This French actor-writer-director's international reputation grew steadily in the 1990s, particularly after the release of "Grosse Fatigue" (1994), a comedy about a leading actor whose life is turned macabre when a look-a-like wreaks havoc. Key to the twist in the film was that "auteur" Michel Blanc used real actors and personalities, such as Charlotte Gainsbourg and Roman Polanski, portraying themselves, yet in scripted roles. The film won Blanc the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Like many actors of the past 20 years, in France, Hollywood and elsewhere, Michel Blanc might