Luc Besson

Luc Besson

Luc Paul Maurice Besson (born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed or produced the films Subway, The Big Blue, and La Femme Nikita. His English-language films, Taken 2 and Taken 3, all starring Liam Neeson, have been major successes. He won Best French Director for his sci-fi action film The Fifth Element.

About Luc Besson in brief

Summary Luc BessonLuc Paul Maurice Besson (born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed or produced the films Subway, The Big Blue, and La Femme Nikita. Besson is associated with the Cinéma du look film movement. He has been nominated for a César Award for Best Director and Best Picture for his films Léon: The Professional and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. He won Best French Director for his sci-fi action film The Fifth Element. He wrote and directed the 2014 sci-Fi action film Lucy and the 2017 space opera film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. His English-language films, Taken 2 and Taken 3, all starring Liam Neeson, have been major successes, with Taken 2 becoming the largest-grossing export French film of the 20th century. He produced the movie for the Paris Summer Olympics bid for the 2012 Summer Games. He is married to actress Nicole Kidman and has a son, Lucian, and a daughter, Lucie, with whom he has three children. He lives in Paris with his wife and two children, and has three step-daughters.

He also has a step-son and a son-in-law, who he has two step-grandchildren with. He and his wife have three children, who have two children of their own, and one step-great-grandchild, who has two children. They live in Paris and have a son and daughter with a partner, who is also a film producer. They also have a daughter with another partner, and have one son with another filmmaker, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam. They have three grandchildren, who live in the U.S. and have three granddaughters, both of whom live in New York City. He had a diving accident at the age of 17 that left him unable to dive. At 18, he took odd jobs in film to get a feel for the industry. He worked as an assistant to directors including Claude Faraldo and Patrick Grandperret. He reportedly worked on the first drafts of Le Grand Bleu while still in his teens. Out of boredom, Besson started writing stories, including the background to what he later developed as The fifth Element.