Jacques Perrin

Born: July 13 1941
Where: Paris, France

The respected producer and actor has recently successfully turned his hand to directing nature documentaries.

As an actor, he has appeared in more than 100 movies, including Z, Cinema Paradiso and The Brotherhood of the Wolf.

In his role as a producer, he he bankrolled such moves as Black and White in Colour.

He began his career after a couple of uncredited appearances as a romantic hero in La Ragazza con la valigia in 1960 with Claudia Cardinale.

Director Valerio Zurlini recruited him for Cronaca familiare in 1962 as Marcello Mastroianni's brother.

Perrin's longtime collaboration with director Constantin Costa-Gavras started with Compartiment Tueurs and Un Uomo a metà in 1965.

For Costa-Gavras' Oscar-nominated political thriller Z he starred alongside Yves Montand as a photojournalist and also produced the movie.

Perrin also starred in romantic comedies by Jacques Demy alongside the likes of Catherine Deneuve and socially aware films such as Home Sweet Home.

In 1988, he played one of his most memorable roles as film director Salvatore in Giussepe Tornatore's international hit Cinema Paradiso.

As a producer, he stared his career with Z and went on to produce movies including Jean Jacques Annaud's Black and White in Colour and nature documentary The Monkey Folk.

In 2002, he starred in the European horror drama The Brotherhood of the Wolf with Vincent Cassel.

Recently, he has switched to directing wildlife movies, including the Oscar-nominated Winged Migration.