Grandson of a carpenter, Olivier Gourmet grew up in Mirwart, a Belgian village where his father was a cattle dealer and mother the manager of a family hotel-restaurant. At 13, he was sent to boarding school, which was an unhappy experience that led him to "be closed in on myself". It was at this school that he began acting when he replaced a classmate at short notice in the school play. He discovered a talent for mimicry and comedy. Later he was torn between a career in sports journalism or comedy. He opted for acting and comedy and attended the Conservatoire de Liège where he won first prize after only two years.
In 1996 he enjoyed his first significant role in a Dardenne brothers' film, The Promise. Since then Gourmet has featured in every film from the Dardennes. His performance in their film The Son earned him a Cannes Jury prize for interpretation in 2002. He is a much sought after actor with an extensive filmography making, on average five films per year. Internationally regarded as the one of greatest actors with staggering performances in a wide range of roles full of charismatic qualities and insights, he has also received the Critics Award at the Cannes festival in 2011 and in 2012 he was nominated in eleven categories at the Césars!
Olivier has been married to Catherine since age 19 and they have two children, Louis and Juliette. After his mother suffered a stroke, the family returned to Mirwart to manage the hotel-restaurant with Olivier's wife leaving her advertising career.
A model prisoner's leave ends in tragedy when his past resurfaces, forcing him to flee. He starts over in Thailand, until a local criminal coerces him back into crime. After this man attacks his family, he vows revenge.
Claire works at her late father's hotel run by evil stepmother Maud. Maud's lover falls for Claire, sparking jealousy. Maud plots against Claire who finds refuge on a farm with "seven princes," breaking free from her strict upbringing.
The intertwining fates of the historical figures, the men and the women of the 1789 French revolution, as they meet at the newly established Assemblée Nationale.
December 1897, Paris. Edmond Rostand is not yet thirty but already two children and a lot of anxieties. He has not written anything for two years. In desperation, he offers the great Constant Coquelin a new play, a heroic comedy, in verse, for the holidays. Only concern: it is no... Read all
Claire is a wonderfully gifted midwife, with a natural talent to deliver babies with the most gentle touch. One day she receives a strange phone call. Béatrice, the extravagant mistress of her deceased father, wants to see her again.
Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise follows a love triangle between Michael, a brilliant medical student, the beautiful and sophisticated Ana, and Chris - a renowned American journalist based in Paris.
A German communist flees to Northern France with his son. German troops follow May 1940. The son flees with the village towards Dieppe at the English Channel, as does the separated dad, joined by a Scottish officer.
It's 1941 but France is trapped in the nineteenth century, governed by steam and Napoleon V, where scientists vanish mysteriously. Avril, a teenage girl, goes in search of her missing scientist parents.
Oh, a lovable misfit alien, runs away from his planet and takes shelter on Earth, where he befriends Tip, an adventurous young girl who is on a quest to find her displaced mother Lucy.
Single mother Vianne Rocher and her young daughter arrive in a rural French town in the winter of 1959, and open an unusual chocolate shop that disrupts the moral fiber of the strictly Catholic townsfolk and mayor.
