Olivier Martinez
Olivier Martinez
Olivier Martinez is a French film actor. He became known after roles in several French films such as Un, deux, trois, soleil, which garnered him the César Award for "Most Promising Actor", The Horseman on the Roof, and The Chambermaid on the Titanic. He has also appeared in Hollywood-produced features, including the drama Before Night Falls, the erotic thriller Unfaithfuland playing the role of a French drug lord in the action-crime-thriller S.W.A.T....
NationalityFrench
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth12 January 1966
CityParis, France
CountryFrance
I'll always be a foreigner.
I have an accent, I'm limited, I have to play foreign parts - I would love to play American parts but I can't because I have an accent. You are more limited as a foreigner in every area.
I quit after a bad car accident. The thing about boxing is that you can be a star for five or six years, but when you go back to the old life, it's tough.
Also, I have found that I really like to work in English. It's very strange because it's exactly the opposite of what I thought it would be like.
And I think it is the genius of actors to be able to escape whatever people are expecting of them. Otherwise you become like a factory worker.
When you're a foreigner, at the beginning you are far away from the culture. Then, little by little, you start to interact with people, have friends, have a life, and then you feel more comfortable.
But what I really like are old Hollywood movies. Very often I watch AMC.
Before, I was so stupid. But, you know, when you have friends who died on the street, you say, okay, let's calm down. It's not the kind of energy I want to have in life. I want to go slower, and longer.
But when you work with the director and the real person who is playing opposite you, it changes everything. You are almost in a working session. I was very comfortable, and that's maybe what helped me to get the part.
It's a matter of time; you adapt to the different culture and different way of life. Human beings are adaptable.
I always say I was born too late in the world, too old.
I don't feel restricted by the language: I feel more free.
I like Brad Pitt; I just have nothing to do with him.
An actor cannot say no, it's against his job. If he wants the part he has to say yes. [But] it's very bad for you to say you can do something and then not do it, so you have to manage to do it.