Mathieu Demy

Mathieu Demy (born 15 October 1972 in Paris) is a French actor, film director and producer who grew up surrounded by cinema royalty, being the son of celebrated directors Agnès Varda and Jacques Demy. From an early age he appeared in his mother’s experimental works, notably L’une chante, l’autre pas (1977) and Documenteur (1981), establishing a lifelong collaboration with the French New Wave legacy. After a series of supporting roles, his breakthrough arrived in 1998 when he portrayed Olivier, a young man with AIDS, in the musical Jeanne et le garçon formidable, earning critical praise for his sensitive performance. In 1999 he founded the production company Les Films de l’Autre, which allowed him to produce and direct short films such as Le Plafond (2000) and La Bourde (2005), both of which collected audience awards at festivals in Angers, Uppsala and Pantin. Demy’s versatility spans romantic comedies, dramas and television; he earned a best‑actor prize at the Festival de Paris in 2001 for Quand on sera grand and was twice honoured by the Festival Européen Cinessone for his roles in Mister V. (2003) and Le Silence (2004). His first feature‑length directorial effort, Americano (2011), starring Salma Hayek and Geraldine Chaplin, also featured him in the lead role and demonstrated his ability to blend personal storytelling with international appeal. Since 2012 he has continued to act in acclaimed projects such as Les Conquérants, My Little One and the Cannes‑selected Club Zero (2023), while also directing episodes of the award‑winning series Le Bureau des Légendes and Julie Delpy’s On the Verge. Throughout his career Demy has maintained a reputation for choosing eclectic, socially resonant material, cementing his status as a distinctive voice in contemporary French cinema.