Dany Boon

Dany Boon, whose actual name is Daniel Farid Hamidou, was born on 26 June 1966. He is a prominent French actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. Boon's career started in the 1990s as a comedian. Nevertheless, he got his breakthrough in 2008 due to his acting and directorial role in the film comedy Welcome to the Sticks. Subsequently, he has been significantly involved as a screenwriter or director or both in a string of films, including Nothing to Declare (2011), Supercondriaque (2014), Raid dingue (2017), La Ch'tite famille (2018), Stuck Together (2021), and Life for Real (2023). Boon was born into a middle-class family in northern France, and his early career started in Paris in 1989. Interestingly, he initially worked as a mime on the streets and featured actively in open mic nights. He derives his stage name from Daniel Boone, an American trapper, who appeared in series. Despite a series of small roles in movies during the 1990s, Boon's performance in the 1998 satire Bimboland directed by Ariel Zeitoun, made a solid statement about his talents. His ever-evolving career saw a climax when he directed and acted in Welcome to the Sticks in 2008, which was a major hit in France and other countries. The comedy, besides breaking French box-office records, also made him the highest-paid actor in European film history. By 2015, he presided over the 40th César Awards ceremony. Boon is credited to have numerous production companies, including 26 DB Productions located in Los Angeles, California. Moreover, he has also been directed by renowned French filmmakers like Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Danièle Thompson, Pascal Chaumeil, Julie Delpy, and Yvan Attal.