Mathieu Kassovitz Biography

Date of Birth: August 3, 1967

Born in Paris to a famous director father (Peter Kassovitz) and a film editor mother, Mathieu Kassovitz followed his parents into the film world. He told Positive magazine in 1995, "My parents work in the cinema. If they had been bakers, I would have been a baker. They were filmmakers; I became a filmmaker." At six, Mathieu began to spend time on his father's sets, watching how films were made. When he was 11, Mathieu made his feature film acting debut in his father's movie Au bout du bout du banc (1979), starring Jane Birkin. Mathieu's next film, at the age of 13, was L'année prochaine... si tout va bien (1981) directed by Jean-Louis Hubert, followed by a role in the mini-series La vie de Berlioz (1983), directed by Jacques Trébouta.

Kassovitz took a break from acting for a while to apprentice behind the camera. He dropped out of school at 17, working as a second assistant director on a feature film, then progressed to first assistant director on several industrial films. In 1990 he wrote, produced and directed his first short film: Fierrot le pou, followed by two more short films, Cauchemar blanc (1991) and Assassins (1992). His first feature length film was Métisse (1993), again directing and writing as well as taking a starring role. He was nominated for two César awards for Best First Work and Most Promising Actor, and won Best Actor and Special Jury Prize at the Paris Film Festival. He directed, wrote and co-edited his next film, La haine (1985), which won Best Young Film at the European Film Awards as well as two César awards for Best Film and Best Editing. Most importantly, he won a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, which brought him to the attention of the international film industry.

Not wanting to leave acting totally behind, he appeared in his next screenplay, Assassins (1997) which he directed and co-edited, as well as his father's Jakob the Liar (1999) starring Robin Williams and Amélie (2001), for which he won Best Actor at the Cabourg Romantic Film Festival. In 2003, Kassovitz directed his first Hollywood film: the thriller Gothika (2003) starring Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr. and Penélope Cruz.

Kassovitz is married to actress/costume designer Julie Mauduech, with whom he has a daughter, Carmen.

Filmography: (director)

Babylon A.D. (2007)
Gothika (2003)
Les rivières pourpres (The Crimson Rivers) (2000)
Assassin(s) (1997)
La haine (1995)
Métisse (1993)

Filmography: (actor)

Munich (2005)
Amen (2002)
Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002)
Birthday Girl (2001)
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
Jakob the Liar (1999)
Le plaisir (et ses petits tracas) (1998)
The Fifth Element (1997)
Assassin(s) (1997)
Des nouvelles du bon Dieu (1996)
Un héros très discret (1996)
Mon homme (1996) (uncredited)
La haine (1995)
3000 scénarios contre un virus (1994)
Regarde les hommes tomber (1994)
Métisse (1993)
Un été sans histoires (1992)
Touch and Die (1991)
Au bout du bout du banc (1979)