Gaspard Ulliel plays Midnight Man in the Marvel Moon Knight series that premieres in a few months.
French actor Garspard Ulliel, best known for playing a young Hannibal Lecter and fashion mogul Yves Saint Laurent, died Wednesday after suffering a skiing accident in the French Alps on Tuesday, his family confirmed.
The news of his death comes just one day after the trailer for Moon Knight (“Moon Knight”), the new Marvel television series in which Ulliel plays Anton Mogart (known as Midnight Man) and which premieres next March.
The 37-year-old actor, one of France’s best known, also starred in It’s Only the End of the World (“It’s just the end of the world”), for which he won a César (the French equivalent of an Oscar) for best actor in 2017.
Ulliel was skiing in the Savoie region of the French Alps on Tuesday when he collided with another person.
He suffered brain trauma and was transferred to a hospital in Grenoble, where he died on Wednesday.
The other skier was not hospitalized and authorities said an investigation is ongoing.
“Remarkable magnetism”
“French cinema loses a huge talent, full of charm and energy,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire tweeted.
In addition to being an actor, Gaspard Ulliel was also a model.
The writer and critic Caspar Salmon also paid tribute to Ulliel, describing him as “an actor of remarkable magnetism, talent and beauty, who had already forged a varied and impressive career”.
Besides being an actor, Ulliel also worked as a model. She was the face of the Bleu de Chanel fragrance, for which she filmed an advertisement in 2010 under the direction of Martin Scorsese.
Born just outside of Paris in 1984, Ulliel had been performing since he was 11 years old.
In 2005 he won the César for Best Newcomer for his role in the war drama A Very Long Engagement (“Eternal love”), starring Audrey Tautou.
But it was in 2007 when he achieved international recognition for the film Hannibal Rising (“Hannibal, the origin of evil”) by Peter Webber, a prequel in which he gave life to a young Hannibal Lecter.
Gaspard Ulliel attended the Cannes Film Festival along with the rest of the cast of the film “It’s just the end of the world”.
He was also a César nominee for his role in “Saint Laurent,” one of two biographical films released in 2014 about designer Yves Saint Laurent that was up for the top prize at that year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Ulliel was praised for his performance, but lost the César to Pierre Niney, who was starring in the other film about the stylist, titled “Yves Saint Laurent.”
“Heartbroken,” Niney tweeted upon hearing the news of Ulliel’s death. “Gaspard was benevolence and kindness. Beauty and talent.”
The actor was bitten by a dog in childhood and years later said he felt the scar helped him in his life and career as it looked like a dimple.
He had a 6-year-old son with his partner, the French model and singer Gaëlle Piétri.
