AllMovie

Evincing a lean, rugged handsomeness that suited him perfectly in either suave romantic roles or portrayals of tough guys, Gallic actor Olivier Sitruk began life in Nice on Christmas Day 1970 and grew up in Marseille and Draguignan. As a young man, Sitruk briefly flirted with the idea of pursuing careers as an archaeologist and reporter, then discovered an intense love of drama during his teens that led him to study theater for several years, working odd jobs on the side to support himself. The tyro attended such esteemed institutions as the Conservatoire National de Nice, Studio 34, L'Ecole Claude Mathieu, and -- eventually -- the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied under the aegis of Daniel Mesguich. He formally debuted on film in 1992, but began to break through to celebrity two years later. Key assignments included a lead role opposite bombshell Marie Gillain in director Bertrand Tavernier's bleak crime drama L'Appat (1995), first billing in Hiner Saleem's 2000 political drama Passeurs de Reves (as a Mesopotamian refugee fleeing devastation with his young wife), and one of the two male leads in Ivan Calberac's gentle, romantic seriocomedy Irene (2002). In the following years, Sitruk drew increased international attention with his role as a lovestruck homosexual in the lighthearted romantic comedy 3 Guys, 1 Girl, 2 Weddings and appeared on American television (the Lifetime network) opposite Shirley MacLaine in the biopic Coco Chanel (2008).