Michel Côté (June 25, 1950 – May 29, 2023) was a Canadian actor from Quebec.Myriam Fontaine, "Michel Côté". The Canadian Encyclopedia, February 10, 2008. He is known for his performances in the films Cruising Bar, Life After Love (La vie après l'amour) and C.R.A.Z.Y., the theatrical show Broue and the television series Omertà.

Background Born in Alma, Quebec, he did not originally aspire to become an actor, but took up the profession after starting to take amateur theatre roles as part of his university studies, and later enrolled at the National Theatre School of Canada.François Lévesque, "Michel Côté, un des acteurs les plus aimés du Québec, s’est éteint". Le Devoir, May 29, 2023.

Career Côté taught introductory acting and improvisation at the Option Théâtre in Sainte-Thérèse until 1977. He subsequently cofounded a small theatre, Voyagements. In 1979, Côté began performing in the play Broue at the theatre; the play was intended to have a one-month run, but ended up being staged in many cities across Canada, and Côté continued to perform in all of the more than 2,000 performances that had happened by 2008. Côté, Marc Messier and Marcel Gauthier performed Broue for nearly 40 years, with Côté's last performance occurring in 2017.Marc Messier makes touching secrets about the resilience of Michel CôtéQuebec actor Michel Côté, known for film and theatre roles, dead at 72, The Globe and Mail In order to reduce costs, the actors performed all the roles themselves.Broue, The Canadian Encyclopedia

Côté played the lead role in the film Cruising Bar, and was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in 1990. He also played the lead role in the film C.R.A.Z.Y.,"C.R.A.Z.Y.". Sydney Morning Herald, Paul Byrnes, August 30, 2006 and won a Genie in the same category for this film in 2005."Arcand's Jesus leads Genie race". Toronto Star, February 14, 1990. In 2008, he revived his Cruising Bar characters in the sequel film Cruising Bar 2, for which he received a Jutra Award nomination for Best Actor at the 11th Jutra Awards,"Fantasy film 'Babine' leads Quebec's Jutra Awards with nine nominations". Canadian Press, February 18, 2009.

In 2009, Côté played a lead role in the film Father and Guns (De père en flic), which took in $10.5 million at the box office in Quebec.Brendan Kelly, "De père en flic 2: Michel Côté, Louis-José Houde have a family reunion". Montreal Gazette, July 13, 2017. In 2010, he appeared as pilot Robert Piché in the film Piché: The Landing of a Man (Piché, entre ciel et terre), and in 2011 he starred as Roger Gendron in A Sense of Humour (Le sens de l'humour).A SENSE OF HUMOR

Côté was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) in the 2023 Canadian honours, "for his distinguished career as one of Quebec's most prominent actors on stage, on television and in film."

In 2025, the book Michel Côté et nous was published by Éditions de l'Homme. This work, by Pierre Gince and Maxime le Flaguais, brings together about fifty testimonies from those close to Michel Côté.

Personal life Côté was married to French actress Véronique Le Flaguais. They had two sons Charles and Maxime. The latter is also an actor.Michelle Coudé-Lord, "Mon père est Michel Côté, l'acteur". Le Journal de Montréal, June 20, 2010. Côté died on 29 May 2023, at the age of 72.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes1978Christmas LaceThe Thief1982Bleue Brume1983Au clair de la luneFrançois1986ExitSimon1986TransitLaurent1986La Fuite1988You're Beautiful, Jeanne (T'es belle Jeanne)Bert1989In the Belly of the Dragon (Dans le ventre du dragon)Bozo1989Cruising BarSerge, Patrice, Jean-Jacques, Gérard1989The Scorpio FactorSWAT Team1990Moody BeachSimon1991The Horse Trader's Daughter (La Fille du maquignon)1994The Wind from Wyoming (Le Vent du Wyoming)Marcel1995Black List (Liste noire)Jacques Savard1996Mistaken Identity (Erreur sur la personne)Charles Renard2000Life After Love (La vie après l'amour)Gilles2003Evil Words (Sur le seuil)Paul Lacasse2004The Last Tunnel (Le Dernier tunnel)Marcel Talon2005C.R.A.Z.Y.Gervais Beaulieu2007My Daughter, My Angel (Ma fille, mon ange)Germain Dagenais2008Cruising Bar 2Serge, Patrice, Jean-Jacques, Gérard2009Father and Guns (De père en flic)Jacques Laroche2010Piché: The Landing of a Man (Piché, entre ciel et terre)Robert Piché2011A Sense of Humour (Le sens de l'humour)Roger Gendron2014The Masters of Suspense (Les Maîtres du suspense)Hubert Wolfe2016My Friend Dino (Mon ami Dino)Michel Côté2017Father and Guns 2 (De père en flic 2)Jacques Laroche

Television Year Title Role Notes1975-76La Petite PatrieMaurice LabontéTwo episodes1977The NewcomersNicolas de LugnyOne episode1977Le PontJoseph Fortier1978Du tac au tacM. DubucOne episode1979-2018Bye ByeSix episodes1980Les BrillantDésiré LamarreThree episodes1981Les GirouettesLéon Gingras1982Vaut mieux en rire1992Miss MoscouTV movie1992Montréal ville ouvertePacifique Plante13 episodes1994-2009La Petite VieJean-Louis PichetteNine episodes1996-1999OmertaPierre Gauthier30 episodes2001Si la tendance se maintientAlain GagnonThree episodes2004Et Dieu créa... LaflaqueEdmond2012En audition avec SimonHimselfOne episode2014Les PêcheursHimselfOne episode2014-15La théorie du K.O.Carol Hébert25 episodes

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