Jalil Lespert

Jalil Lespert (born 11 May 1976) is a French actor, screenwriter and director. He has been described as "one of the best actors of his generation."

Early life and education
Lespert was born in Paris to a pied-noir father, actor Jean Lespert, and a Kabyle Algerian mother, who is an attorney and a jurist, Lespert initially studied law to please his mother.

Career
Lespert made his film debut in 1995, in Laurent Cantet's film Jeux de plage, alongside his father. His first major role came in 1999, in Jacques Maillot's film Our Happy Lives. The following year, he appeared in another Cantet film, Human Resources, which earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2001. Lespert's career took off and he appeared in several films, playing a wide range of characters, such as a sensual gardener in Sade, a body builder addict in Vivre me tue, a boxer in Virgil, an pretentious artist in Alain Resnais's Not on the Lips, and a journalist in Robert Guédiguian's The Last Mitterrand.

Lespert directed his first film in 2007, 24 mesures, featuring Benoît Magimel and Sami Bouajila. His second feature as director, Headwinds (2011), featured Magimel alongside Audrey Tautou and Isabelle Carré.

In 2010, he appeared in French television series Pigalle, la nuit.

Personal life
In 2009, Lespert married Sonia Rolland, a former Miss France. The couple had one child named Kahina (born 2010), and separated in 2018. He also has two other children, Jena and Aliosha, from a previous relationship.

As actor

 * 1995 - Jeux de plage directed by Laurent Cantet
 * 1997 - Les Sanguinaires
 * 1999 - Human Resources
 * 2000 - Sade
 * 2001 - Inch'Allah Dimanche
 * 2001 - Bella Ciao, directed by Stéphane Giusti
 * 2002 - Vivre me tue 
 * 2003 - Les Amateurs, directed by Martin Valente
 * 2003 - Not on the Lips
 * 2004 - L'ennemi naturel, directed by Pierre Erwan Guillaume
 * 2005 - The Young Lieutenant
 * 2005 - The Last Mitterrand
 * 2006 - Le Voyage en Arménie, directed by Robert Guédiguian
 * 2008 - Tell No One
 * 2008 - Ligne de Front, directed by Jean-Christophe Klotz
 * 2014 - De guerre lasse, directed by Olivier Panchot
 * 2016 - Iris 
 * With or Without You (2021)
 * 2023 - Infinity Pool

As director and writer

 * 2007 - 24 Bars (24 mesures)
 * 2011 - Headwinds (Des vents contraires)
 * 2014 - Yves Saint Laurent
 * 2016 - Iris

Awards and accolades

 * César Award for Most Promising Actor (26th César Awards, for Human Resources)
 * Lumières Award for Most Promising Actor (6th Lumières Awards, for Human Resources)
 * (2001, Best Actor, for Human Resources)