Born to an impoverished family -- his father was an illiterate sheet metal worker with a fondness for drink -- Depardieu spent a Dickensian childhood replete with brushes with the law. A classic "juvenile delinquent", he dropped out of school at age 12 and embarked on a hitchhiking tour of Europe that found him stealing cars and selling goods on the black market.

He may have been destined for a life of crime had he not discovered acting, thanks to a friend who was attending drama school in Paris. Depardieu enrolled in classes at the Theatre National Populaire and later was apprenticed at the Cafe de la Gare alongside future co-stars Patrick Dewaere and Miou-Miou. He made his film acting debut in the short "Le Beatnik et le minet" (1965).

He stepped behind the camera for the first time as co-director of "Le Tartuffe" (1984) which preserved his stage interpretation of the Moliere character

Miscast as the Italian seafarer Christopher Columbus in "1492: Conquest of Paradise" (1992), Depardieu fared better as a struggling miner in the sprawling epic "Germinal" (1993), helmed by Claude Berri. He also scored as an officer who makes his way home only to discover he has been declared legally dead in "Colonel Chabert" (1994).

In 1996 Depardieu was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur and the following year, the Venice Film Festival awarded him the Lion D'or. He was also awarded a Fellowship of the British Film Institute in 1989 and in 1992 was elected President of the 45th Cannes Film Festival.

Deapardieu directed the semi-autobiographical Un Pont entre deux rives in 1999. He also took on the role of Obelix, in the live-action remake of the comic books, Asterix et Obelix contre Cesar and appeared as a designer in 102 Dalmations, in 2000.