Julien Guiomar, a multifaceted actor with a profound passion for his craft, has left an indelible mark on the world of entertainment, spanning an impressive five decades.
Initially, Guiomar had aspirations to follow in his father's footsteps, pursuing a career in dentistry. However, he ultimately defied the adage "Like father, like son" and instead dedicated himself to the art of acting.
Throughout his illustrious career, Guiomar has appeared in an astonishing thirty-plus plays with the renowned Théâtre National Populaire (TNP),as well as over forty television films. His remarkable talent has allowed him to bring to life an array of iconic characters, including Alexandre Borgia and Diafoirus in Molière's Le malade imaginaire (1971).
Guiomar's filmography is equally impressive, featuring authority figures such as colonels, police commissioners, prelates, and even God himself in Arthur Joffé's comedic masterpiece Let There Be Light (1998). From his earliest appearances in Philippe de Broca's King of Hearts (1966) and Louis Malle's The Thief of Paris (1967),Guiomar has consistently portrayed characters with an air of authority, tinged with eccentricity.
Throughout his career, Guiomar has demonstrated an impressive range, effortlessly conveying sheer spitefulness, as seen in his portrayal of the colonel in Costa-Gavras' Z (1969),as well as warm humanity, as exemplified in his role as the surgeon in Serge Korber's Je vous ferai aimer la vie (1979).
Although he may have appeared in an abundance of campy comedies, Guiomar's mere presence has the power to elevate these films, saving them from crassness. Julien Guiomar retired from the entertainment industry in 2004, after a final television film.