Life and career

Rochefort was born in Paris, France. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen He was 19 years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National. After his national service, in 1953, he worked with the Compagnie Grenier Hussenot as a theatre actor for seven years. There he was noticed for his ability to play both drama and comedy. He then became a television and cinema actor. He has also worked as director.

After some supporting roles in Cartouche, Captain Fracasse and in Merveilleuse Angélique, Jean Rochefort played his first big role with Annie Girardot as his wife and Claude Jade as their daughter in Hearth Fires in 1972. In this drama he starred as a man who leaves his family for ten years before returning. Four years after Hearth Fires he was the leading star of the midlife crisis comedy An Elephant Can Be Extremely Deceptive as a man who risks his married life with Danièle Delorme for an affair with Anny Duperey. Thanks to this comedy, Rochefort get a big popularity. In 1972, he starred opposite Pierre Richard as Chief of Counter-Espionage Louis Toulouse in the Yves Robert comedy Le Grand Blond avec Une Chasseure Noire, a role he reprised in the 1974 sequel Le Retour du Grand Blond, also directed by Robert. In 1998, he starred as "Fernand de Morcerf" opposite Gerard Depardieu in the mini-series Le Comte de Monte Cristo.

In his 30s during the shooting of Cartouche, he discovered his passion for horses and equestrianism. He has been a horse breeder since then and now owns Le Haras de Villequoy. His passion led him to become a horse consultant for French television in 2004. He has won two César Awards: in 1976, Best Supporting Actor for Que la fête commence; and in 1978, Best Actor for Le Crabe-tambour.

In the eighties, he became the narrator of the French version of Welcome to Pooh Corner, replacing Laurie Main. This made him popular with children at the time and Disney hired him to record several audio versions of their classic movies. In the nineties, he came back to comedy with Les Grands Ducs where he played alongside two other actors of his generation with a similar career, Philippe Noiret and Jean-Pierre Marielle.

He was to play the title character in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, after being found as "the perfect Quixote" by director Terry Gilliam. Rochefort learned English just for the part. Unfortunately, amongst other production problems, he began suffering from a herniated disc. Unable to film for months, production was cancelled. A documentary, Lost in La Mancha, was made about the failed production.

In 1960 he married Alexandra Moscwa, with whom he has three children: Marie (1962), Julien (1965) and Guillaume. Rochefort and actress-filmmaker Nicole Garcia, has a son Pierre. In his second marriage, he has two children, Louise (1990) and Clémence (1992), with Françoise Vidal.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director
1956	Rencontre à Paris (fr) ("Meeting in Paris")	uncredited	Georges Lampin
1958	Une balle dans le canon (fr) ("A Bullet in the Gun Barrel")	Léopold	Michel Deville and Charles Gérard
1961	Vingt mille lieues sur la terre ("20,000 Leagues Across the Land")	Fernand	Marcello Pagliero
	Le Capitaine Fracasse	Malartic	Pierre Gaspard-Huit
1962	"Cartouche" ("Swords of Blood")	La Taupe	Philippe de Broca
	"Le Soleil dans l'oeil" ("Sun in Your Eyes")	cameo appearance	Jacques Bourdon
	Le Masque de fer ("The Iron Mask")	Lastréaumont	Henri Decoin
1963	"Fort-du-fou" ("Outpost in Indo-china")	Noyelles	Léo Joannon
	"Symphonie pour un massacre (fr)" ("Symphony for a Massacre")	Jabeke	Jacques Deray
	La Porteuse de pain (fr) ("The Bread Peddler")	Ovide Soliveau	Maurice Cloche
	La Foire aux cancres (fr) ("The Blockhead Fair")	Sigoules	Louis Daquin
1964	Du grabuge chez les veuves (fr) ("Trouble Among Widows")	inspector Laforêt	Jacques Poitrenaud
	Les Pieds nickelés (fr)	Croquignol	Jean-Claude Chambon (fr)
	Angélique	François Desgrez	Bernard Borderie
1965	Merveilleuse Angélique ("Angelique: The Road to Versailles")
	Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine ("Up to His Ears")	Leon	Philippe de Broca
1966	Angélique et le roy ("Angelique and the King")	François Desgrez	Bernard Borderie
	À cœur joie ("Two Weeks in September")	Philippe	Serge Bourguignon
	Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? ("Who Are You, Polly Magoo?")	Grégoire Pecque	William Klein
1967	Le Dimanche de la vie (fr)	Capitaine Bordeille	Jean Herman
1968	Ne jouez pas avec les Martiens ("Don't Play with Martians")	René Mastier	Henri Lanoë (fr)
	Pour un amour lointain (fr)	Guillaume	Edmond Séchan
1969	Le Diable par la queue (fr) ("The Devil by the Tail")	Georges, comte de Coustines	Philippe de Broca.
	Le Temps de mourir ("The Time to Die")	Hervé Breton	André Farwagi (fr)
1970	La Liberté en croupe (fr)	Moss	Édouard Molinaro
	Céleste (fr)	Georges Cazenave	Michel Gast (fr)
1972	Le Grand blond avec une chaussure noire ("The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe")	Colonel Louis Toulouse	Yves Robert
	L'Œuf (fr) ("The Egg")	Victor Dugommier	Jean Herman
	Les Feux de la chandeleur ("Hearth Fires")	Alexandre Boursault	Serge Korber
1973	L'Héritier (fr) ("The Inheritor")	André Berthier	Philippe Labro
	Bel ordure (fr) ("Lovely Swine")	the police inspector	Jean Marbœuf (fr)
	Le Complot (fr) ("The Conspiracy")	Dominic	René Gainville
	Salut l'artiste ("Hail The Artist")	Clément	Yves Robert
	Dio, sei proprio un padreterno! ("Mean Frank and Crazy Tony")	Louis Annunziata	Michele Lupo
1974	L'Horloger de Saint-Paul ("The Clockmaker")	Inspector Guilboud	Bertrand Tavernier
	Comment réussir quand on est con et pleurnichard ("How to Make Good When One Is a Jerk and a Crybaby")	Foisnard	Michel Audiard
	Le fantôme de la liberté ("The Phantom of Liberty")	Monsieur Legendre	Luis Buñuel
	Mio Dio, come sono caduta in basso! ("Till Marriage Do Us Part")	Baron Henri De Sarcey	Luigi Comencini
	Retour du grand blond ("The Return of the Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe")	Colonel Toulouse	Yves Robert
	Isabelle devant le désir (fr) ("Isabelle and Lust")	Monsieur Vaudois	Jean-Pierre Berckmans
	Que la fête commence... ("Let Joy Reign Supreme")	Dubois	Bertrand Tavernier
1975	Les innocents aux mains sales ("Innocents with Dirty Hands")	Albert Légal	Claude Chabrol
	Un divorce heureux ("A Happy Divorce")	Jean-Baptiste Morin	Henning Carlsen
	Les vécés étaient fermés de l'intérieur (fr)	Commissaire Pichard	Patrice Leconte
1976	Calmos ("Cool, Calm and Collected")	Albert	Bertrand Blier
	Les Magiciens ("Death Rite")	Edouard	Claude Chabrol
	Un éléphant ça trompe énormément ("An Elephant Can Be Extremely Deceptive")	Étienne Dorsay	Yves Robert
1977	Nous irons tous au paradis ("We Will All Meet in Paradise")
	Le Crabe-tambour ("Drummer-Crab")	the Captain	Pierre Schoendoerffer
	Le Diable dans la boîte (fr) ("The Devil in the Box")	Alain Brissot	Pierre Lary (fr)
1978	Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?	Auguste Grandvilliers	Ted Kotcheff
1979	Le Cavaleur (fr) ("Practice Makes Perfect")	Édouard Choiseul	Philippe de Broca
	Grandison (fr)	Carl Grandison	Achim Kurz
	Courage - Let's Run	Martin Belhomme	Yves Robert
	French Postcards	Monsieur Tessier	Willard Huyck
1980	Chère inconnue (fr) ("Sent a Letter to My Love")	Gilles Martin	Moshé Mizrahi
	Odio le bionde ("I Hate Blondes")	Donald Rose	Giorgio Capitani
1981	Un étrange voyage	Pierre	Alain Cavalier
	Il faut tuer Birgitt Haas (fr) ("Birgit Haas Must Be Killed")	Charles-Philippe Bauman	Laurent Heynemann (fr)
1982	L'Indiscrétion (fr)	Alain Tescique	Pierre Lary
	Le Grand Frère (fr) ("The Big Brother")	Charles-Henri Rossi	Francis Girod
1983	Un dimanche de flic (fr) ("A Cops' Sunday")	Rupert	Michel Vianey (fr)
	L'Ami de Vincent (fr) ("A Friend of Vincent")	Vincent Lamarre	Pierre Granier-Deferre
1984	Frankenstein 90	Victor Frankenstein	Alain Jessua
	Réveillon chez Bob (fr)	Louis Alban	Denys Granier-Deferre
1985	"David, Thomas et les autres" ("A Volley for a Black Buffalo")	Monsieur Louis	László Szabó
1986	La Galette du roi (fr)	Arnold	Jean-Michel Ribes
1987	Tandem	Michel Mortez	Patrice Leconte
	Le Moustachu (fr) ("The Field Agent")	Capitaine Duroc	Dominique Chaussois
	My First Forty Years (also known as My Wonderful Life)	Prince Riccio	Carlo Vanzina
1989	Je suis le seigneur du château ("I'm the King of the Castle")	Jean Bréaud	Régis Wargnier
1990	Le Mari de la coiffeuse ("The Hairdresser's Husband")	Antoine	Patrice Leconte
	Le Château de ma mère ("My Mother's Castle")	Loïs de Montmajour / Adolphe Cassignole	Yves Robert
1991	Amoureux fou ("Love Crazy" or "Madly in Love")	Rudolph	Robert Ménard
1992	Le Bal des casse-pieds (fr)	Henri Sauveur	Yves Robert
	The Timekeeper	Louis XV of France	Jeff Blyth
	L'Atlantide	Le Meige	Bob Swaim
1993	Tango	Bellhop	Patrice Leconte
	Cible émouvante (fr) ("Wild Target")	Victor Meynard	Pierre Salvadori
	Tombés du ciel ("Lost in Transit")	Arturo Conti	Philippe Lioret
1994	"La prossima volta il fuoco" ("Next Time the Fire")	Amedeo	Fabio Carpi
	Tutti gli anni una volta l'anno ("Once a Year, Every Year")	Raffaele	Gianfrancesco Lazotti
	Prêt-à-Porter	Inspecteur Tantpis	Robert Altman
1995	"Tom est tout seul"	Jean-Pierre	Fabien Onteniente
1996	"Palace"	Thomas Fausto	Joan Gràcia, Paco Mir and Carles Sans
	Les Grands Ducs	Eddie Carpentier	Patrice Leconte
	Ridicule	the Marquis of Bellegarde
	Never Ever	Gerard Panier	Charles Finch
1997	Barracuda (fr)	Monsieur Clément	Philippe Haïm
1998	"Le Serpent a mangé la grenouille"	Monsieur Moreau	Alain Guesnier
	El viento se llevó lo qué (it) ("Wind with the Gone")	Edgar Wexley	Alejandro Agresti
	Le Comte de Monte Cristo ("The Count of Monte Cristo")	Fernand de Morcerf	Josée Dayan
1999	Rembrandt (fr)	Nicolaes Tulp	Charles Matton
2001	Le Placard	Kopel	Francis Veber
	"Honolulu Baby"	Cri Cri	Maurizio Nichetti
	"La Vie sans secret de Walter Nions"	Walter Nions	Hugo Gélin
2002	L'homme du train ("The Man on the Train")	Manesquier	Patrice Leconte
	Blanche (fr)	Cardinal Mazarin	Bernie Bonvoisin
	Lost in La Mancha	as himself (uncredited)	Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe
2003	Fanfan la tulipe	narrator	Gérard Krawczyk
	Les Clefs de bagnole (fr) ("The Car Keys")	cameo appearance	Laurent Baffie
2004	RRRrrrr!!!	Lucie	Alain Chabat
	Les Dalton ("The Daltons")	Jolly Jumper (voice)	Philippe Haïm
2005	Akoibon (fr)	Chris Barnes	Édouard Baer
	L'enfer ("Hell")	Louis	Édouard Baer
2006	Désaccord parfait (fr)	Louis Ruinard	Antoine de Caunes
	Ne le dis à personne ("Tell No One")	Gilbert Neuville	Guillaume Canet
2007	Mr. Bean's Holiday	The Head Waitor	Steve Bendelack
	La clef	Joseph Arp	Guillaume Nicloux
2008	id - Identity of the Soul	narrator	Thomas Hoegh
	J'ai toujours rêvé d'être un gangster (fr)	Jean	Samuel Benchetrit
	Agathe Cléry	Louis Guignard	Etienne Chatiliez
2012	The Artist and the Model	Marc Cros	Fernando Trueba
	Astérix et Obélix: Au service de sa Majesté (Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia)	Lucius Fouinus	Laurent Tirard
2015	April and the Twisted World		Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci
2015	Floride	Claude Lherminier	Philippe Le Guay

Theater

• 1953 : Azouk by Alexandre Rivemale, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
• 1953 : L'Huitre et la perle by William Saroyan, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
• 1953 : Les Images d'Épinal by Albert Vidalie, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Cabaret La Fontaine des Quatre-Saisons
• 1954 : Responsabilité limitée by Robert Hossein, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
• 1954 : L’Amour des quatre colonels by Peter Ustinov, adaptation Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Fontaine
• 1957 : Romanoff et Juliette by Peter Ustinov, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
• 1957 : L’Amour des quatre colonels by Peter Ustinov,staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique
• 1958 : Tessa by Jean Giraudoux from the work of Basil Dean and Margaret Kennedy, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
• 1958 : L’Étonnant Pennypacker by Liam O'Brien, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
• 1960 : Champignol malgré lui by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallières, staging Jean-Pierre Grenier, Théâtre Marigny
• 1960 : Le Comportement des époux Bredburry by François Billetdoux, staging by the author, Théâtre des Mathurins
• 1960 : Génousie by René de Obaldia, staging Roger Mollien, TNP Théâtre Récamier
• 1961 : Loin de Rueil by Maurice Jarre and Roger Pillaudin from the work of Raymond Queneau, staging Maurice Jarre and Jean Vilar, TNP Théâtre national de Chaillot
• 1962 : Frank V by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, staging André Barsacq, Théâtre de l'Atelier
• 1964 : Cet animal étrange by Gabriel Arout from the work of Anton Tchekhov, staging Claude Régy, Théâtre Hébertot
• 1965 : La Collection and L’Amant by Harold Pinter, staging Claude Régy, Théâtre Hébertot
• 1966 : La prochaine fois je vous le chanterai by James Saunders, staging Claude Régy, Théâtre Antoine
• 1969 : Le Prix by Arthur Miller, staging Raymond Rouleau, Théâtre Montparnasse
• 1970 : Un jour dans la mort de Joe Egg by Peter Nichols, staging Michel Fagadau, Théâtre de la Gaîté-Montparnasse
• 1971 : C'était hier by Harold Pinter, staging Jorge Lavelli, Théâtre Montparnasse
• 1982 : L'Étrangleur s'excite by Éric Naggar, staging Jean Rochefort, Théâtre Hébertot
• 1985 : Boulevard du mélodrame by Juan Pineiro and Alfredo Arias, staging Alfredo Arias, National Dramatic Center of Aubervilliers
• 1988 : Une vie de théâtre by David Mamet, adaptation Pierre Laville, staging Michel Piccoli, Théâtre des Mathurins
• 1988 : La femme à contre-jour by Éric Naggar, staging Jean Rochefort, Théâtre des Mathurins
• 1988 : Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) by Igor Stravinsky, staging Jean Rochefort, Théâtre de Paris
• 1988 : Le Carnaval des animaux musique Camille Saint-Saëns
• 1989 : Une vie de théâtre by David Mamet, staging Michel Piccoli
• 1991 : Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) by Igor Stravinsky, staging Jean Rochefort
• 1995 : Oraison funèbre sur la mort de Condé by Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, music Jean-Baptiste Lully, direction Hervé Niquet, Royal Chapel of the Château de Versailles
• 1996 : Le Petit Tailleur music Tibor Tibor Harsányi and Le Carnaval des animaux music Camille Saint-Saëns, Théâtre du Châtelet, Bruxelles
• 1998 : Art by Yasmina Reza, staging Patrice Kerbrat, with Pierre Vaneck and Jean-Louis Trintignant, Théâtre Hébertot
• 2004 : Heureux ? sketchs by Fernand Raynaud, with Bruno Fontaine, Comédie des Champs-Élysées
• 2006 : Mousquetaires de Richelieu, show of the Puy du Fou
• 2007 : Entre autres, a one-man show with Lionel Suarez playing accordion, in which he pays a tribute to the authors who influenced him, from Roland Barthes to Jean Yanne, notwithstanding Fernandel, Verlaine, Boby Lapointe or Primo Levi, Théâtre de la Madeleine
• 2007 at the Olympia : where he sung Félicie aussi, a song by Fernandel, during the last three concerts of Vincent Delerm's tour the 30 and 31 of May 2007 and the 1st of June 2007

Audio Book

• Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï (The Bridge over the River Kwai), by Pierre Boulle

[ Source: Wikipedia ]