When in “All Mornings in the World“ the young Maren Marais stands against his older double, the two actors share the same surname. Gerard Depardieu plays the musician in his mature years, and his son Guillaume recreates the character as a young man. The 1991 film is one of the first big moments in Guillaume Depardieu's career and symbolically shows his difficult path to his own artistic name.
Guillaume was born on April 7, 1971 in Paris into a family of actors. His mother is Elisabeth Depardieu, and his sister Julie also chooses cinema. He himself first appeared on screen at the age of three in the film “This Beautiful Bastard“, where he played with his father. However, his real breakthrough came much later, when he began to receive roles that required not just a famous surname, but an unusually strong presence.
The award that gave him his own name
In 1995, Guillaume Depardieu played Fred in the film “The Apprentices“ by Pierre Salvadori. His character is a clumsy, vulnerable and self-destructive young man, and the role brought the actor the “Cesar“ award for best young actor in 1996. This is a recognition that establishes him not as the “son of Gérard Depardieu“, but as an independent talent.
This was followed by roles in “Sexual X“ by Leos Carax, “The Apprentices“, “On War“ by Bertrand Bonello and “Do not touch the axe“ by Jacques Rivet. In the latter film, Depardieu plays General Armand de Montriveau - a crippled veteran of the Napoleonic Wars who returns to life, love and his own past. "Thanks to Rivet, I started to believe in cinema again," the actor said in an interview quoted by the Guardian.
The pain behind the roles
His life was marked by addictions, conflicts and severe physical trials. After a motorcycle accident, he underwent extensive treatment for his leg, and later lost the limb. This personal experience gave particular credibility to his character in "Don't Touch the Axe", where his character is a man forced to live with the consequences of war.
On October 13, 2008, Guillaume Depardieu died at the age of 37 from pneumonia in a hospital in Garches. He fell ill while filming the film "The Childhood of Icarus" in Romania, which was released posthumously. He leaves behind his daughter Louise and a filmography shorter than expected but strong enough to keep him in the history of French cinema.
Sources: theguardian.com, lemonde.fr, independent.co.uk