Stéphane Rousseau Biography

STÉPHANE ROUSSEAU

Date of Birth: September 16, 1966

Stéphane Rousseau is the perfect Renaissance man. Stand-up comic, impersonator, dancer, crooner, musician, singer, radio host, Stéphane also sculpts and paints. And now at 36, he has made another of his dreams dream come true: to become an professional actor. Within 12 months, he appeared in two films, one after the other: Louis Saïa's Les Dangereux in 2002 and Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions in 2003. Good thing too, because if Les Dangereux was a total disaster, one of the worst flops in Quebec cinematic history (admittedly through no fault of Stéphane), his second movie became one of the most acclaimed in the history of Canadian cinema.

Stéphane began his career early and like the old pros used to start, appearing in cabarets and clubs when he was only 13. He toured the province of Quebec accompanied by his mentor, the legendary Romeo Perusse, who noticed Stéphane in a cabaret in Saint-Henri. Trained in improvisation and inspired by American stand-up comics, Stéphane Rousseau made his first appearance on a "real" stage in 1992 at the Théâtre Saint-Denis when he performed his first solo show. More than 300,000 people saw his show over the next two years: a star was born!

Starting in 1993, Stéphane won numerous prizes among them the Double Platinum Ticket sales of over 100,000 tickets, which he repeated in 2000 for his third solo show. He also won 2 Olivier Awards for his third show. In 1997 he participated at the Comedy festival in Montreux, Switzerland, where he was warmly received. In 1999, he was part of Celine Dion's mega show of the century at the Molson Centre. In 2001, he took over the Parisian club Le Bataclan, where he performed 50 shows. He won over both the French critics and the public alike, who affectionately nicknamed him the "Brad Pitt" of humor.

Filmography:

Modern Love (2008)
Astérix aux jeux olympiques/Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008)
The Locrian Mode (2005)
The Barbarian Invasions/Les invasions barbares (2003)
Les Dangereux (2002)