Gérard Watkins

Gérard Watkins is an English-French actor, playwright, director, and songwriter. As a stage actor he has performed in over forty productions in Paris with such directors as Véronique Bellegarde, Julie Beres, Jean-Claude Buchard, Elizabeth Chailloux, Michel Didym, André Engel, Frederic Fisbach, Marc François, Daniel Jeanneteau, Philipe Lanton, Jean-Louis Martinelli, Lars Noren, Claude Régy, Yann Ritsema, Bernard Sobel, Viviane Theophilides, and Jean-Pierre Vincent. Among his critically acclaimed performances are Ian in Sarah Kane's Blasted, Edmond in King Lear, and Rosalind in As you Like it. In the Cinema he is perhaps best known for his role in the 2009 film Taken as Patrice Saint Clair, the sex trafficking kingpin that runs the operation that kidnapped the protagonist's 17-year old daughter, but he has also performed with directors as Julie Lopez Curval, Jérome Salle, Yann Samuel, Julian Schnabel, Hugo Santiago, and Peter Watkins. Since 1994 he has directed his own theatre company, the Perdita Ensemble, where he has staged all of his plays, the Secret Capital, Follow Me, The Tower, In the Faraway Forest, Icone, Identity, Lost, and I Don't Remember Very Well.

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Taken (2008)

GrippingAction-packedThrillingIntense

While vacationing with a friend in Paris, an American girl is kidnapped by a gang of human traffickers intent on selling her into forced prostitution. Working against the clock, her ex-spy father must pull out all the stops to save her. But with his best years ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Pierre Morel
CAST:  Liam Neeson  •  Famke Janssen  •  Maggie Grace  •  Katie Cassidy

While vacationing with a friend in Paris, an American girl is kidnapped by a gang of human traffickers intent on selling her into forced prostitution. Working against the clock, her ex-spy father must pull out all the stops to save her. But with his best years ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Pierre Morel
CAST:  Liam Neeson  •  Famke Janssen  •  Maggie Grace  •  Katie Cassidy

Love Me If You Dare (2003)

As adults, best friends Julien and Sophie continue the odd game they started as children -- a fearless competition to outdo one another with daring and outrageous stunts. While they often act out to relieve one another's pain, their game might be a way to avoid the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yann Samuell
CAST:  Guillaume Canet  •  Marion Cotillard  •  Thibault Verhaeghe  •  Joséphine Lebas-Joly

As adults, best friends Julien and Sophie continue the odd game they started as children -- a fearless competition to outdo one another with daring and outrageous stunts. While they often act out to relieve one another's pain, their game might be a way to avoid the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yann Samuell
CAST:  Guillaume Canet  •  Marion Cotillard  •  Thibault Verhaeghe  •  Joséphine Lebas-Joly

Plein sud (2009)

In the summer, 27 year-old Sam drives towards the south of France in his Ford. He meets Matthieu and his sister Léa and takes them along in his apparently aimless journey. Matthieu has a crush on Sam and tries to seduce him. Léa is a beautiful, young, provocative ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Sébastien Lifshitz
CAST:  Yannick Renier  •  Léa Seydoux  •  Nicole Garcia  •  Pierre Perrier

In the summer, 27 year-old Sam drives towards the south of France in his Ford. He meets Matthieu and his sister Léa and takes them along in his apparently aimless journey. Matthieu has a crush on Sam and tries to seduce him. Léa is a beautiful, young, provocative ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Sébastien Lifshitz
CAST:  Yannick Renier  •  Léa Seydoux  •  Nicole Garcia  •  Pierre Perrier

Rebecca H. (Return to the Dogs) (2010)

Filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan makes a self-referential movie about a fictional attempt to make a Grace Slick biopic.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Lodge Kerrigan
CAST:  Géraldine Pailhas  •  Pascal Greggory  •  Magali Woch  •  Lodge Kerrigan

Filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan makes a self-referential movie about a fictional attempt to make a Grace Slick biopic.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Lodge Kerrigan
CAST:  Géraldine Pailhas  •  Pascal Greggory  •  Magali Woch  •  Lodge Kerrigan

New York 1935 (1988)

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DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Sarah Mesguich  •  Anne Mercier  •  Josy Bernard  •  Gérard Watkins

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DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Sarah Mesguich  •  Anne Mercier  •  Josy Bernard  •  Gérard Watkins

The Invisible Woman (2009)

Once assuming people ignored her because they weren't interested, Lili begins to suspect that she might be literally invisible.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Agathe Teyssier
CAST:  Julie Depardieu  •  Charlotte Rampling  •  Micheline Dax  •  Éric Naggar

Once assuming people ignored her because they weren't interested, Lili begins to suspect that she might be literally invisible.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Agathe Teyssier
CAST:  Julie Depardieu  •  Charlotte Rampling  •  Micheline Dax  •  Éric Naggar

On a volé Charlie Spencer! (1986)

Students of film history will appreciate the many tributes to famous films of yore which appear in this first-time feature directed and written by former drama teacher Francis Huster. In the story, a mild-mannered bank clerk has heroic dreams of being a real he-man ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Francis Huster
CAST:  Francis Huster  •  Béatrice Dalle  •  Isabelle Nanty  •  Jacques Spiesser

Students of film history will appreciate the many tributes to famous films of yore which appear in this first-time feature directed and written by former drama teacher Francis Huster. In the story, a mild-mannered bank clerk has heroic dreams of being a real he-man ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Francis Huster
CAST:  Francis Huster  •  Béatrice Dalle  •  Isabelle Nanty  •  Jacques Spiesser

Near Mrs. (1992)

A philandering executive tries to juggle two wives and a mistress, and finds himself suddenly being shadowed by some angry Russian holdouts from the Cold War.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Baz Taylor
CAST:  Judge Reinhold  •  Casey Siemaszko  •  Cecile Paoli  •  Rebecca Pauly

A philandering executive tries to juggle two wives and a mistress, and finds himself suddenly being shadowed by some angry Russian holdouts from the Cold War.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Baz Taylor
CAST:  Judge Reinhold  •  Casey Siemaszko  •  Cecile Paoli  •  Rebecca Pauly

Hidden Diary (2009)

In the 1950s, Louise left her husband when their children were still little. She was never heard from again. Her daughter Martine stayed in the small seaside town, where she became a doctor. Martine's daughter, Audrey, a thirty-year-old independent woman, returns ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Julie Lopes-Curval
CAST:  Catherine Deneuve  •  Marie-Josée Croze  •  Marina Hands  •  Michel Duchaussoy

In the 1950s, Louise left her husband when their children were still little. She was never heard from again. Her daughter Martine stayed in the small seaside town, where she became a doctor. Martine's daughter, Audrey, a thirty-year-old independent woman, returns ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Julie Lopes-Curval
CAST:  Catherine Deneuve  •  Marie-Josée Croze  •  Marina Hands  •  Michel Duchaussoy

The Wolf of the West Coast (2002)

James Faulkner plays Lew Millar, a renowned private eye who is hired by a gangster to be his bodyguard. When Millar arrives at the criminal's French hideaway, the gangster is already dead. Among the people Millar investigates are the gangster's brother, the man's ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hugo Santiago
CAST:  Anna Mouglalis  •  James Faulkner  •  Gérard Watkins  •  Valérie Dréville

James Faulkner plays Lew Millar, a renowned private eye who is hired by a gangster to be his bodyguard. When Millar arrives at the criminal's French hideaway, the gangster is already dead. Among the people Millar investigates are the gangster's brother, the man's ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Hugo Santiago
CAST:  Anna Mouglalis  •  James Faulkner  •  Gérard Watkins  •  Valérie Dréville

Travelling avant (1987)

Paris, October 1948. Nino, Gilles, Donald, Barbara and their friends are a new breed of spectators. They discover the cinema as art, they are moviegoers. They will try to realize their grand project: to found a film club. "My film first wants to be a testimony of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Charles Tacchella
CAST:  Thierry Frémont  •  Ann-Gisel Glass  •  Simon de La Brosse  •  Sophie Minet

Paris, October 1948. Nino, Gilles, Donald, Barbara and their friends are a new breed of spectators. They discover the cinema as art, they are moviegoers. They will try to realize their grand project: to found a film club. "My film first wants to be a testimony of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Charles Tacchella
CAST:  Thierry Frémont  •  Ann-Gisel Glass  •  Simon de La Brosse  •  Sophie Minet

The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch (2008)

After a powerful billionaire is murdered, his secret adoptive son must race to prove his legitimacy, find his father's killers and stop them from taking over his financial empire.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jérôme Salle
CAST:  Tomer Sisley  •  Kristin Scott Thomas  •  Mélanie Thierry  •  Miki Manojlović

After a powerful billionaire is murdered, his secret adoptive son must race to prove his legitimacy, find his father's killers and stop them from taking over his financial empire.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jérôme Salle
CAST:  Tomer Sisley  •  Kristin Scott Thomas  •  Mélanie Thierry  •  Miki Manojlović

La Commune (Paris, 1871) (2003)

We are in the year 1871. A journalist for Versailles Television broadcasts a soothing and official view of events while a Commune television is set up to provide the perspectives of the Paris rebels. On a stage-like set, more than 200 actors interpret characters of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Peter Watkins
CAST:  Eliane Annie Adalto  •  Pierre Barbieux  •  Bernard Bombeau  •  Maylis Bouffartigue

We are in the year 1871. A journalist for Versailles Television broadcasts a soothing and official view of events while a Commune television is set up to provide the perspectives of the Paris rebels. On a stage-like set, more than 200 actors interpret characters of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Peter Watkins
CAST:  Eliane Annie Adalto  •  Pierre Barbieux  •  Bernard Bombeau  •  Maylis Bouffartigue

Solitudes (2012)

One night, an interpreter translates a Romanian prostitute's testimony.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Liova Jedlicki
CAST:  Mădălina Constantin  •  Răzvan Oprea  •  Gérard Watkins  •  Marie Desgranges

One night, an interpreter translates a Romanian prostitute's testimony.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Liova Jedlicki
CAST:  Mădălina Constantin  •  Răzvan Oprea  •  Gérard Watkins  •  Marie Desgranges

The Odyssey (2016)

The aquatic adventure of the highly influential and fearlessly ambitious pioneer, innovator, filmmaker, researcher, and conservationist, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, covers roughly thirty years of an inarguably rich in achievements life.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jérôme Salle
CAST:  Lambert Wilson  •  Pierre Niney  •  Audrey Tautou  •  Laurent Lucas

The aquatic adventure of the highly influential and fearlessly ambitious pioneer, innovator, filmmaker, researcher, and conservationist, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, covers roughly thirty years of an inarguably rich in achievements life.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jérôme Salle
CAST:  Lambert Wilson  •  Pierre Niney  •  Audrey Tautou  •  Laurent Lucas

Colt 45 (2014)

Vincent Miles, a gunsmith and shooting instructor at the National Police, is an expert in combat shooting who stubbornly refuses to join a field brigade, a choice which their colleagues do not understand. When he meets Milo Cardena, a mysterious and skilled cop, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Fabrice Du Welz
CAST:  Gérard Lanvin  •  JoeyStarr  •  Ymanol Perset  •  Simon Abkarian

Vincent Miles, a gunsmith and shooting instructor at the National Police, is an expert in combat shooting who stubbornly refuses to join a field brigade, a choice which their colleagues do not understand. When he meets Milo Cardena, a mysterious and skilled cop, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Fabrice Du Welz
CAST:  Gérard Lanvin  •  JoeyStarr  •  Ymanol Perset  •  Simon Abkarian

The Ponzi Scheme (2014)

Ponzi, from his arrival in Boston in 1903, to hi death in Rio in 1949. He made himself famous in inventing the first fraud of modern times on a large scale, and inspired Bernard Madoff.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Dante Desarthe
CAST:  Céline Milliat-Baumgartner  •  Scali Delpeyrat  •  Gérard Watkins  •  Jean-Christophe Quenon

Ponzi, from his arrival in Boston in 1903, to hi death in Rio in 1949. He made himself famous in inventing the first fraud of modern times on a large scale, and inspired Bernard Madoff.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Dante Desarthe
CAST:  Céline Milliat-Baumgartner  •  Scali Delpeyrat  •  Gérard Watkins  •  Jean-Christophe Quenon

Silences d'état (2013)

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DIRECTION:  Frédéric Berthe
CAST:  Rachida Brakni  •  Thierry Neuvic  •  Richard Berry  •  Éric Caruso

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DIRECTION:  Frédéric Berthe
CAST:  Rachida Brakni  •  Thierry Neuvic  •  Richard Berry  •  Éric Caruso

The Feelings Factory (2008)

A successful woman searches for romance by speed dating in this drama. Eloise has a great job and a great education, but she's looking for love. Can a couple of minutes be the key to finding true love?  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Marc Moutout
CAST:  Elsa Zylberstein  •  Bruno Putzulu  •  Jacques Bonnaffé  •  Hiam Abbass

A successful woman searches for romance by speed dating in this drama. Eloise has a great job and a great education, but she's looking for love. Can a couple of minutes be the key to finding true love?  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jean-Marc Moutout
CAST:  Elsa Zylberstein  •  Bruno Putzulu  •  Jacques Bonnaffé  •  Hiam Abbass

Le Roi Lear (2007)

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DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Michel Piccoli  •  Anne See  •  Lisa Martino  •  Gérard Watkins

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DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Michel Piccoli  •  Anne See  •  Lisa Martino  •  Gérard Watkins
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