Louis Garrel

Louis Garrel is a French actor and filmmaker who gained widespread international recognition for his starring role in Bernardo Bertolucci's 2003 drama The Dreamers. Throughout his career, he has frequently collaborated with director Christophe Honoré as well as his father, director Philippe Garrel. His acting work often involves portrayals of men in romantic entanglements or prominent historical figures, including Jacques de Bascher in Saint Laurent, Jean-Luc Godard in Redoutable, and Alfred Dreyfus in An Officer and a Spy. His onscreen performances have garnered multiple César Award nominations.

Born on 14 June 1983 in Paris, Garrel was raised in a family closely tied to French cinema. He is the son of filmmaker Philippe Garrel and actress Brigitte Sy, the brother of actress Esther Garrel, the grandson of actor Maurice Garrel, and the godson of actor Jean-Pierre Léaud. His grandfather on his mother's side was of Sephardic Jewish lineage. Raised in the Pigalle area of Paris by his mother, Garrel formally trained in drama and graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris.

Garrel made his film debut at six years old in Les Baisers de secours, returning to acting twelve years later in Ceci est mon corps. His breakthrough occurred after Bertolucci selected him during his first Paris casting session for The Dreamers. He subsequently won the César Award for Most Promising Actor for starring in his father's 2005 production Regular Lovers.

Over the following decades, Garrel maintained a prolific acting career across French and international cinema. He featured in five movies directed by Christophe Honoré, including Ma Mère, Dans Paris, Love Songs, The Beautiful Person, and Making Plans for Lena. He starred in additional films by his father, such as Frontier of the Dawn, A Burning Hot Summer, and Jealousy. Garrel has also worked extensively with female filmmakers—such as Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Brigitte Sy, Maïwenn, Greta Gerwig, and Nicole Garcia—and appeared in titles like Xavier Dolan's Heartbeats, Little Women, Woody Allen's Rifkin's Festival, DNA, and The Story of My Wife.

In addition to acting, Garrel developed a career as a writer and director. He began by making short films, including Mes copains, Petit Tailleur, and La Règle de trois, the latter of which was screened at the Locarno Festival. He made his feature directorial debut with Two Friends in 2015, followed by feature projects he both wrote and starred in, including A Faithful Man, The Crusade, and The Innocent.

Beyond film, Garrel has participated in fashion campaigns for Emporio Armani and served as the face of Valentino's Uomo fragrance, for which he directed a promo short. In 2024, he became a Dior menswear ambassador. Multilingual in French, English, and Italian, Garrel was in a relationship with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi from 2007 to 2012, during which they adopted a daughter from Senegal. He later dated actress Golshifteh Farahani before marrying Laetitia Casta in 2017, with whom he had a son in 2021 prior to their separation.