Jean Rochefort (29 April 1930 – 9 October 2017) was a French actor.
His career spanned more than five decades from the late 1950s up to the 2010s, in 113 theatrically released films and 37 TV productions. He was famous for his Deadpan Snarker talents in comedies and his trademark mustache. He was often employed in supporting roles, in period pieces especially, though he also got to shine in main roles such as in Un éléphant ça trompe énormément and Les Grands Ducs.
He narrated a lot of nature documentaries, was fond of horse riding and famously enjoyed commenting equestrian competitions, those of the Olympic Games in particular.
Selected filmography:
- Le Capitaine Fracasse (1961) as Malartic
- Cartouche (1962) as La Taupe
- The Iron Mask (1962) as Lastréaumont
- The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972) as Colonel Louis Toulouse
- Reprised the role in The Return of the Tall Blond Man (1974)
- Comment réussir quand on est con et pleurnichard (How to Do Well When You are a Jerk and a Crybaby, 1974) as Foisnard
- Un éléphant ça trompe énormément (1976, English title Pardon Mon Affaire) as Etienne Dorsay
- Reprised the role in Nous irons tous au paradis (1977, English title Pardon Mon Affaire, Too!)
- Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978) as Auguste Grandvilliers
- The Timekeeper (1992) as Louis XV
- Prêt-à-Porter (1994) as Inspector Tantpis
- Les Grands Ducs (1996) as Eddie Carpentier
- Ridicule (1996) as the Marquis of Bellegarde
- The Count of Monte Cristo (1998) as Fernand Mondego/Fernand de Morcerf
- The Closet (2001) as Kopel
- Lost in La Mancha (2002) as himself
- Blanche (2002) as Cardinal Mazarin
- Frankenstein (2004 miniseries) as the blind man playing violin
- Les Dalton (2004 film) as Jolly Jumper (voice)
- Tell No One (2006) as Gilbert Neuville
- Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007) as the Maître d'Hôtel
- Asterix & Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012) as Lucius Fouinus
Tropes & Trivia in his works:
- What Could Have Been: Rochefort was set to play Don Quixote in Terry Gilliam's long-gestating project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. He participated in the first days of filming but eventually had to drop out for serious health reasons. Back in 1999-2000, that filming attempt turned into an absolute nightmare and was seemingly canned, and that disaster was chronicled in Lost in La Mancha. Years later however, Gilliam managed to resume filming on the project, with Rochefort being replaced by Jonathan Pryce. Rochefort passed away in 2017 a few months before its release, so Gilliam made sure to dedicate the film to him and John Hurt (another actor Gilliam wanted in the role at some point, he also passed in 2017).
