Alain Yves Stéphane Chabat (; born 24 November 1958) is a French actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, producer and television host. Originally known for his work with the comedy group Les Nuls, including as a co-writer and the lead actor of La Cité de la peur (1994), he later co-created and hosted the Burger Quiz game show, which became the most watched entertainment show in the history of French television.
Chabat has also become a notable filmmaker of his own, typically both writing and starring in the movies he directed, which include comedy films such as Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), RRRrrrr!!! (2004) and Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami (2012). He appeared in French Twist (1995), The Taste of Others (2000), Happily Ever After (2004), The Science of Sleep (2006), as well as briefly in the television series Kaamelott (2005). Additionally, he voiced the title character in the French dubbing of the Shrek franchise.
Early life Chabat was born in Oran, French Algeria. He is Jewish.
Career His media career began in 1987 when he founded the comedy group "Les Nuls" (The Lame-os) with Bruno Carette, Chantal Lauby and Dominique Farrugia. Les Nuls' first appearance on French television, on the subscriber channel Canal Plus, was a sci-fi spoof entitled Objectif Nul (a word play with Objectif Lune, the French title of the comic album Destination Moon, one of The Adventures of Tintin). The show shares striking similarities with the British TV series Red Dwarf, although both shows were released at roughly the same time and it is unlikely one influenced the other.
Both as a member of Les Nuls (in La Cité de la Peur) and in his solo efforts (including Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, in which he both directed and acted), Chabat has been described as emulating the heavily referential, pop-culture-based writing style of the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker trio and adapting it to the tastes of the French audience.
Chabat also voiced the title character in the French dubs of all four Shrek films, replacing Mike Myers. He won the César Award for Best Debut in 1998 for Didier.
He co-starred in Happily Ever After (2004) and in Prête-moi ta main (2006) (which he also wrote) alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg. He played Napoleon Bonaparte in the 2009 film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
In November 2022, Chabat hosted Le Late avec Alain Chabat on TF1 which ran for 10 episodes during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
From 2021, Chabat developed for Netflix an animated miniseries based on the Asterix franchise: Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight, adapted from the 1964 comic book story, started streaming on 30 April 2025.
Filmography Film YearTitleRole Notes 1990 Baby Blood Slain Passerby 1991 The Professional Secrets of Dr. Apfelgluck Gérard Martinez 1992 Pizza blob Professor Liégeois Short1994 La Cité de la peur Serge Karamazov / Youri / Jacques Also co-writer Parano Pilot 6 Days, 6 Nights Thomas One Night of Hypocrisy Thomas Short 1995 French Twist Laurent Lafaye Nominated - César Award for Best Actor1996 Beaumarchais Courtier Delphine 1, Yvan 0 Pierre Krief 1997 Didier Didier / Didje Hazanavicius Also director and writerCésar Award for Best DebutNominated - César Award for Best Actor Le cousin Gérard Delvaux 1998 Quest for Camelot Devon / Cornwall (voice)French dub1999 Trafic d'influence Priest Mes amis Etienne La débandade Specialist Bricol' GirlsNarrator/White RastaDirect-to-video2000 The Taste of Others Bruno Deschamps Nominated - César Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated - Chlotrudis Award - Best Cast Kitchendales Enzo's Mother Direct-to-video2001 L'art (délicat) de la séduction Master Zen Shrek Shrek (voice)French dub 2002 Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra Julius Caesar Also director, writer and co-producerNominated - European Film Award - Best Actor2003 Chouchou Stanislas de la Tour-Maubourg Laisse tes mains sur mes hanches Bernard Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose ? Peter Mc Gray The Car Keys Dog Seller 2004 RRRrrrr!!! Pierre the Medicine Man Also director, writer and co-producer Casablanca Driver Doctor Brenson Happily Ever After Georges Shrek 2 Shrek (voice)French dub 2005 Papa Papa 2006 The Science of Sleep Guy I Do Luis Costa Also co-writer and producerNominated - César Award for Best Actor2007 Garage Babes Narrator/The Cacou Direct-to-video Shrek the Third Shrek (voice)French dub2008 15 ans et demi Norbert Me Two Gilles Gabriel Also producer Un monde à nous English Teacher Also producer 2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Napoleon Bonaparte Also French dub Trésor Jean-Pierre Le siffleur Tax Auditor 2010 Shrek Forever After Shrek (voice)French dub2011 War of the Buttons Monsieur Labru Scrat's Continental Crack-Up: Part 2 Silas (voice) Short film, English and French dub 2012 A Thousand Words Christian Léger de la Touffe Also producerAlso French dub Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami Dan Geraldo Also director, writer and producer Ice Age: Continental Drift Silas (voice) English and French dub2013 Turf Nicos Fivos Also producer Les gamins Gilbert Mood Indigo Jules Gouffé 2014 Reality Jason Tantra Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods Senator Prospectus (voice) 2017 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Bob the Pirate Santa & Cie Santa Also director, writer and producer 2018 Keep an Eye Out! Screams of pain (voice) Cameo 2019 Play Max's father #Jesuislà Stéphane 2021 Kaamelott: The First Chapter The Duke of Aquitaine 2022Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be René Goscinny (voice)Incredible but TrueAlainSmoking Causes CoughingChief Didier (voice) 2024Beating Hearts Jackie's fatherCésar Award for Best Supporting Actor 2025Kaamelott: The Second Chapter Part 1 The Duke of Aquitaine 2026Le VertigeJacques (voice) Evil Dead BurnAlice's dad (voice) 2027 Shrek 5 Shrek (voice) French dub High in the Clouds Bigsby (voice) +Key Denotes films not yet released
Television YearTitleRole Notes1987 Objectif: Nul Capitain Lamar/Various characters TV series (all episodes)1988TVN 595Various charactersTV special1989 Palace Cédric TV series (1 Episode) 1990 Histoire(s) de la télévision Roland Gilet TV series (all episodes) 1990-1992Les Nuls, L'EmissionHimself/Various charactersTV series (56 episodes) 1993 La Classe américaine Deep Throat (voice) TV Movie 1998 Ivre mort pour la patrie German General TV Short 2001 La cape et l'épée Minstrel TV series (2 Episodes) 2001–20022018–present Burger Quiz Himself (host) Broadcast: Canal + (2001–2002) / TMC (2018–present)Also co-creator and co-writer 2006 Avez-vous déjà vu..? Narrator/Various voices TV series (all episodes) 2007 Kaamelott The Duke of Aquitaine TV series (4 Episodes)Shrek the HallsShrek (voice)TV special, French dubElie Annonce SemounSylvain MérichuMiniseriesDirect-to-video 2008 Rien dans les poches Rita Also producerTV Movie 2010Scared ShreklessShrek (voice)TV special, French dub 2011 Le grand restaurant II Alain TV movie 2022 Le Late avec Alain Chabat Himself (host) TV series2024RepresentFrançois Colignon 2025Asterix and Obelix: The Big FightAsterix/Geriatrix/Twinpix (voice)Netflix mini-series
References
External links
Interview of Alain Chabat. Artistik Rezo. 2010-06-15.