Handsome, soulful-eyed, exotic-looking leading man
Vincent Perez is known for his grand and glossy French pictures,
exuding a sexy stare and irresistible charm that has swept Gallic women
off their feet for over two decades.
Perez was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, to a German mother and a Spanish businessman father. From the classical theatre stage
(Paris Conservatoire, L'Ecole des Amandiers) and in works ranging from
Shakespeare to Chekhov, Perez became an instant romantic idol after pairing opposite slightly older femme stars Jacqueline Bisset in Das Jadehaus (1988) and Catherine Deneuve in
the Oscar-winning film
Indochine (1992). His true cinematic breakthrough, however, came as the callow, vacuous lover "Christian" opposite
Gérard Depardieu's
Cyrano von Bergerac (1990). The
film is considered these days the definitive version of the
Edmond Rostand classic.
With this phenomenal European success, the lithe, moody heartthrob branched out
internationally, finally making his American film debut in
The Crow: Die Rache der Krähe (1996),
taking over the vengeful title role from the late
Brandon Lee who was accidentally
killed in the original. The sequel proved lackluster and the U.S.
has since been surprisingly and sadly unresponsive. This may be in
part due to his subsequent American movies, which have included the passionless
Ich träumte von Afrika (2000),
Die Windsbraut (2001) and
Die Königin der Verdammten (2002)
with the late musical star Aaliyah.
Continuing into the millennium, Perez has remained an overseas art-house favorite and has graced scores of international films including the title role in the romantic French adventure Fanfan der Husar (2003); the Italian drama La felicità non costa niente (2003); the French/Swiss comedy co-production Bienvenue en Suisse (2004); the Swedish action drama Arn - Der Kreuzritter (2007); the French dramas Demain dès l'aube (2009), Monsieur Papa (2011), Der Kuss des Schmetterlings (2011) and Kto porwal bociany? (2011); the Irish drama The Price of Desire (2015); the Australian romantic dramedy Ladies in Black (2018); and the U.S. action adventure The Aeronauts (2019).
Perez has been married to model/actress
Karine Silla since 1998 and they have three
children, including one set of twins). Sylla also has a child by
Perez's ex-co-star Gérard Depardieu.
