Francois Damiens

Wild comedic actor Francois Damiens embodies, in his native Belgium, what Sacha Baron Cohen was to the Brits in his early years as Ali G and Borat Sagdiyev. Under the guise of alter ego François L'Embrouille, Damien made it his trademark shtick to assume a series of outrageous disguises (typically associated with specific professions, such as that of a ski security officer, a driving instructor, or a bus depot clerk) and candidly film ordinary Belgians reacting to his tactless and absurd antics. As one might expect, those who fell victim to the actor's pranks reacted in any manner of ways, from delight to supreme irritation and hostility, but his popularity grew so widespread among European viewers that it spelled success for Damiens and helped him establish a successful movie career, specializing (unsurprisingly) in European-produced laugh-fests from 2006 onward. Memorable projects included the Benoit Poelvoorde political farce Cow-Boy (2007), the gentle Daniel Auteuil-headlined comedy 15 Ans et Demi (2008) and the Jean-Claude Van Damme action comedy JCVD (2008), with one of the most prominent roles after Van Damme in that production.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide