| Biography |
| Beginnings |
| Olivier Martinez grew up in the suburbs of Paris, where he was born on January 12, 1966. He lived in a working-class setting, where boxing and work as a mechanic was a family tradition -- his grandfather and father were both boxers who later went on to be mechanics. |
| Family |
| Olivier's father is of Spanish heritage (which helps explain Martinez's last name and dark looks) but was born and raised in Morocco. His mother is French, from Brittany, a region in Western France known for its celtic heritage. Olivier has one brother, also an actor, named Vincent. |
| Bitten by the acting bug |
| Nothing about Martinez's upbringing predicted that Olivier's chosen profession would be that of an actor. He had in fact followed in the footsteps of his father, trying his hand at boxing for a while (hence the slightly off-kilter nose). And then, at the age of 23, while accompanying a friend to an audition at the Conservatoire Sup�rieur d'Art Dramatique, Olivier himself was admitted. Not long after he was appearing in plays, television, and finally movies. |
| Playing with the big boys |
| Olivier has acted alongside and been directed by some of the most prestigious figures in French cinema. In 1992 he co-starred with Yves Montand in IP5, helmed by acclaimed director Jean-Jacques Beineix. Olivier's performance earned him a Cesar nomination. Next was Un, Deux, Trois Soleil, directed by Bertrand Blier and featuring Marcello Mastroianni; Martinez won a Cesar Award for Most Promising Actor for this role. Three years later he found himself teaming up again with Blier for a small role in Mon Homme. |
| Coming into his own |
| But the one role that was going to garner him the most attention in France and elsewhere came in 1994 with The Horseman on the Roof. Horseman was a romantic adventure that teamed him up with Juliette Binoche, and their relationship -- both onscreen and off -- piqued the French media's interest before ending three years later. |
| Moving on |
| Since then Olivier Martinez has tended more toward foreign productions, including several movies directed by Spanish cineastes, and of late has taken to American movies. Since 2000, he has appeared in three English-language movies -- Before Night Falls, Unfaithful, and most recently Semana Santa, in which he co-stars with Mira Sorvino, his former girlfriend. He now divides his time between LA, New York, and Paris, but often finds himself travelling -- he was recently in Rome working on The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, a Showtime movie in which he plays an Italian playboy. Around October filming starts on his next movie, S.W.A.T., in which he stars alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Ferrell, and L.L. Cool J. |
| To conclude.... |
| With each movie it seems that more and more people are discovering the French actor. What is it about him that draws Olivier's fans to him? His looks -- the dark locks, the generous lips, the high cheekbones, the mediterranean looks... (you get the idea); his acting ability? The romantic nature of many of his film roles? The sensuality he exudes in roles such as Angelo in Horseman or Paul in Unfaithful? The French accent? Probably a little bit of it all. |