Christian Jean-Marie Clavier (French pronunciation: [kʁistjɑ̃ ʒɑ̃ maʁi klavje]; born 6 May 1952) is a French actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. A founder of Le Splendid in the 1970s, a Parisian café-théâtre company which soon garnered success, he became widely popular after starring in two hit comedy series: Patrice Leconte's Les Bronzés and Jean-Marie Poiré's Les Visiteurs.
Clavier later furthered his popularity by taking the role of Asterix in screen adaptations of the renowned comic books by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny. In 2023, President Emmanuel Macron saluted Clavier's work, stating: "You have been all the faces of the families of France, the infatuated son-in-law, the bewildered uncle, the pretentious cousin, the jealous husband, the cantankerous father. We have grown and aged with you and our children will grow and age with you".[1]
He is the brother of director Stéphane Clavier.
After his high class studies at the Neuilly Lycée Pasteur—though asserted here and there, he never studied at Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) [2]—he started his actor career with the comedic theater troupe Splendid, which had hits with films like Les Bronzés font du ski and Le Père Noël est une ordure.
His most notable success without the Splendid group, and by far his biggest hit to date, was in the 1993 film les Visiteurs, where he played a character known as Jacquouille la Fripouille; the character's cry of "Okkkayyy!!" became a popular exclamation after the movie's success.
After les Visiteurs he was a star, participating in big-budget films like Astérix et Obélix contre César, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre, and the sequel and remake of Visiteurs. He also played several dramatic roles on television, including M. Thénardier in Les Misérables (2000 television version) and Napoléon in a biographical television film. In 2018, he returned to the character of Asterix, this time by providing the character's voice in the animated film Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion. Succeeding the character's original voice actor, Roger Carel, it was his first role in an animated movie.
Clavier has played in notable duos with:
He also runs a production company, Ouille Production.
He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite on 13 June 1998,[3] and promoted Officier (Officer) in 2005.[3] He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 2008.[4]
He is a friend of former French président Nicolas Sarkozy, and in 2012 emigrated to The United Kingdom. He denies this was as a result of Francois Hollande's punitive tax policy.[5]
Movies starring Christian Clavier with more than a million of admissions in France.
