David Belle

David Belle (born David Nicolas Williams Belle on 29 April 1973) is a French actor, celebrity, choreographer and stunt coordinator best known for founding the modern discipline of parkour. Raised in the coastal town of Fécamp, he grew up in a family of highly skilled rescuers; his grandfather Gilbert Kitten, his father Raymond Belle—himself of French‑Vietnamese descent—and his brother Jean‑François all served in the Military Paris Fire Brigade, instilling in him a respect for physical prowess and self‑discipline. At the age of eleven he moved to Lisses, where he met a group of teenagers who would later become the Yamakasi, and he began translating the fluid, obstacle‑clearing techniques he had practiced in Normandy onto urban rooftops and stairwells. After a brief stint in the French Marines, where he set a regimental rope‑climbing record and earned a gymnastics honor, Belle worked odd jobs while continuing to refine his craft, even spending three months in India studying kung fu before producing the seminal "Speed Air Man" video that propelled parkour into the public eye. In 1997 his footage was broadcast on the French television program Stade 2, introducing the term “Yamakasi” and sparking worldwide interest; dissatisfied with the name, Belle later coined the term traceur to describe a practitioner of parkour, a word that endures in the community today. His cinematic breakthrough arrived when Luc Besson cast him alongside Cyril Raffaelli in the 2004 action film District 13, a role he reprised in District 13: Ultimatum and later adapted for Hollywood in the 2014 remake Brick Mansions with Paul Walker. Beyond acting, Belle has consulted on major productions such as Babylon A.D., Prince of Persia, Colombiana and The Family, and serves as chair of the Parkour Committee of the International Federation of Gymnastics, ensuring the discipline’s safe evolution. Though he prefers to stay out of the spotlight, occasional public appearances—such as the 2007 New Yorker Festival and interviews for notable parkour articles—demonstrate his enduring influence on both the sport and its representation in popular culture.