Pierre Niney
Pierre Niney | |
|---|---|
| File:Pierre Niney avp 2016 Frantz.jpg Niney in 2016 | |
| Born | 13 March 1989[1] |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Partner | Natasha Andrews (2008–present) |
| Children | 2 |
Pierre Niney (French: [pjɛʁ ninɛ]; born 13 March 1989) is a French actor.[1] He made his acting debut in the two-part miniseries La dame d'Izieu in 2007, followed by films such as LOL (Laughing Out Loud) (2008), The Army of Crime (2009), Romantics Anonymous (2010), and Just Like Brothers (2012). In 2014, Niney starred as fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in a biopic, for which he won a César Award for Best Actor. He also co-created, co-wrote and starred in Netflix's Fiasco (2024), and was Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo (2024).
Early life
[edit | edit source]Niney was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France.[1] His family is of Sephardic Jewish (Turkish-Jewish) and Catholic background.[2] His father, François Niney,[3] is a film professor at Normale Sup, La Fémis and Sciences Po.[4] His mother was born in Belgium[5] and is an author of creative leisure manuals.[4]
He grew up in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, and began acting when he was eleven. He studied at the lycée Claude-Monet[4] and after completing his baccalauréat littéraire, took a course with the Compagnie Pandora during which he worked on stage direction with Brigitte Jaques-Wajeman and François Regnault. After one year he auditioned for the Cours Florent where he remained for two years; in 2009 he entered the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in Paris.
Career
[edit | edit source]As the youngest male member of the Comédie-Française aged 21, he gained his first experiences in the theatre[4] under directors such as Julie Brochen at the Cartoucherie de Vincennes, Vladimir Pankov at the Théâtre Meyerhold in Moscow, and Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota. After small roles in television films and shorts, his first cinema roles were as the son of Michel Blanc's character in Nos 18 ans, a lycée student in LOL Henri Keltekian in Robert Guédiguian's L'armée du crime selected for Cannes in 2009, and alongside Benoît Poelvoorde and Isabelle Carré in Les Émotifs anonymes. His first leading role was in the 2011 film J'aime regarder les filles, which resulted in his nominationa for a César de la meilleure révélation masculine in 2012;[6] he was nominated for the same award for Comme des frères the following year.
In 2014, Niney starred as fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the biopic of the same name directed by Jalil Lespert, for which he won a César Award for Best Actor.[7][8] Niney commented that he faced three challenges: that he had "to play a manic depressive", that he aged in the film "from around 18 to 46 years old" and lastly "not to lose the link between all the faces of the character. He is changing so much from the little boy at the beginning of the movie, then the hippies in the 70s with the long beard and the long hair and then older again".[9] This role marked his first portrayal of an openly gay character and earned him widespread critical acclaim.[10][11] He was also nominated for best actor as Frantz (2016), as Mathieu Vasseur in Boîte noire (2022) and in the title role of Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (2025).
In preparation for films, for Frantz he learnt German and playing the violin,[12] and for Sauver ou périr undertook daily training for fire-fighters for four months, gaining nine kilos in muscles for his leading role as Franck, a fireman.[13]
In 2024, Niney portrayed Edmond Dantès in the film The Count of Monte Cristo, a major hit at the box-office[14] The Sight and Sound reviewer commented that in "the casting of Pierre Niney ...as its vengeful, oft-disguised hero Edmond Dantès", Niney, "Not an actor previously inclined toward macho derring-do, [] has a haunted, slightly fey chill that works rather well for a character whose elaborate project of retribution ...can tip over into perversely obsessive territory. As played by Niney, ...this Dantès is sympathetic but never fully readable".[15] He also starred in Fiasco, a 7-episode comedy miniseries that he co-created and co-wrote with Igor Gotesman for Netflix.[16][17] Late that year it was announced that Niney will be collaborating with the team from The Count of Monte Cristo for an ambitious new adaptation of Maurice Druon's The Accursed Kings novels. The series takes place during the 14th century succession crisis among the Capetian dynasty but Niney's role was not disclosed upon announcement.[18]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Since 2008, Niney has been in a relationship with Australian actress and photographer Natasha Andrews,[19] with whom he has two daughters: Lola, born in 2017 and Billie, born in 2019.[3]
Filmography
[edit | edit source]| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | La Consolation | François | Short film |
| 2008 | Nos 18 ans | Loïc | |
| LOL (Laughing Out Loud) | Julien | ||
| 2009 | The Army of Crime | Henri Keltekian | |
| Réfractaire | Armand | ||
| 2010 | Romantics Anonymous | Ludo | |
| La fonte des glaces | Gabriel | Short film | |
| 2011 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Waiter at the bar | |
| 18 Years Old and Rising | Primo Bramsi | Nominated – César Award for Most Promising Actor | |
| 2012 | Just Like Brothers | Maxime | Nominated – César Award for Most Promising Actor Nominated – Lumière Award for Best Male Revelation |
| 2013 | It Boy | Balthazar Apfel | Cabourg Film Festival Award for Best Actor |
| 2014 | Yves Saint Laurent | Yves Saint Laurent | César Award for Best Actor Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor Nominated – Lumière Award for Best Actor |
| 2015 | A Perfect Man | Mathieu Vasseur | |
| Inside Out | Fear | French dub | |
| 2016 | Altamira | Paul Ratier | |
| Five | Samuel | ||
| Frantz | Adrien | Nominated – César Award for Best Actor Nominated – Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor | |
| The Odyssey | Philippe Cousteau | ||
| 2017 | Promise at Dawn | Romain Gary | |
| 2018 | Through the Fire | Pasquier | |
| 2019 | Someone, Somewhere | Mathieu Bernard | |
| 2020 | Lovers | Simon | |
| 2021 | OSS 117: Alerte Rouge en Afrique Noire | OSS 1001 | |
| Black Box | Mathieu Vasseur | Nominated – César Award for Best Actor | |
| 2022 | Goliath | Mathias Rozen | |
| Masquerade | Adrien Saillard | ||
| 2023 | The Book of Solutions | Marc | |
| 2024 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantès | Nominated – César Award for Best Actor |
| Maya, Give Me a Title | Narrator | ||
| 2026 | Guru |
Television
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | La dame d'Izieu | Théo Reis | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Folie douce | Arnaud | Television film |
| 2010 | L'autre monde | Yann | |
| Les Diamants de la victoire | Boivin de Bièvre | Television film | |
| Marion Mazzano | Yann Vérac | Main cast; 6 episodes | |
| 2013 | Casting(s) | Himself | Main cast; also co-creator and writer |
| 2020 | La Flamme | Dr. Bruno Juiphe | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Le Flambeau, les aventuriers de Chupacabra | 4 episodes | |
| 2024 | Fiasco | Raphaël Valande | Main role |
Accolades
[edit | edit source]| Year | Awards | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | César Award | Most Promising Actor | 18 Years Old and Rising | Nominated | |
| 2013 | César Award | Most Promising Actor | Just Like Brothers | Nominated | |
| Lumière Awards | Most Promising Actor | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Lumière Awards | Best Actor | Yves Saint Laurent | Nominated | |
| César Award | Best Actor | Won | |||
| Globes de Cristal Award | Best Actor | Won | |||
| 2024 | French Association of Series Critics Awards | Best Performance | Fiasco | Pending | [20] |
References
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- ^ Sandra Mézière, Interview de Pierre Niney nommé comme meilleur espoir masculin aux César 2012 pour « J'aime regarder les filles » de Frédéric Louf, In The Mood For Cinema, 27 janvier 2012.
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- ^ Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Niney Interview. Gentleman's Journal. accessed 31 October 2025.
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- ^ Lodge, Guy. The Count of Monte Cristo: the latest adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s novel is a grand, robustly entertaining spectacle. Sight & Sound review, 30 August 2024 accessed 26 October 2025.
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Pierre Niney at IMDb
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- 1989 births
- 21st-century French male actors
- Cours Florent alumni
- French National Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
- French male film actors
- French male stage actors
- French male television actors
- Living people
- Male actors from Boulogne-Billancourt
- Troupe of the Comédie-Française
- Best Actor César Award winners
- French people of Egyptian-Jewish descent
- 21st-century French Sephardi Jews
- 21st-century Mizrahi Jews