David Belle

{{Short description|French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator (born 1973)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = David Belle | image = David Belle NewYorker.jpg | caption = Belle at the [[New Yorker Festival]] 2007 | birth_name = David Nicolas Williams Belle<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uspto.report/company/David-Nicolas-Williams-Belle |title= David Nicolas Williams Belle |website=USPTO}}</ref> | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1973|4|29|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Fécamp]], France | death_date = | death_place = | other_names = | known_for = [[Parkour]], film ''[[District 13]]'' | education = | employer = | occupation = [[Celebrity]], [[Choreographer]], [[Stunt coordinator]] | title = | height = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = [[Raymond Belle]] (father)<br />Monique Kitten (mother) | relatives = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''David Nicolas Williams Belle''' (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline [[parkour]], coining it based on his training and the teachings from his father [[Raymond Belle]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parkulture.com/david-belle-founder-of-parkour-interview/|title=David Belle: Founder of Parkour Interview|website=parkulture.com|language=en-US|access-date=4 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107005712/https://parkulture.com/david-belle-founder-of-parkour-interview/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Belle came to fame via his parkour videos and film appearances, such as ''[[District 13]]'', ''[[District 13: Ultimatum]]'', which were written and produced by [[Luc Besson]], and the American remake ''[[Brick Mansions]]''. Belle has also consulted on the making of ''[[Babylon A.D.]]'', ''[[Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film)|Prince of Persia]]'', ''[[Colombiana]]'', ''[[The Family (2013 film)|The Family]]'', and the videogame series ''[[Dying Light]]''. He is the chair of the Parkour Committee of the [[International Federation of Gymnastics]].<ref name="veconomist">{{cite news|author=H.G.|title=Parkour's street stuntmen resent the sport's new organisers|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2017/10/guerrilla-gymnastics|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=6 October 2017}}</ref>

== Life and career == {{Further|Parkour#Raymond and David Belle}} Belle was born and raised in [[Fécamp]], the son of Monique and [[Raymond Belle]] of Paris. His grandfather Gilbert Kitten, father Raymond, and brother Jean-François Belle were highly skilled rescuers in the Military [[Paris Fire Brigade]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.zoom-cinema.fr/people/david-belle/456/ | title=David Belle | publisher=zoom-cinema.fr | quote=''nous sommes le 29 avril 1973 à Fécamp. Naissance de David Belle(...)Suivant les traces de son père, Raymond Belle, et de son grand-père, Gilbert Kitten, David Belle rejoint les sapeurs pompiers de Paris puis les troupes de marine à Vannes'' | access-date=20 January 2011 | archive-date=25 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325052526/http://www.zoom-cinema.fr/people/david-belle/456/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://parkourpedia.com/about/who-is-who/david-belle | title=David Belle | publisher=parkourpedia.com (Original French biography referenced to David-Belle.com which no longer exists) | quote=''David Belle was born on 29 April 1973 in Fécamp, in the Seine-Maritime département in Normandy. Descended from a modest family from the Parisian suburbs, it was in Fécamp and later in the town of Sables d'Olonne that David spent the first fourteen years of his life. Raised by his maternal grandfather, Gilbert Kitten (former sergeant-major of the Parisian sapeurs-pompiers military fire service), David was impressed by tales of heroism, and developed from a young age a passion for anything to do with action.'' | access-date=20 January 2011 | archive-date=9 June 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609065037/http://parkourpedia.com/about/who-is-who/david-belle | url-status=dead }}</ref> His father Raymond Belle was born in [[French Indochina]], and was of French and Vietnamese descent, while his mother Monique Kitten was of French and English ancestry.

David Belle began developing parkour in Normandy while living with his grandfather, Gilbert.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Witfeld |first1=Jan |title=The Ultimate parkour & freerunning book : discover your possibilities |date=2013 |publisher=Meyer & Meyer sport |location=Maidenhead |isbn=978-1782550204 |page=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_WWNAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA22}} "There, he transferred the techniques he had learned in the forests of Normandy to the urban environment"</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=BBC film's rooftop stunts 'real' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1939106.stm |date=19 April 2002}}</ref> In 1984, at the age of 11, Belle moved to [[Lisses]], France. He made close friends with a group of teenagers with similar physical passions who began training with him, transferring the techniques he learned in Normandy to an urban environment. Some of the friends that trained with David would later become known as the [[Yamakasi]]. Later in life, Belle spent time in the military and fire brigade with aspirations of following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. David left soon after for personal reasons, as he felt the regimented life of the military was antithetical to his character. During his time in the [[Troupes de marine|Marines]], he set the Regimental record for rope climbing (which was previously held by his father, Raymond) and earned a certificate of honor for his gymnastic abilities.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hardman |first1=Alun |last2=Jones |first2=Carwyn |title=Philosophy of Sport: International Perspectives |date=13 September 2010 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-2546-7 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4cnBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 |language=en}}</ref>

Upon completing his national service, he worked in various professions including a warehouse worker, security guard and furniture salesman. He also spent 3 months in India studying [[kung fu]]. After his return he continued his training in parkour and filmed footage of his capabilities which he later turned into the famous ''Speed Air Man'' video. In 1997 the Stade 2 team were shown a video of Belle and decided to film the first news broadcast featuring him and the Yamakasi.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Angel |first1=Julie |title=Breaking the jump : the secret story of parkour's high-flying rebellion |date=2016 |location=London |isbn=978-1781315545 |page=4}}</ref>

In filming this news feature, the term [[Yamakasi]] was used for the first time in connection with the team. Belle did not approve of the name and felt like it did not give credit to his father, so he split from the group after the feature. Later Belle would go on to train other students who gave themselves the name 'tracer.' The spelling was later adapted to 'traceur', and has since been used to define a practitioner of parkour.

Belle was first introduced to his acting career in a meeting with [[Hubert Koundé]] (''[[La Haine]]''), in order to discuss the success of parkour in cinema. He then began developing his acting ability with the play [[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]], and has since been successful in obtaining a number of roles mostly in French films and promotions. Belle has been featured in promotional videos for Tina Turner, and Iam. He has starred in "Les gens du voyages" and "Un monde meilleur", followed by "L'Engrenages" and "Femme Fatale", as well as "Les rivières pourpres 2", starring [[Jean Reno]]. After filming several more advertisements and promotions for the BBC, Nissan, Canon, and Nike, Belle was contacted by [[Luc Besson]] (director of ''[[Nikita (film)|Nikita]]'', and ''[[The Fifth Element]]'') regarding co-starring as lead actor with [[Cyril Raffaelli]] in the action movie ''[[District 13]]'', followed by the sequel ''[[District 13: Ultimatum]]''. Belle co-starred with [[Paul Walker]] in ''[[Brick Mansions]]'' (2014), a remake of ''District 13''.

== Filmography ==

=== Film and television === {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2000 | ''Louis Page'' | Laurent | 1 Episode |- | 2001 | ''Engrenage, L'' | Le créancier | |- | 2002 | ''[[Femme Fatale (2002 film)|Femme Fatale]]'' | French Cop | |- | 2004 | ''[[District 13]]'' | Leïto | Parkour film debut |- |2005 |Un monde meilleur |Good Guy #1 | |- | 2008 | ''[[Babylon A.D.]]'' | Hacker Kid | - |- | 2009 | ''[[District 13: Ultimatum]]'' | Leïto | |- | 2012 | ''[[Métal Hurlant Chronicles]]'' | Red Light | 1 Episode |- | 2013 | ''[[The Family (2013 film)|Malavita]]'' | Mezzo | |- | 2014 | ''[[Brick Mansions]]'' | Lino Duppre | ''[[District 13]]'' Remake |- | 2014 | ''Jaya'' | Jaya | (Short) |- | 2016 | ''[[Super Express (film)|Super Express]]'' | Gary | |- | 2018 | ''Defying Chase'' | | |- | 2019 | ''The Ultimate Code'' | | |- | 2019 | ''Invisible Tattoo'' | | |- | 2020 | ''[[Rogue City]]'' | | ''Bronx'' (in French) |}

=== Stunts === {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title/Company ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |2000 |[[Ménélik]] – Limbo Negro |Music video |- |2000 |[[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] |Commercial |- | 2002 | [[BBC One]] | Advertising Campaign |- |2002 |Lester Bilal feat. David Belle – Vibration |Music video |- |2002 | ''[[Canon (company)|Canon]]'' | Commercial |- | 2002 | ''[[Nike, Inc.|Nike]]'' | Commercial |- | 2002 | ''[[Nissan Motors|Nissan]]'' | Commercial |- | 2003 | ''[[Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse]]'' | Stunt Coordinator |- | 2005 | ''[[Transporter 2]]'' | Stunt Coordinator |- | 2010 | ''[[Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film)|Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time]]'' | Stunt Coordinator |- | 2011 | ''[[Covert Affairs]]'' | Stunt Coordinator |- | 2011 | ''[[Colombiana (film)|Colombiana]]'' | Stunt Coordinator |}

=== Video games === {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2015 | ''[[Dying Light]]'' | Antoine Merpe | Also Mo-Cap, Stunt Coordinator & Counseling |- |2022 | ''[[Dying Light 2]]'' |Hakon |Also Mo-Cap, Stunt Coordinator & Counseling |}

== Endorsements and groups == Belle largely stays out of the public spotlight. His last major appearance was when he appeared as a guest at the New Yorker Festival in 2007. Belle was interviewed for the parkour article "No Obstacles" written by Alec Wilkinson which was published in April 2007.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/16/070416fa_fact_wilkinson |title=No Obstacles | magazine=The New Yorker|date=9 April 2007 |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

Belle formerly endorsed the clothing company Take Flight, but decided to sever his ties to the brand because he disapproved of their business activities and motives.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidbelle.com/fr/vetements.php |title=The Website of David Belle |publisher=DavidBelle.com |access-date=4 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426015830/http://www.davidbelle.com/fr/vetements.php |archive-date=26 April 2012}}</ref>

== See also == * [[Sébastien Foucan]]

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Wikiquote}} * {{IMDb name|1042642}} * [http://la.ecitalent.com/biography/david-belle David Belle @ ECI Global Talent Management] *[https://davidbelleparkour.com David Belle Official Website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle, David}} [[Category:1973 births]] [[Category:French male film actors]] [[Category:French stunt performers]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:French people of Vietnamese descent]] [[Category:Parkour]] [[Category:French traceurs]] [[Category:People from Fécamp]]