Gad Elmaleh

Gad Elmaleh (Hebrew: גד אלמלח; Arabic: جاد المالح‎; French pronunciation: [ɡad‿ɛlmalɛ]; born April 19, 1971) is a Moroccan French stand-up comedian and actor who lives and works in France. He has starred in several feature films, including Coco, Hors de prix, La Doublure and Midnight in Paris.

Elmaleh was born in Casablanca, Morocco. Being a Moroccan Sephardic Jew, Gad Elmaleh was brought up in a culturally diverse environment, speaking Moroccan Arabic, Hebrew, English and French. Son of David Elmaleh and Régine Elmaleh. He has a brother, Arié, actor and singer, and a sister, Judith, actress and stage director. He studied for a few years in Morocco at Lycée Lyautey in Casablanca before he studied political science at McGill University in Montreal for four years, then moved to Paris to study drama.

Elmaleh's first contact with cinema was the full-length film, Salut cousin ! by Merzak Allouache. He later appeared in L'homme est une femme comme les autres and Train de Vie.

His fame further increased with the success of his second one-man show, La Vie Normale, and the film La Vérité si je mens ! 2 (2000) in which he played the role of "Dov", the seducer. The character of "Chouchou" in La Vie Normale was reproduced in the comedy Chouchou (2002), directed by Merzak Allouache and also starring Alain Chabat; the film drew large audiences.[citation needed]. He then did his debut as a singer in "it's kiz my life", a popular song in a non-existing language. The music video was directed by J.G Biggs and shot in the famous Parisian Hôtel Costes.

In contrast to his first two one-man shows, his L’autre c’est moi (2005) contains more improvisation and interaction with the public. He returned to film in 2004 when he starred in the 2004 film Olé! with Gérard Depardieu. In 2005, he starred as François Pignon in La Doublure (English title "The Valet"), by Francis Veber. In 2006, he appeared opposite Audrey Tautou in Hors de prix (English title "Priceless"), by Pierre Salvadori.

He came back to the stage with L'autre, c'est moi in September 2006 in Canada (Montreal) and in the U.S. (in Broadway, at the Beacon Theater in front of 3000 spectators); it was performed also in Casablanca, Morocco. Between April and August 2007 he played his successful show in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

On July 15, 2007, Elmaleh premiered his latest show, Papa est en haut, in Montreal as part of the Just for Laughs festival. He also played the voice of Barry B. Benson in the French version of the 2007 film Bee Movie, Drôle d’Abeille.

In 2009, he released the film, Coco, which he directed, wrote and starred in. In 2010 he appeared in a dramatic role in Roselyne Bosch's The Round Up, which is based on the events surrounding the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup.

In 2011, he had a small role in Woody Allen's Paris-set feature, Midnight in Paris. He also appeared in the motion capture film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, alongside Jamie Bell. The film, which was directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson, was released on October 26, 2011 in Belgium and on December 23, 2011 in the United States. The same year, he also starred in Jack & Jill as Al Pacino's French cook. In 2012, he had a small role in The Dictator.

In 2013, he appeared on Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

He also is greatly known for his show Sans Tambour (Drumless, which is a pun in French, on the words 'tabou' and 'tambour'). While Gad Elmaleh is arguably the most widely known and beloved comedian in Europe, he has now embarked on the newest chapter of his career: breaking through to the American audience. For this, he has crafted "Oh My Gad," a new stand-up show entirely in English, building upon the jokes that made him famous overseas and including new observations from his life in America.

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