Alain Chabat

Alain Chabat (alɛ̃ ʃaba; born 24 November 1958) is a French actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer and television presenter. Originally known for his work in the comedy group Les Nuls, including as the co-writer and lead actor of La Cité de la peur (1994), he later co-created and hosted the Burger Quiz game show, which became the most watched entertainment show in the history of French television.^[1]

Chabat has also become a notable filmmaker of his own, typically both writing and starring in the movies he directed, which include cult comedy films such as Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), RRRrrrr!!! (2004) and Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami (2012). He appeared in French Twist (1995), The Taste of Others (2000), Happily Ever After (2004), The Science of Sleep (2006), as well as briefly in the television series Kaamelott (2005).^[2] Additionally, he voiced the title character in the French dubbing of the Shrek franchise.^[3]

Life and career

Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria.^[4] He is Jewish.^[4]

His media career began in 1987 when he founded the comedy group "Les Nuls" (The Lame-os) with Bruno Carette, Chantal Lauby and Dominique Farrugia.^[5] Les Nuls' first appearance on French television, on the subscriber channel Canal Plus, was a sci-fi spoof entitled Objectif Nul (a word play with Objectif Lune, the French title of the comic album Destination Moon, one of The Adventures of Tintin). The show shares striking similarities with the British TV series Red Dwarf, although both shows were released at roughly the same time and it is unlikely one influenced the other.^{[citation needed][6]}

Both as a member of Les Nuls (in La Cité de la Peur) and in his solo efforts (including Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, in which he both directed and acted), Chabat is one of the few French comedians who has managed to successfully emulate the heavily referential, pop-culture-based writing style of the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker trio and adapt it to the tastes of the French audience.^{[citation needed][7]}

Chabat also voiced the title character in the French dubs of all four Shrek films, replacing Mike Myers. He won the César Award for Best Debut in 1998 for Didier.^[8]

He co-starred in Happily Ever After (2004) and in Prête-moi ta main (2006) (which he also wrote) alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg. He played Napoleon Bonaparte in the 2009 film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.^[9]

In November 2022, Chabat hosted Le Late avec Alain Chabat on TF1 which ran for 10 episodes during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[10]

From 2021, Chabat developed for Netflix an animated miniseries based on the Asterix franchise: Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight, adapted from the 1964 comic book story, started streaming on 30 April 2025.^[11]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ "Burger Quiz devient le divertissement le plus regardé de l'histoire de la TNT". Sud Ouest. 4 April 2018. Archived 2018-05-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
2. ^ "Alain Chabat". unifrance.org. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
3. ^ "Alain Chabat : "Shrek est un ogre très très sensible"" (in French). Première. 28 October 2021.
4. ^ "Un Nul bourré de talents" (in French). L'Express. 24 January 2002. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
5. ^ ""Nulle part ailleurs", l'esprit potache du "Canal" historique" (in French). Le Figaro. 13 August 2009. Archived 5 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
6. ^ "Red Dwarf Saison 1" (in French). Devildead DVD. 2006. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
7. ^ Allocine (24 September 2010). "Bienvenue chez les ZAZ !" (in French). Allociné. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
8. ^ "Allocine Alain Chabat Récompenses" (in French). Allociné. 16 May 2006. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
9. ^ "Night at the Museum 2". The Sunday Times. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 2010-02-04.^{[dead link]}
10. ^ "Le Late avec Alain Chabat: votre nouveau rendez-vous sur TF1" (in French). TF1 et Vous. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
11. ^ "Astérix : Netflix dévoile quand sortira la série d'Alain Chabat avec Alexandre Astier" (in French). Hitek. 5 February 2025. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
12. ^ Gallegos, Ricardo (2022-05-27). "Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be Review - Cannes 2022". But Why Tho? A Geek Community. Retrieved 2022-12-07.

External links

• Alain Chabat at IMDb
• (in French) Interview of Alain Chabat. Artistik Rezo. 2010-06-15.