GASPARD ULLIEL. Gaspard Ulliel, tragically deceased in a skiing accident on January 19, 2022, had filmed under the direction of Xavier Dolan for “Juste la fin du monde”. The director pays tribute to his friend during the César.
[Mis à jour le 25 février 2022 à 20h45] “I needed to say personally how much I loved Gaspard Ulliel”. Xavier Dolan admitted it, his voice full of emotion, at the microphone of France Inter, he still thinks of the actor, who died in a tragic skiing accident on January 19, 2022. This is why the Quebec director has planned to pay tribute to him during the César, this Friday, February 25. “The nomination […] is not the primary motivation for my trip here, I absolutely wanted to say things regarding Gaspard, not that I have the authority to do so but I had the desire to do so.
Xavier Dolan and Gaspard Ulliel worked together on the film Just the end of the world. For his role in this drama, the French actor had received his second César, which the Quebec director had come to recover for him. After their collaboration, the two artists had become friends. “I knew him professionally, I knew him intimately too,” said Dolan, also in the running for the César for best actor, on France Inter this Friday. I think of him all the time, I think of him constantly in fact. It is very early so it will take a lot of time to accept this departure. It’s inconceivable and then I often dream of him, I always think of him, I think of his family, I think of his son, I think of his talent, his beauty and then I will actually pay homage to him.”
Gaspard Ulliel was an actor and model born November 25, 1984 in Boulogne-Billancourt and died January 19, 2022. He was twice Caesarized: he first received the César for best male hope in 2005 for his performance in “Un long engagement Sunday”. In 2017, he was awarded the best actor prize for his performance in “Just the end of the world”. He is also known for having played in “Saint Laurent”, “Jacquou le Croquant” or “La Princesse de Montpensier”.
Gaspard Ulliel was born on November 25, 1984. His mother is a stylist and his father a designer. He began his career as an actor very early, when he was only 12 years old, playing in the TV movie “A Woman in White”. It is however to the realization that the young man is destined who pursues a university course in this direction. However, he continued to shoot and obtained a small role in “Le pacte des loups” by Christophe Gans in 2001. It was Michel Blanc who revealed it the following year by having him play a teenager in full discovery of life in “Kiss Whoever You Want”.
Gaspard Ulliel began his career as an actor in college by playing in the TV movie “A woman in white”. It is however to the realization that the young man is destined who pursues a university course in this direction. However, he continued to shoot and obtained a small role in “Le pacte des loups” by Christophe Gans in 2001. It was Michel Blanc who revealed it the following year by having him play a teenager in full discovery of life in “Kiss Whoever You Want”.
After a brief resumption of his studies, he was asked by André Téchiné to play alongside Emmanuelle Béart in “Les Égarés”. His performance earned him a César nomination in 2004 in the best male hopeful category. César that he finally won in 2005 for the film “A long engagement Sunday” by Jean-Pierre Jeunet in which he plays the fiancé of Audrey Tautou. Gaspard Ulliel becomes a leading actor. The same year, he appeared in “Jacquou le croquant” where he played the eponymous character.
In 2007, his career took on an international dimension with his incarnation of Hannibal Lecter in the section which recounts the youth of the famous serial killer. “Hannibal Lecter: The Origins of Evil”. He testified to his cinematographic eclecticism by playing the role of Henri de Guise in “La Princesse de Montpensier” in which he shared the poster with Mélanie Thierry in 2010. After his remarkable roles in “Saint Laurent” (2014) and “Juste the end of the world” (2017), Gaspard Ulliel appears in “Eva” (2017) then “Sibyl” (2019) by Justine Triet. He embodies one of the secondary roles of the Marvel series “Moon Knight“, airing on Disney+ in 2022.
In 2014, Gaspard Ulliel won the role of the famous couturier in “Saint Laurent”, directed by Bertrand Bonello. In C à vous, the year of the film’s release, the actor explains that he had to take into account “a certain number of constraints”: “the direction we chose was to move away from all mimicry, or the idea of reproducing anything. The idea was to go into appropriation, even sometimes quasi-evocation”. This biopic is the second devoted to Yves Saint Laurent to be released in cinemas that year. In the second version, Pierre Niney embodies the great French couturier. The two actors are nominated for the César for best actor, but it is Pierre Niney who wins the award.
Gaspard Ulliel won his first César, that of the best hope, in 2005 for his role in “A long engagement Sunday”. In 2016, Gaspard Ulliel landed the leading role in “Just the end of the world”, a feature film by Xavier Dolan. He embodies a writer, back in his family following twelve years of absence, to announce to his loved ones his upcoming death. This role allows him to win his second César, that of the best actor, the following year.
Alongside his acting career, Gaspard Ulliel also works as a model for advertisements. In particular, he filmed in 2010 for the spot for Chanel’s “Bleu” perfume, under the direction of American director Martin Scorsese. He also participated in an campaign for Longchamp bags alongside Kate Moss. Below, find Chanel’s “Bleu” ad featuring Gaspard Ulliel.
In December 2013, Gaspard Ulliel officially appears with the model Gaëlle Pietri. Together, the couple gave birth to a baby boy in 2016. The little family is nevertheless extremely discreet, only appearing in rare photographs on Instagram. They would have been separated since 2020 according to Paris Match, and rumors suggest that Gaspard Ulliel has since been dating actress Vicky Krieps. In the past, Gaspard Ulliel dated Cécile Cassel between 2005 and 2007 and a press officer named Jordane.
Gaspard Ulliel stands out in particular among the other actors of his generation by the scar he wears on his left cheek. The actor explained that this is the consequence of the attack of a doberman, a claw more specifically, when he was only six years old. This mark of this accident is particularly revealed when the actor smiles.
- 2003: Nomination for the César for best male hope for “Kiss whoever you want”; Light of Male Revelation
- 2004: Nomination for the César Award for Best Male Newcomer for “Les Egarés”; Gold star for male revelation for “Kiss whoever you want”
- 2005: César for best male hope for “A long engagement Sunday”
- 2015: Nomination for the César for best actor for “Saint Laurent”; Lumière for Best Actor for “Saint Laurent”
- 2017: César for best actor for “Just the end of the world”
Gaspard Ulliel died on January 19, 2022, at the age of 37. The French actor, twice Caesarized, had been involved in a skiing accident the day before at the La Rosière resort in Savoie. The actor collided with another skier at the crossroads of two blue slopes (therefore considered easy), and suffered from a serious head trauma. He died of his injuries the day following the accident. The actor leaves behind his partner, Gaëlle Pietri, and their 6-year-old son named Orso.
On January 18, 2022, around 4 p.m., Gaspard Ulliel was the victim of a skiing accident in the Rosière area, in Savoie, where he was on family vacation. The weather conditions were good and suitable for skiing. The actor is said to have collided with another skier at the intersection of two blue runs, as he branched off to the left, presumably to join friends. The collision would have been not very violent according to France Bleu Savoie, but the head of the actor would have touched the ground. Gaspard Ulliel was not wearing a helmet, but the Albertville prosecutor, Anne Gaches, clarified that, according to her, “this would not necessarily have changed” the outcome of the drama. The actor was found unconscious at the scene by rescuers. According to AFP, which quotes the gendarmerie, the vital prognosis of the actor was engaged when he was transported by helicopter to the Grenoble University Hospital.
Gaspard Ulliel died the next day, Wednesday January 19, 2022, from his injuries. He was 37 years old. The actor Caesarized twice suffered from a major traumatic brain injury. An investigation has been opened by the Albertville prosecutor’s office. The other skier involved in the fall, a Lithuanian in his 40s, was not hospitalized and escaped unscathed. He was questioned by the CRS Alpes, in charge of the investigation. The day following the tragic death of the actor, the prosecutor of the Republic of Albertville Anne Gaches evoked certain elements of the investigation in progress with the Dauphiné Libéré. “The two skiers were riding side by side and collided. For the moment, it is difficult to say whether it was the shock or the fall that led to Mr. Ulliel’s death”. No responsibility should be engaged once morest either of the two skiers involved in the tragic accident, and the investigation should be closed without further action. “In view of the first elements, it was not noted excessive speed, inappropriate behavior or fault of one of the two skiers.” No autopsy should be performed on the body of Gaspard Ulliel.
