Guillaume Canet

Guillaume Arthur Jean-Louis Canet (; born 10 April 1973) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and show jumper.

Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like Joyeux Noël, Love Me If You Dare, and The Beach. In 2006, he turned to writing and directing with Tell No One and won a César Award for Best Director.

Early life and career Guillaume Canet was born in Boulogne-Billancourt on 10 April 1973 to a family of horse breeders. Canet intended to become a show jumper and was a member of the junior French National Equestrian Team. However, after a fall from his horse at age 18 he turned to acting and enrolled in the Cours Florent drama school. In 1994, he appeared in the Théâtre Hébertot production of La Ville dont le prince est un enfant with Christophe Malavoy. After working in various television shows and commercials, Canet made his film debut in the short film Fils unique.

In 1997, he appeared in the thriller film Barracuda for which he won a prix d'interprétation (best actor award) at the Festival Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1999. The same year he was nominated for a César Award for his role as Vincent Mazet in the comedy film En plein cœur. He then traveled abroad to film Danny Boyle's The Beach. After completing The Beach, Canet starred opposite Sophie Marceau in La fidélité and in Jerry Schatzberg's The Day the Ponies Come Back.

In 2002, Canet starred with Gérard Depardieu in the science fiction film Vidocq. He also directed and wrote his first feature film the same year, Mon Idole, which also starred his wife Diane Kruger. In 2003, he appeared opposite Marion Cotillard in Yann Samuell's Love Me If You Dare which became a sleeper hit. Canet next appeared in the international production Joyeux Noël which tells the story of the World War I Christmas cease fire. The film—which also featured Kruger—was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Canet released his second feature film in 2006, Tell No One, an adaptation of Harlan Coben's novel of the same name. Tell No One was the ninth top grossing French film of 2006 and went on to win four César awards, including a César Award for Best Director for Canet.

His film Blood Ties was selected to be screened Out of Competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Personal life In 1999, he started a relationship with German-born model and actress Diane Kruger. They were married on 1 September 2001. In January 2006, Canet and Kruger filed for divorce. Kruger later said that the marriage was not successful because their careers had kept them occupied in different parts of the world. After his divorce, Canet started a relationship with Italian model Carla Bruni that was widely reported by the French media, and later he was in a relationship with French actress Élodie Navarre.

From October 2007 to 2025, Canet was in a relationship with French actress Marion Cotillard. They had known each other since 1997, and years later starred together in the 2003 film Love Me If You Dare. They later co-starred in the films The Last Flight (2009), Rock'n Roll (2017), and Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023); and Canet directed Cotillard in Little White Lies (2010), Blood Ties (2013), Little White Lies 2 (2019), Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023), and Karma (2026). The couple attracted considerable attention from the French media, but for a long time they did not discuss their relationship and did not appear together on a red carpet event until the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. Canet and Cotillard have two children together, a son, born on 19 May 2011, and a daughter, born in 2017. Canet and Cotillard never married. Though since 2010 Cotillard had been spotted wearing a diamond solitaire on her left hand – a present from Canet – they were not engaged either. In 2014, Cotillard denied being married to Canet, instead referring to him as "my boyfriend" in interviews. On 27 June 2025, Canet and Cotillard announced their separation in a joint statement to French news agency Agence France-Presse, saying that they made the separation public "to avoid all speculation, rumors and risky interpretations", and that they decided to separate after 18 years together by "mutual agreement" and with "mutual goodwill".

Canet lives in Paris.

In July 2012, paparazzo Jean-Claude Elfassi accused Canet of violence during an altercation as Canet and Cotillard arrived home from the hospital maternity ward with their newborn son in May 2011. According to the photographer, Canet left his house with an iron bar and threatened him before police stepped in. Elfassi's son filmed the actor with his cell phone and while Canet made sure the footage was erased from the web, photos were published on French magazine Entrevue. Elfassi and his son attempted to sue the actor for "violence" and "theft" and their case was not only dismissed, but Elfassi faces charges for "false accusation" and could spend nine months in jail.

Canet is an accomplished show jumper and between 2012 and 2017 participated in 623 competitions, winning 33 of them and taking nearly €67,000 in prize money. He was notably placed in competitions at international shows in Paris, La Baule and Chantilly Jumping.

Filmography Short film Year Title Director Writer 1996 Sans Regrets 1998 Je taim 2000 Scénarios sur la drogue J'peux pas dormir

Acting roles 1995 : Fils unique, directed by Philippe Landoulsi 1999 : Trait d'union, directed by Bruno García 2000 : J'peux pas dormir..., directed by Guillaume Canet

Feature film Year Title Director Writer Producer 2002 Mon Idole 2006 Tell No One 2010 Little White Lies 2013 Blood Ties 2017 Rock'n Roll 2019 Little White Lies 2 2021 Lui 2022 Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom 2026 Karma

Acting roles 1997 : Barracuda, directed by Philippe Haïm, prix d'interprétation au Festival de Saint-Jean-de-Luz 1998 : Sentimental Education, directed by C. S. Leigh 1998 : Ceux qui m'aiment prendront le train, directed by Patrice Chéreau 1998 : En plein cœur, directed by Pierre Jolivet, adapted from the novel by Georges Simenon, En cas de malheur 1999 : Je règle mon pas sur le pas de mon père, directed by Rémi Waterhouse 2000 : The Beach (La Plage), directed by Danny Boyle 2000 : Fidelity (La Fidélité), directed by Andrzej Żuławski 2000 : The Day the Ponies Come Back, directed by Jerry Schatzberg 2001 : , directed by Antoine de Caunes 2001 : Vidocq, directed by Pitof 2002 : Le Frère du guerrier, directed by Pierre Jolivet 2002 : Mille millièmes, directed by Rémi Waterhouse 2002 : Mon Idole, directed by Guillaume Canet 2003 : Love Me If You Dare (Jeux d'enfants), directed by Yann Samuell 2003 : Les Clefs de bagnole, directed by Laurent Baffie (only a cameo, as himself) 2004 : Narco, directed by Tristan Aurouet and Gilles Lellouche 2005 : Joyeux Noël, directed by Christian Carion 2005 : Hell (L'Enfer), directed by Danis Tanović 2005 : Un ticket pour l'espace, directed by Éric Lartigau 2006 : Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne), directed by Guillaume Canet 2006 : Cars (French voice of Flash McQueen) 2007 : Ensemble, c'est tout, directed by Claude Berri 2007 : Darling, directed by Christine Carrière 2007 : La clef, directed by Guillaume Nicloux 2008 : Rivals, directed by Jacques Maillot 2008 : Voyage d'affaires, directed by Sean Ellis 2009 : Espion(s), directed by Nicolas Saada 2009 : L'affaire Farewell, directed by Christian Carion 2009 : The Last Flight, directed by Karim Dridi 2010 : Last Night, directed by Massy Tadjedin 2011 : Une vie meilleure, directed by Cédric Kahn 2011 : La nouvelle guerre des boutons, L'instituteur 2012 : The Players, Thibault 2013 : Jappeloup as Pierre Durand, Jr. 2013 : Turning Tide as Frank Drevil 2014 : In the Name of My Daughter as Maurice Agnelet 2014 : Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart as Franck 2015 : The Program as Michele Ferrari 2015 : Minions as Herb Overkill 2016 : Arctic Heart as Quignard 2016 : Cézanne and I as Émile Zola 2016 : The Siege of Jadotville as Rene Faulques 2017 : Mon garçon as Julien 2017 : Rock'n Roll as Guillaume Canet 2018 : Sink or Swim 2018 : Non-Fiction 2018 : Paris Pigalle 2019 : La Belle Époque 2019 : In the Name of the Land 2021 : Lui 2023 : Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom, directed by Guillaume Canet 2023 : Acid 2023 : Out of Season 2024 : The Flood 2025 : Ad Vitam 2027 : Fantômas: The New World as Fantômas

Awards and nominations Year Title Award/Nomination 2002 Mon Idole Nominated – César Award for Best Debut 2006 Tell No One César Award for Best DirectorGlobes de Cristal Award for Best FilmNominated – César Award for Best FilmNominated – César Award for Best Adaptation

Honours In 2009, Canet was appointed a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2025 he was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur.

Frequent casting Actor Mon Idole(2002) Tell No One(2006) Little White Lies(2010) Blood Ties(2013) Rock'n Roll(2017) Little White Lies 2(2019)Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom(2023)Karma(2026)François Cluzet

Marion Cotillard

Gilles Lellouche

François Berléand

Anne Marivin