French actor, producer and director Depardieu was born into a poor family, dropped out of school aged 12, and frequently found himself on the wrong side of the law.

After hitchhiking across Europe in stolen cars, Depardieu was convinced by a social worker and a friend to try his hand at acting. He enrolled in acting classes at the Theatre National Populaire, and became apprentice at the Café de la Gare.

Making his screen debut with ‘Le Beatnik et le minet’ in 1965, he became a familiar face on French TV through the late 1960s. He found his big break in the 1974 film ‘Les Valseuses’ / ‘Going Places’.

Starring in pictures such as ‘Barocco’, ‘1900’ and the Oscar-winning ‘Preparez vos Mouchoirs’ / ‘Get Out Your Handkerchiefs’, Depardieu started the eighties with an award-winning performance in ‘Le Dernier Metro’/’The Last Metro’ in 1980.

1982 saw him appear in both ‘Le Retour de Martin Guerre’/’The Return of Martin Guerre’ and ‘Danton’. He made his directorial debut with 1984’s ‘Le Tartuffe’

He became an international star with ‘Jean de Florette’ in 1986, and ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ in 1990.

Depardieu then broke into English-language acting with ‘Green Card’ in 1990, remaking a 1991 hit ‘Mon Pere, ce heros’ in English as ‘My Father, The Hero’ to little success. His portrayal of Columbus in ‘1492’ was also considered misjudged.

Through the nineties, he appeared in, among others, Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Hamlet’, the epic ‘Germinal’, TV adaptations of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ and ‘Les Miserables’, and a biopic of ‘Balzac’ in 1999.

Deapardieu directed the semi-autobiographical ‘Un Pont entre deux rives’ in 1999. He also took on the role of Obelix, in the live-action remake of the comic books, ‘Asterix et Obelix contre Cesar’ and appeared as a designer in ‘102 Dalmations’, in 2000.

Credit: thebiographychannel.co.uk