Vincent Perez

Handsome, soulful-eyed, exotic-looking leading man 'Vincent Perez' (qv) 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' (qv) in _Das Jadehaus (1988)_ (qv) and 'Catherine Deneuve' (qv) in the Oscar-winning film _Indochine (1992)_ (qv). His true cinematic breakthrough, however, came as the callow, vacuous lover "Christian" opposite 'Gérard Depardieu' (qv)'s _Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)_ (qv). The film is considered these days the definitive version of the 'Edmond Rostand' (qv) classic.With this phenomenal European success, the lithe, moody heartthrob branched out internationally, finally making his American film debut in _The Crow: City of Angels (1996)_ (qv), taking over the vengeful title role from the late 'Brandon Lee' (qv) 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 _I Dreamed of Africa (2000)_ (qv), _Bride of the Wind (2001)_ (qv) and _Queen of the Damned (2002)_ (qv) with the late musical star 'Aaliyah' (qv).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 (2003)_ (qv); the Italian drama _Happiness Costs Nothing (2003)_ (qv); the French/Swiss comedy co-production _Welcome to Switzerland (2004)_ (qv); the Swedish action drama _Arn: The Knight Templar (2007)_ (qv); the French dramas _Tomorrow at Dawn (2009)_ (qv), _Monsieur Papa (2011)_ (qv), _Der Kuss des Schmetterlings (2011)_ (qv) and _Hip-Hip i Hurra: Kto porwal bociany? (2011)_ (qv); the Irish drama _The Price of Desire (2015)_ (qv); the Australian romantic dramedy _Ladies in Black (2018)_ (qv); and the U.S. action adventure _The Aeronauts (2019)_ (qv).Perez has been married to model/actress 'Karine Silla' (qv) 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' (qv).::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]