Charles Berling

Born: April 30 1958

Where: Val-de-Marne, France

The accomplished stage actor first attracted attention in Patrick Leconte's glimpse into the court of Versaille -Ridicule.

Other notable appearances include Anne Fontaine's Nettoyage a sec and Cedric Kahn's romantic drama L'Ennui.

Berling is also one of the few actors to have been nominated for a best actor Cesar (French Oscar) three years on the run.

Berling studied acting in Paris and made a name for himself as an accomplished stage actor after having made his debut in 1982.

He made his feature debut the same year in Meurtres et domicile but it wasn't until Pascale Ferran's Petits Arrangements avec les Morts in 1994 that he made any impact.

With the success of Ridicule, for which he earned a Best Actor César nomination (the film won four Césars, including Best Film), Berling's career took off.

He delved into broad comedy in Love Inc but his strong suit has always remained as a dramatic leading man.

In 1997's Nettoyage à sec he and Miou-Miou played a husband and wife whose marriage is under strain and in L'Ennui he played a man obsessed with a teenage girl.

In 2000, Berling starred opposite Emmanuelle Béart in period drama Les Destinées Sentimentales and Denys Arcand's poorly received Stardom.

Subsequent roles included Olivier Assayas' Sentimental Destinies and Anne Fontaine's How I Killed My Father.

In 2002, Berling reteamed with Assayas to make the effective cyber porn thriller demonlover and went on to make the comedy Pere et Fils.

Next up he portrayed Algerian poet Jean Senac in Le Soleil Assassine and starred in Je Reste opposite Sophie Marceau.