Clovis Cornillac

French actor Clovis Cornillac, who'd landed his first TV role at age 15, was practically a veteran thespian by the time he was nominated for Most Promising Actor at the 2000 César Awards. A deft character player with the magnetic presence of a leading man, Cornillac was well-known in his home territory as the son of celebrated actors Myriam Boyer and Roger Cornillac--and for his recurring TV role on the long-running French cop drama "Night Squad."

Crossing to the other side of the law, he delighted audiences and garnered another César nod, as Best Supporting Actor, for his portrayal of a mercurial mobster in the comic crime story "Nickel and Dime." The following year brought both the release of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's international hit World War I romance, "A Very Long Engagement," featuring Cornillac as a condemned soldier, and the romantic comedy "Mensonges et trahisons et plus si affinités...," for which the actor won the César for Best Supporting Actor. A bona fide movie star, Cornillac took on a homegrown hit film franchise with the comic book adaptation "Asterix at the Olympic Games."