Richard Bohringer

Melancholic performer who, after a handful of screenwriting credits and several feature film roles, first gained attention outside France as the eccentric zen-master in Jean-Jacques Beineix's "Diva" (1980). Bohringer was subsequently very prolific in leads, second leads, and key supporting roles during the 1980s and 90s and won plaudits for his role as the relentlessly deceitful prison guard in "L'addition" (1984). He has worked with many of France's leading directors, including Eduoard Molinaro ("A Gauche en Sortant de l'ascenseur/To the Left as You Leave the Elevator" 1988) and Jean-Pierre Mocky, with whom he has made several films, including the crime drama "Le Pactole/The Boodle" (1985) and the mystery satire "Ville a Vendre/City for Sale" (1992).

Bohringer has worked primarily in French or European co-productions, but proved himself quietly effective in his English-language debut as the epicurean title character of Peter Greenaway's art-house success "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" (1989). Father of actress Romane Bohringer, whom he acted opposite in "The Accompanist" (1992).