{{Short description|French writer, director, editor and actor}} {{for|the French writer on Hinduism|Alexandre Astier (historian)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Alexandre Astier | image = Alexandreastier.JPG | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Alexandre Astier | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|06|16|df=y}} | birth_place = Lyon, France | death_date = | death_place = | othername = | occupation = Actor | yearsactive = | spouse = | website = }}
'''Alexandre Astier''' (born 16 June 1974) is a French writer, director, editor, scriptwriter, humorist, actor and composer.
Astier is most known as the creator, director, writer, editor, composer, and lead actor of the French television series ''Kaamelott'', in which he also plays King Arthur.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Michallon |first=Clémence |date=14 July 2019 |title=How France's equivalent of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' taught me the sweet loneliness of TV in a foreign language |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/kaamelott-french-tv-show-king-arthur-legend-spoof-monty-python-holy-grail-a8978456.html |website=independent.co.uk}}</ref>
==Life and career==
Alexandre Astier was born in Lyon on June 16, 1974, to Joëlle Sevilla and Lionnel Astier, both actors and producers mostly in Lyon's theatre scene.
Alexandre Astier studied music at the conservatory and at the American School of Modern Music of Paris.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexandre Astier |url=https://www.asmm.fr/en/our_team/alexandre-astier/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=American School of Modern Music |language=en-US}}</ref> He also studied acting and screenwriting.
Four of Astier's seven children have featured in ''Kaamelott'', and both his parents are main characters in the series. His daughters Ariane and Jeanne Astier play respectively Mehben and Mehgan, the daughters of Karadoc and Maevanwi (in the episodes Pupi and Exiles). His son Neil (who also appears as Karadoc and Mevanwi's son in Pupi) plays young Arthur in the season Book V, and in the final scene of Book VI. His son Ethan plays Arthur's dream heir in Book V. Moreover, the mother of his first five children, Anne-Gaëlle Daval, is head of the costume designs on ''Kaamelott'' and the short film ''Dies Irae''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1354329.Alexandre_Astier |title=Alexandre Astier (Author of Kaamelott, Tome 1 ) |publisher=Goodreads.com |accessdate=12 May 2011}}</ref>
In 2012, he plays Johann Sebastian Bach in his humorous show "Que ma joie demeure !" at the theater.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexandre Astier |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/AlexandreAstier |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=TV Tropes}}</ref>
In 2014, his comic show "L'Exoconférence" begins at the theater in September.
Passionate of technologies, he confirms in 2018 on twitter, that Kaamelott's film adaptation has been written with a bepo keyboard<ref>{{Cite web |title=canard pc bépo |url=https://www.canardpc.com/news/bepo-le-clown/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250712025607/https://www.canardpc.com/news/bepo-le-clown/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 July 2025 |access-date=26 August 2025 }}</ref> on a raspberry pi, running Wordgrinder text-editor software.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Astier's confirms of software usage on twitter |url=https://x.com/AAstierOff/status/992330261579870208}}</ref>
He also owns a castle in Ardèche area,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-07-21 |title=Cinéma. Isère, Drôme, Ardèche… ces lieux que vous pouvez reconnaître dans le film Kaamelott |url=https://www.ledauphine.com/culture-loisirs/2021/07/21/isere-drome-ardeche-ces-lieux-que-vous-pouvez-reconnaitre-dans-le-film-kaamelott |access-date=2024-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721052000/https://www.ledauphine.com/culture-loisirs/2021/07/21/isere-drome-ardeche-ces-lieux-que-vous-pouvez-reconnaitre-dans-le-film-kaamelott |archive-date=21 July 2021 }}</ref> where he can store lot of his music instruments into a specific room.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-17 |title=Alexandre Astier : a tout quitté pour son château en Ardèche |url=https://www.lejournaldelamaison.fr/le-journal-de-la-maison/reportages-maisons/alexandre-astier-kaamelott-pourquoi-a-t-il-decide-de-tout-quitter-pour-un-chateau-en-ardeche-472706.html |access-date=2024-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117183217/https://www.lejournaldelamaison.fr/le-journal-de-la-maison/reportages-maisons/alexandre-astier-kaamelott-pourquoi-a-t-il-decide-de-tout-quitter-pour-un-chateau-en-ardeche-472706.html |archive-date=17 January 2024 }}</ref>
===Debut at the theatre===
Alexandre Astier first got attention from the Lyon's public thanks to the play ''Le Jour du froment''. He also acted in ''Nous crions grâce'', a play written and directed by Jacques Chambon, to whom he gave the role of Merlin in ''Kaamelott''.
===Cinema=== In 2001, he was the co-screenwriter and the songwriter of the short movies ''Soyons sport'' and ''Un soupçon fondé sur quelque chose de gras''.
In 2002 he was the director of ''Dies Irae'', a 14-minute short movie that is also the first draft of the ''Kaamelott'' TV show.
In 2006, he featured in ''Hey Good Looking!'', a French movie by Lisa Azuelos. The same year, he appeared in ''Asterix at the Olympic Games'' by Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann, and in ''Home Sweet Home'' by Didier Le Pêcheur.
In 2009, he played the role of the ex-husband of Sophie Marceau in ''LOL (Laughing Out Loud)'', another comedy by Lisa Azuelos.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=134003.html |title=LOL (Laughing Out Loud) ® |last=AlloCine |language=fr |access-date=2025-04-06 |via=www.allocine.fr}}</ref>
In 2012, he presented his first feature film as a director, ''David et Madame Hansen'', in which he played the main protagonist alongside Isabelle Adjani.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=192291.html |title=David et Madame Hansen |last=AlloCine |language=fr |access-date=2025-04-06 |via=www.allocine.fr}}</ref>
In 2014, he was the co-director and the screenwriter of ''Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods''.
In 2015, he appeared in the film ''All Three of Us'', directed by Kheiron.
In 2018, he wrote an original screenplay for a new Asterix movie: Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion. Like Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods, he co-directed it with Louis Clichy.
In 2025, he plays the role of a drunken shrink in the second season of ''Bref.'' He had already appeared as a cameo in the first season.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.allocine.fr/series/ficheserie_gen_cserie=1000000468.html |title=Bref.2 |last=AlloCine |language=fr |access-date=2025-04-06 |via=www.allocine.fr}}</ref>
===Kaamelott=== Alexandre Astier became famous as the writer, director and actor in the TV show he produced. ''Kaamelott'' is inspired by the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/alexandre-astier-asterix-le-domaine-des-dieux-asterix-mansion-of-the-gods/ |title=Alexandre Astier to Write and Co-Direct ASTERIX Animated Sequel in 3D; 2014 Release Planned |publisher=Collider.com |date=31 October 2010 |access-date=12 May 2011}}</ref> This humorous series is broadcast on the French channel M6. The episodes lasted three and a half minutes until 2007. Then, the format changed to seven minutes and finally reached fifty-five minutes per episode in the last season Book VI.
He also composes the music of the series.
He has the ambition to extend the TV show to the cinema as a trilogy, but not before 2012, since Alexandre Astier plans to work as a director on another movie before launching Kaamelott on the big screen.
In June 2010, invited on the set of the show "J'irai LOLer sur vos tombes", he unveiled his project to publish a series of graphic novels titled ''Kaamelott Resistance'' as a transition between the TV format and the future cinema films.
== Filmography ==
{{Empty section|date=November 2022}}
===Film=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | rowspan="2" |2001 |''Un soupçon fondé sur quelque chose de gras'' |N/A | rowspan="4" |Short |- |''Soyons sport'' |Francis |- |2002 |''Dies Irae'' |King Arthur |- |2004 |''Anaconda'' |Vincent |- | 2006 | ''Hey Good Looking!'' |Gilles | |- |2007 |''Recrue d'essence'' |Maxime Roux |Short |- | rowspan="3" | 2008 | ''Asterix at the Olympic Games'' |Mordicus | Also dialogue writer |- | ''Coluche, l'histoire d'un mec'' | Reiser | |- | ''Home Sweet Home'' | Joubert | |- | rowspan="2" | 2009 | ''LOL (Laughing Out Loud)'' | Alain | |- |''Zygomatiques'' |Dr. Paul Lamarrade |Short |- | 2011 | ''Les Aventures de Philibert, capitaine puceau'' | Clotindre d'Artois | |- | 2012 | ''David et Madame Hansen'' |David | Also director, writer, producer and editor |- | 2013 | ''Pop Redemption'' | Traffic Police Chief | |- | rowspan="4" | 2014 | ''Quantum Love'' | Eric | |- |''All Three of Us'' | The Shah of Iran | |- |''Asterix: The Mansion of the Gods'' |Centurion Somniferus (voice) |Also writer |- |''14 millions de cris'' |Father |Short |- |2015 |''What We Do in the Shadows'' |Vladislav the Poker |French dub |- |2018 |''Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion'' |Centurion Somniferus (voice) |Also writer |- | 2021 | ''Kaamelott: The First Chapter'' | rowspan="2" | King Arthur | rowspan="2" |Also director, writer, producer and editor |- |2025 |''Kaamelott: The Second Chapter Part 1'' |- |2026 |''Laughing Out Loud 2.0'' |Alain | |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 2001 | ''Belle Grand-Mère 2 : La Trattoria'' | Marcello | TV movie |- | 2002 | ''Lyon Police Spécial'' |Café Owner | Episode: "Apprivoisement" |- | 2005–2009 | ''Kaamelott'' | King Arthur | TV series<br />Main role, 446 episodes <br />Director<br />Writer<br />Editor |- | rowspan="2" | 2007 | ''Elie Annonce Semoun'' | Eric Reptile | Miniseries<br />Direct-to-video |- |''Off Prime'' |Himself |3 episodes |- | rowspan="2" |2008 |''Mademoiselle'' |WorldWide Company C.E.O |Episode: "Episode 13" |- |''14-18, le bruit et la fureur'' |Narrator |Documentary |- |2009 |''Hero Corp'' |Araignée Man |2 episodes |- |2010 |''La Commanderie'' |Inquisitor Robert Matemale |Episode: "L'arrivée du Duc d'Anjou" |- |2011 |''Le Front Populaire, à nous la vie !'' |Narrator |Documentary |- |2012, 2025 |''Bref'' |Undisguised Party Guest/Therapist |5 episodes |- |2012 |''Adventure Time'' |Prince Gumball (voice) |French dub |- | rowspan="2" |2013 |''Scènes de ménages'' |José's Biker Friend |Episode: "Entre amis" |- |''La télé commande'' |Televiewer |1 episode |- |2015 |''Einstein et la relativité générale, une histoire singulière'' |Albert Einstein (voice) |Documentary |- |2022 |''Le Grand Restaurant : La guerre de l'étoile'' |Georges Michalon |TV movie |- |2025 |''Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight'' |Unhygienix (voice) |Netflix mini-series |}
===Video games=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 2017 | ''Mass Effect Andromeda'' | Lieutenant August Bradley | French dub |}
===Web series=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 2012-2013 | ''Le Golden Show'' | Cosette/M.Bison/Alan Mysterious | 3 episodes |}
==See also== * Kaamelott
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|id=1594248}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astier, Alexandre}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:Mass media people from Lyon Category:French male television actors Category:French television directors Category:French male film actors Category:French film directors Category:French male screenwriters Category:French screenwriters Category:20th-century French dramatists and playwrights Category:21st-century French dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century French male writers Category:French people of Spanish descent Category:21st-century French male writers Category:Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:French humorists Category:French male comedians Category:Comedians from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes