Malik Zidi: Movies & Box Office

Malik Zidi (born 14 February 1975) is a celebrated French actor whose work spans cinema, television and theatre. He was born in Châtenay‑Malabry, a suburb of Paris, to a Kabyle Algerian father and a Breton mother, and spent his childhood in Saint‑Maur‑des‑Fossés, where the multicultural atmosphere would later inform his versatile performances. Abandoning traditional studies at an early age, Zidi pursued training at the Théâtre Véronique Nordey and the Théâtre de Proposition, supplemented by courses in acrobatics, mime at the Théâtre de la Piscine and film studies at Studio Pygmalion, a combination that gave him a distinctive physicality on screen. His cinematic debut came in 1998 with Sébastien Lifshitz’s Les Corps ouverts, but it was François Ozon’s 2000 drama Water Drops on Burning Rocks that earned him widespread critical notice, as he embodied the tormented bisexual youth Franz, a role that secured his first César nomination. Subsequent performances in Un moment de bonheur (2002) and André Téchiné’s Les Temps qui changent (2004) reinforced his reputation as a bold interpreter of complex characters, each time attracting further César nods. In 2006 Zidi starred in Emmanuel Bourdieu’s Les Amitiés maléfiques, a film that triumphed at Cannes and ultimately brought him the César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2007. Beyond the silver screen, he has appeared in numerous television productions and maintained a strong presence on the French stage, showcasing his range from classical drama to contemporary comedy. An avid jazz enthusiast, Zidi counts Michel Piccoli and Laurent Terzieff among his artistic heroes, and in 2020 he expanded his creative portfolio by publishing his first novel, L'ombre du soir. Today he resides in the Île‑de‑France, continuing to contribute to French cultural life and inspiring a new generation of performers.