Actor

(b. August 10, 1950 Jonquière, Quebec)

One of Quebec’s greatest actors, Rémy Girard has appeared in more than thirty movies and made countless TV appearances in the last twenty years. An unlikely leading man, chubby and open-faced, he slips easily into the role of the modern Everyman, but he also has a puckish quality that conveys an ironic amusement with the condition of his characters’ lives. Winner of four Genies, he is one of the busiest performers on Quebec’s bustling entertainment scene, visible in everything from television commercials to high drama.

A law student turned theatre actor, Girard made his film debut in Francis Mankiewicz’s Les Beaux Souvenirs (1981) and had a small role in Yves Simoneau’s Les Yeux rouges (1982). After seeing Girard in a play, Denys Arcand approached him and offered him the role of a jovial, intellectual lecher in Le Déclin de l’empire américain (1986), for which Girard earned a Genie nomination for Best Lead Actor. He then unleashed an impressive string of performances, winning Genie awards for Les Portes tournantes (1988), Jesus de Montreal (1989) and Amoureux fou (1990). He has also been honoured for his work on the stage, receiving the Gascon-Roux award for best performance by an actor in 1990 for the play Galilée, and again in 2002 for his role as Falstaff in Les Joyeuses Commères de Windsor.

Girard is perhaps best known for his character in Arcand’s Le Déclin de l’empire américain. He reprised the role to great acclaim in the sequel Les Invasions barbares (2003), which netted him another Genie Award for Best Lead Actor. In addition to his high profile appearances on Quebec television, he has also co-starred in the hugely successful Les Boys series of films. In his spare time, he is very dedicated in his charity work for Quebec’s Children’s Hospitals.

Film and video work includes

La Carte de credit, 1973 (actor)
La Conquête, 1973 (actor)
La Contrat, 1973 (actor)
La Publicité destinée aux enfants, 1973 (actor)
Le Temps d'une paix, 1980 (actor; TV)
Les Beaux souvenirs, aka Happy Memories, 1981 (actor)
C'est pas le pays des merveilles, 1981 (as himself)
Les Yeux rouges, aka Red Eyes, 1982 (actor)
Le Crime d'Ovide Plouffe, aka The Crime of Ovide Plouffe, 1984 (voice)
Manon, 1985 (actor; TV)
Trouble, 1985 (actor)
J'ai pas dit mon dernier mot, 1986 (narrator)
Lys cassé, Le, aka Death of a Silence, 1986 (actor)
Les Voisins, 1987 (actor; TV)
Le Chemin de Damas, 1988 (actor)
Kalamazoo, 1988 (actor)
Les Portes tournantes, aka The Revolving Doors, 1988 (actor)
Dans le ventre du dragon, aka In the Belly of the Dragon, 1989 (actor)
Piège infernal, 1989 (actor; TV)
Les Tisserands du pouvoir, 1989 (actor; TV)
Rafales, aka Blizzard, 1990 (actor)
Amoureux fou, aka Madly in Love, 1991 (actor)
L'Empire des lumières, aka Seurat: the Realm of Light, 1991 (actor)
La Pagaille, 1991 (actor)
Voodoo taxi, 1991 (actor)
Scoop, 1992 (actor; TV)
Blanche, 1993 (actor)
La Petite vie, 1993 (actor; TV)
Million Dollar Babies, 1994 (actor; TV)
Le Secret de Jérôme, aka Jerome's Secret, 1994 (actor)
4 et demi..., 1995 (actor; TV)
10-07: L'affaires Zeus, 1995 (actor; TV)
L'anecdote cinéma, 1995 (as himself; TV)
Les Cinq dernières minutes series, 1996 (actor; TV, one episode)
Fish Tale Soup, 1996 (actor; TV)
L'Homme idéal, 1996 (actor)
Parents malgré tout, aka Chosen Children, 1996 (actor; TV)
Urgence, 1996 (actor; TV)
Cher Olivier, 1997 (actor; TV)
Ces enfants d'ailleurs, 1997 (actor; TV)
Le Siège de l'âme, aka The Seat of the Soul, 1997 (actor)
Les Boys II, 1998 (actor)
Free Money, 1998 (actor)
Réseaux, 1998 (actor; TV)
Radio, 1999 (actor; TV)
Rue l'Espérance, 1999 (actor; TV)
La Soirée des Jutras, 1999 (host; TV)
Les Boys III, 2001 (actor)
Emma, 2001 (actor; TV)
Varian's War, 2001 (actor; TV)
42-DD, 2002 (actor)
Bunker, le cirque, 2002 (actor; TV)
Séraphin: un homme et son péché, 2002 (actor)
Choice: The Henry Morgentaler Story, 2003 (actor; TV)
Les Bougon: c'est aussi ça la vie, 2004 (actor; TV)
Monica la mitraille, 2004 (actor)
Tout le monde en parle, 2004 (as himself; TV)
Aurore, 2005 (actor)
Les Boys en prolongation, aka Boys IV, Les, 2005 (actor)
Détect.inc, 2005 (actor; TV)
D'Artagnan et les trois mousquetaires, 2005 (actor; TV)