Jalil Lespert

Born to an ethnic French (Pied-Noir) father, actor Jean Lespert, and an Algerian mother, who is an attorney and a jurist, Lespert first studied law, to please his mother. But he was more interested in acting.

He married Sonia Rolland, a former Miss France, with whom he has one child named Kahina. He also has two other children, Jena and Aliosha, from a previous relationship.

Lespert made his film debut in 1995, in Laurent Cantet's film Jeux de plage, opposite his father. His first major role came in 1999, in Jacques Maillot's film Nos vies heureuses. The following year, he appeared in another Cantet film, Ressources humaines, which earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2001.

Jalil Lespert at the 2000 César Awards ceremony

His career took off and he appeared in several films, playing a wide range of characters, such as a sensual gardener in Sade, a body builder addict in Vivre me tue, a boxer in Virgil, an avant-garde artist in Alain Resnais's Pas sur la bouche, a journalist in Robert Guédiguian's Le Promeneur du Champ de Mars, etc.

He is appearing in a series on French television called Pigalle, la nuit.

Lespert directed his first film in 2007, 24 mesures, featuring Benoît Magimel and Sami Bouajila. His second feature as director, Des vents contraires (2011), featured Magimel alongside Audrey Tautou and Isabelle Carré.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jalil Lespert.

• Jalil Lespert at IMDb