Guillaume Canet (born April 10, 1973 in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French actor, director and screenwriter.
Born in a family of horse breeders, he first intended to become a show jumper and was a member of the junior French National Equestrian Team. Following a fall from his horse at age 18, he abandoned equestrian competitions and turned to acting, learning the trade at the prestigious Cours Florent drama school in Paris.
After working on stage and in various television shows and commercials, Canet made his film debuts in the 1995 short Fils unique and the 1997 feature Barracuda. He directed and wrote his first feature film, Mon Idole, in 2002. His second directorial effort, 2006's Tell No One, proved to be a significant success with critics, audiences and French film awards alike and his third, 2010's Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies), was an even bigger box office success.
He was married to Diane Kruger from 2001 to 2006 and is in a relationship with Marion Cotillard since 2007.
- The Beach (2000) as Étienne
- Vidocq (2001) as Étienne Boisset (actually the Alchemist)
- Love Me if You Dare (2003) as Julien
- Joyeux Noël (2005) as Lieutenant Audebert
- Tell No One (2006) as Philippe Neuville
- Hunting and Gathering (2007) as Franck Lestafier
- Le Dernier Vol (2009) as Lieutenant Antoine Chauvet
- Jappeloup (2013) as Pierre Durand
- Next Time I'll Aim for the Heart (2014) as Franck Neuhart
- Cézanne and I (2016) as Émile Zola
- Rock'n Roll (2017) as himself
- Sink or Swim (2018) as Laurent
- Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023) as Asterix
- Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (2001) as Edward Carnby
- Cars (since 2006) as Lightning McQueen
- The Meerkats (2008) - Narrator
- Minions (2015) as Herb Overkill
- The Little Prince (2015) as Mr. Prince
- Mon Idole
- Tell No One
- Les Petits Mouchoirs
- Blood Ties
- Rock'n Roll
- Nous finirons ensemble
- Lui
- Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom
Tropes & Trivia about his works:
- Cast the Expert: 2013's Jappeloup is about the life of a show jump horse rider, which Canet was in his youth (he had to stop following an accident). Despite having the accident in mind, he practiced horse riding again for the film and did all the horse stunts himself.
- Descended Creator: He has played roles in most of the films that he has directed.
- Write What You Know: He once practiced show jumping, and wrote two movies that prominently feature the sport — Tell No One and Jappeloup.
- Written by Cast Member: In addition to directing films, he often writes them and plays in them.
