Biographie
Manuel Blanc was born on June 12, 1968, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. His debut film, the André Téchiné classic I Don't Kiss (1991), earned him the César Award for Most Promising Actor in 1992, establishing his presence in French cinema and theater. Over a career spanning more than thirty years, Blanc has collaborated with visionary directors such as Jacques Deray, Josée Dayan, Édouard Molinaro, Werner Schroeter, Jérôme Savary, and Philippe Calvario.
In 2001, he received the prestigious Molière Award for his role in "Ladies Night," a comedy by Anthony McCarten and Stephen Sinclair, adapted for the French stage by Jacques Collard. His other theater performances include "Tempête sur le pays d'Égypte" (1993/94), John Ford's "Dommage qu'elle soit une putain" (1997), "Trouée dans les nuages" (2005), "Journal secret" (2006), and "Parasites" (2009).
Among his notable films from the 1990s are Un crime (1993) alongside Alain Delon, Des feux mal éteints (1994) with Maria de Medeiros, Beaumarchais the Scoundrel (1996) featuring Fabrice Luchini, and Madeleine (1999) starring Anouk Aimée. With numerous high-budget films and a large number of short films to his credit, Blanc became widely recognized through leading roles in popular television series such as La rivière Espérance (1995), Contraband (2012), The Chalet (2017)—a Netflix-produced mystery series—and Chronicles of the Sun (2018).
He is a favored actor of director Antony Hickling, who cast him in several short films as well as feature films including Little Gay Boy (2013), One Deep Breath (2014), Where Horses Go to Die (2016), and Down in Paris (2021).
Fluent in both French and English, Manuel Blanc published his debut novel, "Carnaval," in 2014, followed by his second book, "Les corps électriques," in 2018.
