Paul Kircher
{{Short description|French actor (born 2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Distinguish|Paul Kirchner}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Paul Kircher
| image = Paul Kircher at 81st Venice International Film Festival (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Kircher at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|2001|12|30}}
| birth_place = Paris, France
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2020–present
| mother = Irène Jacob
| father = Jérôme Kircher
| relatives = {{plainlist|
- Samuel Kircher (brother)
- Maurice Jacob (grandfather)
}}
}}
Paul Kircher ({{IPA|fr|pɔl kiʁʃɛʁ|lang}}; born 30 December 2001) is a French actor. The eldest son of actors Irène Jacob and Jérôme Kircher, he is known for his starring roles in the drama film Winter Boy (2022) and the adventure film The Animal Kingdom (2023). Both roles earned him nominations for the César Award for Most Promising Actor. For starring in the coming-of-age drama film And Their Children After Them (2024), he won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor.
Early life
Paul Kircher was born in Paris on 30 December 2001.{{cite web|url=https://www.auvergnerhonealpes-cinema.fr/qui-est-paul-kircher-le-lyceen-de-christophe-honore/|title=Qui est Paul Kircher, LE LYCÉEN de Christophe Honoré ?|date=7 December 2022|publisher=Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Cinéma|language=fr|access-date=19 May 2023}}{{cite magazine|author=LR Médias|date=27 January 2024|title=Qui sont les frères Kircher, tous les deux nommés pour le prix de la Meilleure révélation masculine aux César 2024 ?|url=https://www.marieclaire.fr/freres-samuel-kircher-paul-kircher,1469995.asp|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|magazine=Marie Claire|language=fr|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240216060959/https://www.marieclaire.fr/freres-samuel-kircher-paul-kircher,1469995.asp|archive-date=16 February 2024|access-date=16 February 2024}} He is the eldest son of actors Irène Jacob and Jérôme Kircher. His grandfather was the physicist Maurice Jacob (1933–2007). He grew up in Paris with his brother Samuel, who is three years his junior and is also an actor. They both attended school in the 18th arrondissement.Armelle Héliot: Jérôme Kircher : ses adresses à Paris XVIIIe. lefigaro.fr, 12 April 2016. Irène Jacob and Jérôme Kircher both often acted together and took their sons on tours.{{cite news|last=Rossel|first=Natacha|date=1 June 2019|title=Irène Jacob: Trois couleurs et bien plus encore|url=https://www.tdg.ch/irene-jacob-trois-couleurs-et-bien-plus-encore-808635368510|newspaper=Tribune de Genève|language=fr|access-date=20 May 2023|url-access=subscription}}
Originally, Kircher did not want to follow in his parents footsteps by stepping into the acting business, an industry which initially "scared him a bit". Parallel to attending high school, he took lessons at a music school in Paris and sang in various rock bands. After graduating from high school, he began studying geography and economics at Paris Diderot University.{{cite news|last=Bitton|first=Léa|date=23 November 2024|title=Paul Kircher : « C’est le rock qui m’a permis de me découvrir »|url=https://www.parismatch.com/culture/cinema/paul-kircher-cest-le-rock-qui-ma-permis-de-me-decouvrir-243820|newspaper=Paris Match|language=fr|access-date=28 November 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126022034/https://www.parismatch.com/culture/cinema/paul-kircher-cest-le-rock-qui-ma-permis-de-me-decouvrir-243820|archive-date=26 November 2024}} At the same time, he completed theater internships with Jordan Beswick, who is a professor at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York and at the Manufacture des Abbesses in Paris.{{cite news|last=Dubreuil|first=Maroussia|date=29 November 2022|title=Paul Kircher, acteur dans Le Lycéen : "La sexualité est la seule chose qui appartient vraiment au personnage"|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2022/11/29/paul-kircher-acteur-dans-le-lyceen-la-sexualite-est-la-seule-chose-qui-appartient-vraiment-au-personnage_6152151_3246.html|newspaper=Le Monde|language=fr|access-date=20 May 2023|url-access=subscription}}
Career
Kircher made his feature film debut in 2020 in the teen comedy How to Make Out (T'as pécho?) directed by Adeline Picault. In the film, he took on the lead role of 15-year-old Arthur, whose love for Ouassima (portrayed by Inès d'Assomption) is unrequited. He then gathers a group of unsuccessful male classmates to give them tips on flirting with girls. Kircher had found out about the casting from a friend and spontaneously auditioned. The part led Kircher to another major role, in the 2021 romantic comedy film A Little Lesson in Love (Petite leçon d'amour), which starred Laetitia Dosch and Pierre Deladonchamps as lovers.[https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne=878741.htmlPaul Kircher]. In: allocine.fr (accessed 16 April 2023)
Kircher's breakthrough as a film actor was the award-winning title role in Christophe Honoré's semi-autobiographical drama Winter Boy (Le Lycéen) Kircher portrays Lucas Ronis, a 17-year-old gay teenager coping with the sudden and unexpected death of his father in an accident that may or may not have been suicide. To help her spiraling son, Isabelle (Juliet Binoche) sends Lucas to Paris for a week with his older brother Quentin (Vincent Lacoste). Honoré had chosen Kircher from hundreds of actors and would later praise him for his "overwhelming sensitivity". In preparation, he gave the actor, among other things, the novel The Beautiful Room Is Empty by Edmund White to read.Ciné Kircher. Tribune de Genève, 29 November 2022, p. 23. For his portrayal of Lucas, Kircher won the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival and received nominations for the César Award for Most Promising Actor and the Lumières Award for Best Male Revelation.{{cite magazine|last=Roxborough|first=Scott|date=24 September 2022|title='The Kings of the World' Wins San Sebastian Film Festival Golden Shell for Best Film|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/san-sebastian-film-festival-2022-winners-1235226902/|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=20 May 2023}}{{cite news|last=Goodfellow|first=Melanie|date=25 January 2023|title=César Nominations: Louis Garrel's 'The Innocent' Takes Surprise Lead, Followed By 'Night Of The 12th' – Full List|url=https://deadline.com/2023/01/cesar-nominations-2023-france-full-list-1235240223/|work=Deadline|access-date=20 May 2023}}{{cite news|last=Goodfellow|first=Melanie|date=15 December 2022|title='The Night Of The 12th' Leads Nominations In France's Lumière Awards|url=https://deadline.com/2022/12/the-night-of-the-12th-leads-nominations-in-france-2023-lumiere-awards-1235199198/|work=Deadline|access-date=20 May 2023}}
File:Paul Kircher Cannes 2023 (cropped).jpg|upright|left]]
Following the success of Winter Boy, Kircher was originally slated to play the male lead in Catherine Breillat's erotic drama Last Summer (L'Été dernier). However, the shooting was delayed, after which the actor was considered too old for the part intended for him. He then recommended his brother Samuel, who was not active in cinema, to the director, who ultimately awarded him the role.{{cite magazine|last=Cooper-Hadjian|first=Olivia|date=13 April 2023|title=Catherine Breillat : L'Été dernier|url=https://www.cahiersducinema.com/actualites/catherine-breillat-lete-dernier/|magazine=Cahiers du Cinéma|language=fr|access-date=16 April 2023}} Kircher was instead cast in a main role alongside Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos in Thomas Cailley's science fiction adventure film The Animal Kingdom (Le Règne animal),{{cite magazine|last=Felperin|first=Leslie|date=17 May 2023|title='The Animal Kingdom' Review: Romain Duris and Adèle Exarchopoulos in a Sensitive French Sci-Fi Adventure|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-animal-kingdom-review-romain-duris-adele-exarchopoulos-1235493701/|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=20 May 2023}} which screened as the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section at the 76th Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/441012/|title=Young talents abound in Cannes' Un Certain Regard|work=Cineuropa|date=13 April 2023|access-date=16 May 2023|first=Fabien|last=Lemercier}}
Kircher next played the lead role in Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma's And Their Children After Them (Leurs enfants après eux), an adaptation of Nicolas Mathieu's novel of the same name.{{cite magazine|last=Keslassy|first=Elsa|date=18 May 2023|title=French Hitmakers Hugo Selignac, Alain Attal Set for Banner 2024 With Studiocanal and Netflix on Gilles Lellouche's 'L'Amour Ouf,' and With WB, HBO Max on Boukherma Brothers' Next Film (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/hugo-selignac-alain-attal-lamour-ouf-boukherma-brothers-1235617012/|magazine=Variety|access-date=18 September 2023}}{{cite news|last=Oury|first=Antoine|date=5 July 2023|title=Leurs enfants après eux : le Goncourt 2018 au cinéma en 2024|url=https://actualitte.com/article/112526/cinema/leurs-enfants-apres-eux-le-goncourt-2018-au-cinema-en-2024|work=ActuaLitté|language=fr|access-date=18 September 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/450933/|title=End of filming is in sight for And Their Children After Them|last=Lemercier|first=Fabien|date=5 October 2023 |website=Cineuropa|access-date=15 November 2023}} The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/07/venice-film-festival-lineup-2024-full-list-1236018399/|title=Venice Film Festival Lineup: 'Joker: Folie A Deux', Almodovar, Guadagnino, Kurzel, Larrain & More In Competition – Full List|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Nancy|last=Tartaglione|date=23 July 2024|access-date=23 July 2024|archive-date=23 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240723193927/https://deadline.com/2024/07/venice-film-festival-lineup-2024-full-list-1236018399/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2024/venezia-81-competition/leurs-enfants-apr%C3%A8s-eux|title=Leurs enfants après eux|website=La Biennale di Venezia|access-date=20 August 2024}} with Kircher portraying Anthony, a 14-year-old boy navigating the socio-economic and racial tensions in the fictional town of Heillange during the 1990s.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/31/and-their-children-after-them-review-racism-and-revenge-festers-in-smalltown-france|title=And Their Children After Them review – racism and revenge festers in smalltown France|work=The Guardian|date=31 August 2024|access-date=31 August 2024|first=Xan|last=Brooks}} Guy Lodge from Variety noted Kircher's portrayal as 'cocky' and 'charismatic,' embodying the reckless bravado of a teenager grappling with the limitations of his small-town life.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/and-their-children-after-them-review-1236126016/|title='And Their Children After Them' Review: A Delinquent Crime Echoes Through the Years In an Overblown Youth Melodrama|work=Variety|date=31 August 2024|access-date=31 August 2024|first=Guy|last=Lodge}} His performance earned him the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/09/venice-film-festival-2024-awards-winners-full-list-1236080995/|title=Venice Winners: ‘The Room Next Door’ Wins The Golden Lion; Also Wins For Nicole Kidman, Brady Corbet, ‘I’m Still Here’ & More|last=Tartaglione, Wiseman|first=Nancy, Andreas|date=7 September 2024|website=Deadline|access-date=7 September 2024}}
He made his theater debut in January 2025, portraying French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès in Les Idoles, at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin.{{cite web|url=https://www.gqmagazine.fr/article/paul-kircher-hommes-de-l-annee-gq-interview|title=Paul Kircher : “Pour moi, c’est très important d’utiliser mon corps et de le connaître pour pouvoir en jouer”|website=GQ France|first=Claire|last=Clert|date=26 November 2024|access-date=28 November 2024|archive-date=28 November 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241128062258/https://www.gqmagazine.fr/article/paul-kircher-hommes-de-l-annee-gq-interview|language=fr}} Kircher will next star in Cédric Klapisch's Colours of Time (La Venue de l'avenir),{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/463156/|title=The shoot for Cédric Klapisch's La venue de l'avenir enters the home stretch|last=Lemercier|first=Fabien|date=5 June 2024|website=Cineuropa|access-date=18 August 2024}} in Hubert Charuel's Meteors (Météors),{{cite web|last=Lemercier|first=Fabien|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/470756/#cm|title=Hubert Charuel shooting Meteors|website=Cineuropa|date=28 November 2024|access-date=2 January 2025|language=en}} and in Phuong Mai Nguyen's animated feature, In Waves, based on the graphic novel of the same name by AJ Dungo.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/global/lyna-khoudri-silex-anonymous-content-charade-1235978796/|title='French Dispatch's' Lyna Khoudri, 'Deerskin's' Rio Vega Lead French Voice Cast of 'In Waves' From Silex, Anonymous Content, Charades (EXCLUSIVE)|work=Variety|date=23 April 2024|access-date=5 September 2024|first=John|last=Hopewell}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable"
|+Key | style="background:#FFFFCC;"| {{dagger|alt=Denotes productions that have not yet been released}} | Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
=Film=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style=font-size:100%
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
| scope=row| 2020
| scope="row"| How to Make Out | Arthur | |
|---|
| scope=row| 2021
| scope="row"| A Little Lesson in Love | Lancelot Girerd | |
| scope=row| 2022
| scope="row"| Winter Boy | Lucas Ronis | |
| rowspan=2 scope="row" | 2023
| Les uns sur les autres | Isaac | Short film |
| scope="row"| The Animal Kingdom
| Émile | |
| rowspan=2 scope="row" | 2024
| Nos Cabanes | Reda | Short film |
| And Their Children After Them
| Anthony | |
| rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2025
| style="background:#FFFFCC;" |Colours of Time {{dagger}} |Anatole | |
| style="background:#FFFFCC;" |Meteors {{dagger}}{{Cite web |date=2025-04-10 |title=The films of the Official Selection 2025 |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/press/press-releases/the-films-of-the-official-selection-2025/ |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Festival de Cannes |language=en-US}}
|Mika | |
| scope="row" | {{TableTBA}}
| style="background:#FFFFCC;" |In Waves {{dagger}} | Eon (voice) | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style=font-size:100%
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
| scope=row| 2020
| scope=row|Capitaine Marleau | Manu Philippon | Episode: "L'Arbre aux Esclaves" |
|---|
| scope=row| 2022
| scope=row|Weekend Family | Alexis | Episode: "Double Axel" |
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Venue ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | 2025
| Les Idoles |
=Music videos=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Artist ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{Reference heading}} |
|---|
| scope="row" |2022
| "En famille" | |
Awards and nominations
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{AlloCiné name|878741}}
- {{IMDb name|nm1712515}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Film|France}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Paul Kircher
|list =
{{Marcello Mastroianni Award}}
{{Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kircher, Paul}}
Category:21st-century French male actors
Category:Male actors from Paris
Category:French male film actors