He was born in Paris.
Now one of France's most famous actors, he came to national attention as the toubled Vinz in Mathieu Kassovitz's powerful La Haine after which he partipated in a wide variety of movies such as the moody L'Appartement, the violent Dobermann, period drama cum kung-fu cum horror flick The Brotherhood of the Wolf or most recently in the highly controversial Irréversible alongside his wife, Monica Bellucci. He's also made quite a few appartions in English language films such as Birthday Girl, Elizabeth or Shrek (as the voice of Monsieur Hood).