Dany Boon

Born Dany Hamidou in northern France, actor Dany Boon adopted his stage surname from the American television show "Daniel Boone" (NBC 1964-1970). Raised in the town of Armentieres by a French mother and an Algerian father, Boon began his career as that most quintessential of French entertainers, the street mime. His comedy career took off in 1992, when he was given the opportunity to perform on live TV by French television personality Patrick Sebastien. Following his appearance on the show he began to gain some cultural traction with performances in original sketches and one-man shows. In the early 2000s Boon appeared in a number of different films including "Joyeux Noel" (2005), an international comedy hit, and "My Best Friend" (2006), in which he starred opposite Daniel Auteuil. In 2003 Boon produced a show about Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the region in France where he grew up. The show was written using the unique region-specific dialect of the area, but still sold more DVDs than any one-man show in French history. He followed up this effort with a film called "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" (2008), which was a lighthearted comedy meant to dispel some of the nationwide prejudices of the region. The film broke box-office records in France; in the year of its release, Boon was the highest-paid actor in the country of France. The following year, he starred in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's action comedy "Micmacs" (2009) before writing, directing and starring in the comedy "Nothing To Declare" (2010). He next starred opposite Diane Kruger in the madcap romantic comedy "A Perfect Plan" (2012), followed by another romantic comedy, the race against time "Eyjafjallajökull" (2013). His next film as a writer and director was the sad-sack star turn "Supercondriaque" (2014).