bonaparte	Also French dub
	Trésor	Jean-Pierre
	Le siffleur	Tax Auditor
2010	Shrek Forever After	Shrek (voice)	French dub
2011	War of the Buttons	Monsieur Labru
	Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2	Silas (voice)	Short film, English and French dub
2012	A Thousand Words	Christian Léger de la Touffe	Also producer Also French dub
	Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami	Dan Geraldo	Also director, writer and producer
	Ice Age: Continental Drift	Silas (voice)	English and French dub
2013	Turf	Nicos Fivos	Also producer
	Les gamins	Gilbert
	Mood Indigo	Jules Gouffé
2014	Reality	Jason Tantra
	Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods	Senator Prospectus (voice)
2017	Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets	Bob the Pirate
	Santa & Cie	Santa	Also director, writer and producer
2018	Keep an Eye Out!	Screams of pain (voice)	Cameo
2019	Play	Max's father
	#Jesuislà	Stéphane
2021	Kaamelott: The First Chapter	The Duke of Aquitaine
TBA	Incroyable mais vrai	Alain	Post-production

Key

Denotes films not yet released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Objectif: Nul	Capitain Lamar/Various characters	TV Series (all episodes)
1989	Palace	Cédric	TV Series (1 Episode)
1990	Histoire(s) de la télévision	Roland Gilet	TV Series
1993	La Classe américaine	Deep Throat	Voice role TV Movie
1998	Ivre mort pour la patrie	German General	TV Short
2001	La cape et l'épée	Minstrel	TV Series (2 Episodes)
2001–2002 2018–present	Burger Quiz	Himself (host)	Broadcast: Canal + (2001–2002) / TMC (2018–present) Also co-creator and co-writer
2006	Avez-vous déjà vu..?	Narrator/Various voices	TV Series (all episodes)
2007	Kaamelott	The Duke of Aquitaine	TV Series (4 Episodes)
2008	Rien dans les poches	Rita	Also producer TV Movie
2011	Le grand restaurant II	A Client	TV Movie

External links

• Alain Chabat at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview of Alain Chabat. Artistik Rezo. 2010-06-15.