Simon Abkarian


Simon Abkarian is a French-Armenian actor.

Life and career

Born in Gonesse, Val d'Oise, of Armenian descent, Abkarian spent his childhood in Lebanon. He moved to Los Angeles, where he joined an Armenian theater company managed by Gerald Papazian. He returned to France in 1985, settling in Paris. He took classes at the Acting International school, then he joined Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil and played, among others, in L'Histoire terrible mais inachevée de Norodom Sihanouk, roi du Cambodge by Hélène Cixous, and in the House of Atreus four-play cycle by Aeschylus.
Abkarian left the Théâtre du Soleil in 1993. In 2001 he starred in Beast on the Moon by Richard Kalinoski, directed by Irina Brook, a play about the life of a survivor of the Armenian genocide, a role which won him critical acclaim and the Molière Award for Best Actor.
His first roles in cinema were proposed by French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch, who asked him to play in several of his movies, notably in Chacun cherche son chat and in in 2003.
He was featured in Sally Potter's Yes, in which he played the lead role.
Abkarian then played Mehdi Ben Barka in the thriller J'ai vu tuer Ben Barka by Serge Le Péron, about the kidnapping and the murder of the leader of the Moroccan opposition. He then played in Prendre Femme by Ronit Elkabetz which won him several acting awards. Playing different roles and in different genres, he was featured in the adventure Zaïna, cavalière de l'Atlas by Bourlem Guerdjou, in the comedy Le Démon de midi by Marie-Pascale Osterrieth. He has also appeared in Atom Egoyan's Ararat, he was Albert in Almost Peaceful by French director Michel Deville, and he was featured in Your Dreams by Denis Thybaud. He was featured as Sahak in the thriller Les Mauvais Joueurs by Frédéric Balekdjian. He played the role of villain Alex Dimitrios in the James Bond film, Casino Royale. The character is an arms dealer working against Bond.
He has also been the voice of Ebi in the French version of the animated feature Persepolis. Abkarian played the role of the Armenian poet Missak Manouchian in The Army of Crime by Robert Guédiguian, a French filmmaker based in Marseille, who is also of Armenian parentage.
He has also played Dariush Bakhshi, the Iranian Special Consul, in the BBC drama Spooks. In 2012, he played the role of a drug-dealing Afghan army colonel in the Canal+ series Kaboul Kitchen.
He has the lead role in a two-part biopic of Charles de Gaulle which filmed in 2023 and 2024.

Filmography

Riens du tout – Danseur grecAna El Awan – CamilleWhen the Cat's Away – CarlosLe dernier des pélicans Le silence de Rak – Le second consommateurJ'irai au paradis car l'enfer est ici – SimonTempête dans un verre d'eau Lila Lili – SimonArarat – Arshile GorkyAlmost Peaceful – AlbertThe Truth About Charlie – Lieutenant DessalinesAram – AramLa légende de Parva – Le swami Not For, or Against – Freddy Karparian dit LecarpeTo Take a Wife – EliyahuYes – HeGamblers – SahakDans tes rêves – WilsonThe Demon Stirs – Julien CestacZaïna, cavalière de l'Atlas – OmarJ'ai vu tuer Ben Barka – General OufkirPetites révélations Le Voyage en Arménie – Sarkis ArabianHier encore – Simon TabetThe Serpent – SamCasino Royale – Alex DimitriosNew délire – Gunter Persepolis – Mr. Satrapi – Marjane's father Trivial – PierreRendition – Said Abdel AzizShiva – EliauUn monde à nous – L'oncle de Noé Khamsa – Le pèreSecret défense – Al BaradMusée haut, musée bas – Gilles PaulinLe Chant des mariées – RaoulRage – MerlinThe Army of Crime – Missak ManouchianSuite parlée – 'Le masque'Turk's Head – Le veufDes Force – Jimi WeissKaboul Kitchen – Colonel AmanullahZarafa – Hassan Zero Dark Thirty – Detainee on MonitorRecon: A Filmmaker's Quest Les invincibles – Nino LorcyThe Marchers – Farid's fatherAngélique – lawyer François DesgrezGett – [The Trial of Viviane Amsallem] – Elisha AmsalemColt 45 – Commandant Luc DenardThe Cut – KrikorPseudonym – Monsieur1915 – SimonDon't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad – Hovannès AlexandrianChouf – Le LibanaisLa Mécanique de l'ombre – GerfautDjam – KakourgosOverdrive – Jacomo MorierThe Sonata – Charles VernaisRebelles The Swallows of Kabul The Audition Someone, Somewhere