Vincent Pérez

Soulful, exotic-looking leading man Vincent Perez 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. He 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) in works ranging from Shakespeare to Chekhov, Perez became an instant romantic idol after pairing opposite slightly older femme stars Jacqueline Bisset in La maison de jade (1988) and Catherine Deneuve in the Oscar-winning film Indochine (1992). His breakthrough role, however, came as the callow, vacuous lover "Christian" opposite Gérard Depardieu's Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). The film is considered these days the definitive version of the Edmond Rostand classic. With this European success, the lithe, moody heartthrob branched out internationally, finally making his American film debut in The Crow: City of Angels (1996), taking over the vengeful title role from the late Brandon Lee who was accidentally killed in the original. The sequel proved crashingly dull and the U.S. has been surprisingly unreceptive to Perez ever since. This may be in part due to his subsequent American movies, which have included the passionless I Dreamed of Africa (2000), Bride of the Wind (2001) and Queen of the Damned (2002) with the late musical star Aaliyah. Perez has been married to model/actress Karine Silla 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. In Europe, however, Perez is an art-house favorite.