Raphaël Personnaz

French actor Raphaël Personnaz was a darkly handsome and capable presence who drew critical praise for his appearances in both comedies and dramas, including "The Princess of Montpensier" (2010), "Anna Karenina" (2012) and "The French Minister" (2013). Born in France Personnaz developed an interest in performing at a very young age, and studied acting at the Paris Conservatory. He made his screen debut in the television series "Un homme en colère" ("A Man at Home," TF1, 1997-), with his first feature film appearance coming three years later in "Le roman de Lulu" ("Lulu," 2001). By his mid-20s, Personnaz had worked his up to more substantive roles on television and in features like "The First Time I Turned 20" (2004) with Marilou Berry and Catherine Jacob. His true breakthrough came six years later with the comedy "Les invités de mon père" ("My Father's Guest," 2010) and Bertrand Tavernier's "The Princess of Montpensier," which earned him a Cesar Award nomination for Most Promising Actor. His turn as a romantic swain in the latter film minted him as both a critical favorite and a heartthrob for female moviegoers, who queued up to see him in a variety of pictures, from the action-drama "Special Forces" (2011) to a minor role in Joe Wright's adaptation of "Anna Karenina," which marked his English-language debut. Personnaz also proved to be an adept comic performer in "The Stroller Strategy" (2012), as a young man who pretends to be the father of an infant in order to win back his former girlfriend, and in Tavernier's "The French Minister" as an ambitious new employee at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. That same year, he played the title role in "Marius," Daniel Auteuil's remake of the 1931 Alexander Korda drama and the Marcel Pagnol play of the same name. In 2014, Personnaz was top-billed as a police detective on the trail of real-life serial killer Guy Georges in "L'Affaire SK1" (2014).