The curtain has fallen forever on Christian Bujeau. Died this Monday, June 15 at the age of 81, the actor leaves behind a career as discreet as it is precious. Born in 1944 in Charron, in a France still scarred by the war, he grew up with only one certainty: the boards were calling him. Direction Paris, direction the prestigious National Conservatory of Dramatic Art, where he hones his talent with the greatest. Because Christian Bujeau was much more than an actor. In more than fifty years in the profession, this jack-of-all-trades artist had done everything, tried everything: theater, cinema, television, but also stunts. Behind the camera, he also slipped into the skin of the director, before passing on his passion by becoming a drama teacher at the Jean Périmony school. Training the actors of tomorrow, a way of continuing to live on stage, in your own way.
The notable roles of Christian Bujeau
If the general public did not necessarily know his name, they knew his face. It was in 1993, in Les Visiteurs by Jean-Marie Poiré, that Christian Bujeau established himself in collective memories. As Jean-Pierre Goulard, the maniacal and Cartesian husband of Béatrice de Montmirail, he forms a perfect counterpoint to the medieval escapades of Godefroy (Jean Reno) and Jacquouille (Christian Clavier). Cult scenes, an unforgettable character: the general public had finally put a face to this talent. Besides, did you know that the role had been coveted by Didier Bourdon and Fabrice Luchini? But in the end, it was Christian Bujeau who won. “Because I loved my children and I wanted them to eat, I made The Visitors,” he confided with self-deprecation. A meeting with Christian Clavier at the theater started it all. The success was such that he returned to the character five years later in The Corridors of Time: The Visitors 2, confirming his status as the most famous dentist in France.
The famous Master of Arms of Kaamelott
A decade after Les Visiteurs, Christian Bujeau achieved the feat of establishing himself once again in the collective unconscious. In Kaamelott, the cult series by Alexandre Astier, he plays the Master of Arms, trainer of King Arthur who is as authoritarian as he is hilarious. A new generation of fans then fell under the spell of this actor who, clearly, knew like no one else how to inhabit a secondary character to make something unique out of it. But to reduce Christian Bujeau to these two emblematic figures would be to do him a great disservice. For more than fifty years, he filmed with remarkable consistency. On television, viewers have encountered him in series as diverse as Julie Lescaut, Caméra Café, H, Sous le soleil or even Joséphine, ange guardian. On the big screen, he played alongside the greatest in The Truth if I Lie! 2, The Red Inn, Alibi.com or The Return of the Hero.
