Niels Arestrup

Niels Arestrup (French pronunciation: [nils aʁestʁyp]; 8 February 1949 – 1 December 2024) was a French-Danish actor, film director and screenwriter.

Arestrup was born in Montreuil on 8 February 1949, into a family of modest means; his father was Danish and his mother was Breton. After failing his baccalaureate in 1968, he supported himself with a series of odd jobs whilst, inspired by her television appearances, studying acting under Tania Balachova. Subsequently, he began his career in theatre.

As of 2014^[update], he was the only winner of three César Awards for Best Supporting Actor, won for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and A Prophet, then Quai d'Orsay. The two first films were directed by Jacques Audiard.

In 2017, he won the Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor in a Play for his work on Acting. In 2019, he won the Molière Award for Best Actor for his work on Red. He was previously nominated in this same category in 2000 for Copenhagen, in 2006 for Letters to a Young Poet, and in 2012 for Diplomacy.

In 2012, after a ten year relationship, Arestrup married Isabelle Le Nouvel, an actress, screenwriter, and author. The same year, they had twins, a boy and a girl.

Arestrup died following a long illness in Ville-d'Avray, France, on 1 December 2024 at the age of 75.