Actor

Benoît Poelvoorde

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

These indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.

Acting credits

102

Prolific

Very extensive acting filmography.

TMDB popularity

1.3

Low visibility

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Movies: 91Series: 11Crew credits: 7

TMDB ID: 47820

IMDb ID: nm0688143

Known for: Acting

Born: September 22, 1964

Age: 62

Place of birth: Namur, Belgium

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1987 - 2027

Years active: 41

Average TMDB rating: 5.8

Wikidata: Q714765

Other jobs

Writer (3)Creator (1)Director (1)Idea (1)Screenplay (1)

TMDB IMDb Wikidata

Biography

Benoît Poelvoorde is a Belgian actor, comedian, and filmmaker, born on September 22, 1964, in Namur, Belgium. He first gained recognition with the cult film C'est arrivé près de chez vous (1992), a darkly comedic mockumentary where he played a serial killer with unsettling charm. This film launched his career and established his unique blend of humor and intensity. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, Poelvoorde became a staple of Franco-Belgian cinema, starring in comedies like Les Randonneurs (1997), Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert (2001), and Podium (2004), where he portrayed an obsessive Claude François impersonator—a role that earned him a César nomination. His versatility allowed him to transition into more dramatic roles, such as Entre ses mains (2005) and Coco avant Chanel (2009), where he starred alongside Audrey Tautou. In recent years, Poelvoorde has continued to balance absurdist comedy (Au poste !, Fumer fait tousser) with auteur-driven projects (Le Tout Nouveau Testament, Saint-Amour). His ability to oscillate between slapstick humor and introspective performances makes him one of the most distinctive actors in European cinema