Acting

Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu

Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu (2 July 1949 – 27 December 2010) was a French actor. He made more than 100 appearances in movies and television over his career, as well as in theatrical roles. He was often cast as a villain, criminal or psychopath. Donnadieu was the French voice of many lead roles in English-language movies dubbed into French. He studied theatre and literature at the Sorbonne Paris III. Donnadieu's earliest notable film roles came in 1976 with The Tenant by Roman Polanski, and Second Chance (French: Si c'était à refaire, lit. 'If I Had to Do It All Over Again') by Claude Lelouch. The film which earned him wider recognition was Georges Lautner's 1981 action thriller, The Professional in which he had a major role, appearing with Jean-Paul Belmondo. Other notable film roles were the title part in The Return of Martin Guerre by Daniel Vigne, and in George Sluizer's The Vanishing, for which Donnadieu won best acting awards at the 1989 Madrid Film Festival and the 1990 Porto Film Festival. He was nominated for a best supporting actor César Award for his 1984 role as the dangerous criminal gang leader in Rue Barbare ('Barbarian Street'). His final film appearance was in 2008 in Christophe Barratier's Paris 36 (released in France as Faubourg 36).