Patrick Jean Marie Henri Bourdeaux (January 26, 1947 - July 16, 1982), better known as Patrick Dewaere, was a French actor and songwriter.
Born in a family of entertainers and artists, the Maurins (he was the son of actress Mado Maurin and an unknown father, and the older half-brother of Dominique Collignon-Maurin), he started his career on stage at age 3. He later performed at the Parisian Café de la Gare, and got his major break (along with Gérard Depardieu and Miou-Miou, his comrades at the Café de la Gare) in 1974 with the film Les Valseuses.
He was known for his natural, lifelike and fiery Method Acting, earning five nominations for Best Actor at the César awards as well as a nomination for the César of Best Supporting Role — to say that he was snubbed (often in favor of the aforementioned Depardieu) would be an understatement.
He was a deeply troubled man, which reflected in many of his intense performances and the roles he chose. He ended up committing suicide by gunshot (with a gun that was gifted to him by his friend Coluche) at the age of 35 after going through drug addiction and a number of life tragedies. He is the father of screenwriter Angèle Herry (which he had with his then girlfriend Miou-Miou) and actress Lola Dewaere (which he had with his wife Élisabeth Malvina Chalier).
Works he has appeared in include:
- Wuthering Heights (1964) as young Heathcliff
- Is Paris Burning? (1966) as a French resistance fighter
- The Married Couple of the Year Two (1971) as a Garde Nationale soldier
- Les Valseuses (1974) as Pierrot
- Pas de problème ! (1975) as the bartender
- Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) as Stéphane
- Série noire (1979) as Franck Poupart
Tropes about his works:
- Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul: The premise of Paradis pour tous, his last film, where a special shock treatment can make someone permanently happy.
- Meta Casting: He played a lot of misfit, fragile, drugged, neurotic individuals. Which he was in Real Life, Life Imitates Art may or may not have applied.
- Posthumous Credit: His last film, Paradis pour tous, was released over a month after his death.
- Stage Names: He first performed as "Patrick Maurin", then later chose to be credited as "Dewaere". It was his grandmother's maiden name.
- Vindicated by History: Critics were passionately split about him actually (he got snubbed several times at the César awards). It wasn't until his death that his performances were reevalued and given more unanimous (and overdue) cinephile praise.
