Xavier Dolan, sometimes credited as Xavier Dolan-Tadros, is a Canadian actor
and filmmaker. Early life
Dolan was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the son of Geneviève
Dolan, a teacher, and Manuel Tadros, an Egyptian-born Canadian actor and singer.
Dolan was a child actor in films such as J'en suis!, Le Marchand de sable and La
Forteresse suspendue, and television series such as Omertà, la loi du
silence. Career
= Director= Dolan attracted international attention
with his first feature film, I Killed My Mother, which he wrote, directed and
starred in. The film premiered at the Director's Fortnight program of the 2009
Cannes Film Festival where it received an eight-minute standing ovation and won
the Art Cinema Award, the Prix Regards Jeunes and the SACD Prize. I Killed My
Mother was subsequently sold to more than 20 countries.
After I Killed My Mother, Dolan directed his second feature film, Heartbeats,
which was financed privately. The film follows two friends who are infatuated
with the same mysterious young man; inevitably, their friendship suffers. It
premiered in the Un Certain Regard category at the 63e Festival de Cannes
in May 2010 and received a standing ovation, and won the top prize of the
Official Competition at the Sydney Film Festival in June.
His third film, Laurence Anyways, was selected to compete in the Un Certain
Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Suzanne Clément's performance
in the film won the section's award for Best Actress.
In May 2012, Dolan announced that his fourth film would be an adaption of
Michel Marc Bouchard's play Tom at the Farm. It received its world premiere in
the main competition section at the 70th Venice International Film Festival on 2
September 2013 and won the FIPRESCI award.
Dolan's 2014 film, Mommy, shared the Jury Prize in the main competition
section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival with Jean-Luc Godard's film Goodbye to
Language. The Jury president at the 2014 festival was Jane Campion and, upon
receiving the award, Dolan stated: "The Piano [Campion's film] was the first
film that I watched that truly defined who I am … It made me want to write
films for beautiful women with soul and will and strength. To even stand on the
same stage as you [Campion] is extraordinary."
The Death and Life of John F. Donovan is an upcoming American drama film directed
by Xavier Dolan. The film follows John F. Donovan, an actor whose life and
career are turned upside-down when a gossip columnist exposes his private
correspondence with an 11-year-old fan. The film also stars Susan Sarandon as
Donovan's mother and Kathy Bates as his manager. It will be his first
English-language work. It was also announced that Dolan would
be adapting the play Juste la fin du Monde by Jean-Luc Lagarce to the screen.
Titled It's Only the End of the World, the film stars Marion Cotillard, Gaspard
Ulliel, Vincent Cassel, Léa Seydoux and Nathalie Baye. Filming commenced in late
May 2015. He was selected to be on the jury for
the main competition section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
= Voiceover work= As of September 2009, the version of the
animated series South Park that is dubbed into French for the Canadian
market, features Dolan as the voice of Stan. His voice work also includes
narration of the National Film Board of Canada's 2010 animated documentary,
Lipsett Diaries. Influences and style
Dolan has stated that his work is "not that influenced by directors". In 2009,
Dolan identified Michael Haneke as one of his favourite directors for his
precise camerawork and strong writing, citing Haneke's Funny Games and The
Piano Teacher as favourites. At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival he said that The
Piano by Jane Campion was an inspiration for him.
Personal life Dolan identifies as gay and described I
Killed My Mother as semi-autobiographical.
Filmography = As director=
2009: I Killed My Mother 2010: Heartbeats
2012: Laurence Anyways 2013: Tom at the Farm
2014: Mommy 2016: It's Only the End of the World
TBA: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
= As actor= 1994: Miséricorde
1997: Heads or Tails 2001: La forteresse suspendue
2006: Miroirs d'Été 2008: Martyrs
2009: Suzie 2009: I Killed My Mother
2010: Heartbeats 2010: Good Neighbours
2013: Tom at the Farm 2014: Miraculum
2014: Elephant Song = As voice actor=
2000: My Dog Skip : Spit 2000: Pay it Forward : Trevor
2001: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone : Ron Weasley
2002: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets : Ron Weasley
2003: Secondhand Lions : Walter 2003: Finding Nemo : Tad
2004: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban : Ron Weasley
2005: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire : Ron Weasley
2006: Grossology : Ty 2006: Alpha Dog : Keith Stratten
2007: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix : Ron Weasley
2007: Magi-Nation : Tony 2007: Whistler : Quinn McKaye
2008: High School Musical 3: Senior Year : Donnie Dion
2008: Twilight : Jacob Black 2009: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince : Ron Weasley 2009: The Twilight Saga: New Moon :
Jacob Black 2009: South Park : Stan Marsh
2009: Planet 51 : Skiff 2010: Kick-Ass : Dave Lizewski /
Kick-Ass 2010: How To Train Your Dragon : Hiccup
2010: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse : Jacob Black
2010: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 : Ron Weasley
2011: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 : Ron Weasley
2011: My Week with Marilyn : Colin Clark 2011: Abduction : Nathan Harper
2011: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 : Jacob Black
2011: The Smurfs : Brainy Smurf 2012: John Carter : Edgar Rice Burroughs
2012: The Hunger Games : Peeta Mellark 2012: Life of Pi : Pi Patel
2012: Chernobyl Diaries : Chris Notes
Further reading Pierre-Alexandre Fradet, "Xavier Dolan",
Séquences, No. 279, July–August 2012, pp. 46–47, interview at Cannes.
Schou, Solvej. "Cries for Help, Embraced by Praise". New York Times.
Whitney, Erin. "This Is Why Everyone Is Talking About 'Mommy' Director Xavier
Dolan". Huffington Post. External links
Xavier Dolan at the Internet Movie Database