AllMovie

French actor Jean-Pierre Castaldi has enjoyed a long career as an actor in French films before crossing over to international cinema. Starting out in the theater, he appeared on-stage alongside notable French theatrical legend Sacha Guitry. On television, he made a name for himself on the long-running crime series Les Enquêtes du commissaire Maigret in 1967. After a few more television appearances, he worked in dramas and crime stories, including L'Affaire Dominici with Gérard Depardieu. He made his U.S. breakthrough as Inspector Raoul Diron in John Frankenheimer's French Connection II. The next year he appeared in the James Bond entry Moonraker as a jet pilot. Castaldi moved on to comedies throughout the '80s. During this time, he began collaborating with screenwriter/director Claude Zidi for many film projects including Promotion Canape, Ma Femme Me Quitte, and Profil Bas. On the international circuit, he appeared in the West German production Palace and the Italian film A Fine Romance with Marcello Mastroianni. He worked with Roberto Benigni in Asterix & Obelix Vs. Caesar, based on the popular European comic book. In 2002, Castaldi starred in the Hollywood snowboarding-terrorism movie Extreme Ops. He stayed with Hollywood films the next year for the action-comedy George and the Dragon.