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1-16 of 16
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm) is a French actress and dancer from Paris. She is primarily known to English-speaking audiences for playing the alien vampire Space Girl, the main villain of the cult horror film "Lifeforce" (1985). The role required her to appear naked for most of the film, though her character remained mysterious and menacing. In France, May's breakthrough role was that of Juliette, the suicidal young woman whose love life was at the center of the psychological thriller "The Cry of the Owl" (1987). For this role, May won the "César Award for Most Promising Actress".
In 1965, May was born in Paris. Her father was the playwright Victor Haïm (1935-) . Her paternal ancestors were Sephardic Jews from the city of Thessaloniki in Greek Macedonia. May's mother was the Swedish ballet teacher and choreographer Margareta Hanson. May herself was trained as a dancer in early life. In 1981, May won the "Premier Prix du Conservatoire de Danse de Paris" (First Prize of the Paris Dance Conservatory). At the time, she was only 16-years-old.
May pursued an acting career in the early 1980s. She made her film debut in the fantasy film "Nemo" (1984), where a boy from New York City is transported to an alternate reality. She became known to international audience with "Lifeforce" (1985), and had some success in France during the late 1980s. Following "The Cry of the Owl", May played the romantic lead in the controversial musical "Three Seats for the 26th" (1988). In the film, an aging actor falls in love with Marion de Lambert (played by May), the daughter of his former lover. He is relatively unfazed when he learns that his new love interest is his own illegitimate daughter.
May's first significant film in the 1990s was the biographical drama "Isabelle Eberhardt" (1991), where she had the lead role. May played the Swiss author and explorer Isabelle Eberhardt (1877 - 1904), and also portrayed Eberhardt''s accidental death in a flash flood. The film was nominated for three AACTA Awards, without ever winning. The film was negatively received by critics for overemphasizing Eberhardt's femininity and sexuality, while mostly ignoring the political context of her activities in North Africa, and her status as a social outcast.
That same year, May played the female lead in the erotic drama "Naked Tango". The film depicted the life of an Eastern European young woman who was forced into prostitution in 1920s Buenos Aires. The film was largely inspired by the activities of the Zwi Migdal (1867-1939), an international sex trafficking organization which controlled about 2,000 brothels in Argentina during the interwar period.
May also had the lead role in "Becoming Colette" (1991). The film dramatized the early life of the actress, journalist, and novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954). The real Colette is primarily remembered for her vivid depictions of the French demimonde of elite courtesans, and for her lesbian affairs with the fellow writer Natalie Clifford Barney and the aristocratic artist Mathilde de Morny.
May next had the female lead role in the crime drama "Toutes peines confondues" (1992). She played Jeanne Gardella, the wife of a shady businessman. She genuinely loves her husband, but fails to inform him that she is an Interpol agent who was assigned to spy on him. The film was an adaptation of a novel by Andrew Coburn (1932-2018).
May had the female lead in the romantic comedy "The Tit and the Moon" (1994), playing the beautiful French dancer Estrellita. In the film a preadolescent boy is fascinated with Estrellita and her breasts, but finds himself competing for her attention with Estrellita's husband and with an adolescent singer.
In 1996,. May had her first role in a video game, cast in the space flight simulation "Privateer 2: The Darkening". The main plot featured an amnesiac man who chose a new life as a privateer, while trying to find out why there was no record of his past life. The game was introduced as a spin-off of the space combat series "Wing Commander" (1990-2007), but had little resemblance to its predecessors.
May had her final major role in the 1990s in the action thriller film "The Jackal" (1997). She played Isabella Celia Zancona, a retired member of the Basque terrorist organization ETA. Zancona becomes a key witness for the FBI, as she is thought to be the only person able to identify the wanted assassin "The Jackal" (played by Bruce Willis). The assassin is an old foe of Zancona, who wounded her during a past encounter and caused her to miscarry their unborn child. She agrees to help, partly because she is promised safe haven, and partly because she wants revenge. The film was a minor box office hit.
During the early 2000s, May regularly appeared in television films and television series. Her theatrical roles were few in this period. She was eventually cast in a supporting role in the comedy thriller "A Girl Cut in Two" (2007). The film depicts a love triangle which results in the murder of one suitor by the other one. May's next significant film role was in the anthology film "The Players" (2012), which depicted various tales of male infidelity. The film attracted controversy for the sexually suggestive posters of its release, which were seen as violating France's regulations for advertising.
May continued regularly appearing in television roles throughout the 2010s, and was part of the main cast in the television series "Access" She resumed playing in theatrical films in 2019, initially cast in the World War II-themed drama "An Irrepressible Woman". By 2022, May was 57-years-old. She has never retired, and remains a well-known face in the European film market.- Christian Barbier was born on 28 June 1924 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was an actor, known for Army of Shadows (1969), Le théâtre de la jeunesse (1960) and Messieurs les jurés (1974). He died on 3 November 2009 in Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France.
- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gilbert Roussel was born on 13 October 1946 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He is a director and producer.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Charles Matton was born on 13 September 1931 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was a director and writer, known for L'Italien des Roses (1972), Rembrandt (1999) and Spermula (1976). He was married to Sylvie Matton. He died on 19 November 2008 in Paris, France.- Filip Nikolitch was born on the 1st of September 1974 in Saint Ouen, France. Though his parents are of Yugoslavian origin, he grew up in Longjumeau (a suburban town outside of Paris, France). He has a sister and brother, Jessica and Såsa (Sacha). He has hazel-green eyes and brown hair. Filip's talents range from gymnastics (he was a champion in France), acting (he starred with Dennis Rodman in Simon Sez (1999)), but most notably, singing. Filip is part of '2Be3', a popular French-boy-band.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jean-Claude Rémoleux was born on 8 February 1923 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was an actor, known for Band of Outsiders (1964), The Trial (1962) and The Big Scare (1964). He died on 5 January 1985 in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritimes, France.- Camera and Electrical Department
- Additional Crew
Bruno Seffino was born on 24 November 1966 in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He is known for Anna (2019), The Ninth Gate (1999) and Holy Motors (2012). He died on 7 March 2021 in Beauvais, Oise, France.- Actor
- Writer
Luc Florian was born on 24 August 1951 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis. He was an actor and writer, known for The Swashbuckler (1971), Pilotes de course (1975) and He Died with His Eyes Open (1985). He died on 30 March 2023 in Anet, Eure-et-Loir, France.- Jean Lanier was born on 2 August 1913 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was an actor, known for Queen Margot (1954), L'entourloupe (1980) and Last Year at Marienbad (1961). He died on 9 April 1999 in Paris, France.
- Actress
- Producer
Marthe Mercadier was born on 23 October 1928 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. She was an actress and producer, known for Au théâtre ce soir (1966), In The Water... Which Makes Bubbles!... (1961) and The Flea in the Ear (1956). She was married to Gérard Nery. She died on 15 September 2021 in Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France.- Raymond Galle was born on 11 September 1913 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was an actor, known for Let's Go Up the Champs-Élysées (1938), Bad Seed (1934) and Blood Red Rose (1939). He died on 23 April 2003 in Paris, France.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Jacques Grello was born on 31 July 1911 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was an actor and writer, known for Lovers of Paris (1957), Messieurs les ronds de cuir (1959) and Sputnik (1958). He died on 7 March 1978 in Paris, France.- Mondine Garcia was born in 1936 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was an actor, known for Somewhere, Someone (1972). He died on 29 December 2010 in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Writer
Éric Pittard was born on 23 January 1953 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France. He was a director and cinematographer, known for L'usine (un jour de moins, un jour de plus) (1998), De l'usage du sex-toy en temps de crise (2013) and Agathe et... (2005). He died on 25 September 2013 in Paris, France.- Writer
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Maurice Hiléro was born on 11 August 1909 in Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, France. He was a writer and actor, known for Nous les gosses (1941), Les vagabonds du rêve (1949) and À la manière de Charlot (1935). He died on 19 June 1975 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France.- Jean-Louis Brau was born on 10 June 1930 in Saint-Ouen, Seine, France. He was an actor and director, known for La barque de la vie courante, essai pour la culture d'un sens cinématographique interne (1952) and Venom and Eternity (1951). He died on 29 August 1985 in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France.