📖 Биография
Often compared to a young Robert De Niro or Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor Vincent Cassel earned acclaim for his intense portrayals of men struggling to contain the violence that seethed within them. The son of successful film actor Jean-Pierre Cassel, Vincent ignored his father's advice and pursued a career in acting. Early breakout performances in such films as "La Haine" (1995) and "L'Apartement" (1996) made him a rising star in French cinema. While bloody actioners like "Dobermann" (1997) positioned Cassel as a popular genre star in Europe, he was more often seen as a full-fledged villain by American audiences in international hits like "Brotherhood of the Wolf" (2001). Never one to shy away from the risqué, Cassel and wife Monica Bellucci co-starred in one of the most controversial films of the decade, "Irreversible" (2003), a profoundly disturbing drama of rape, revenge and guilt. In the States, however, he was mostly seen in less gut-wrenching fare like "Ocean's 12" (2004) until director David Cronenberg turned him loose as a volatile gangster in the acclaimed crime-drama "Eastern Promises" (2007). His biggest hits were still to come on both shores, when the two-part crime epic "Mesrine: Killer Instinct" (2008) and "Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1" (2008) won Cassel a coveted César Award and director Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" (2010) gave him his broadest stateside exposure to date. As one of the most respected international stars of his day, Cassel enjoyed a truly remarkable film career both at home and abroad.
