Jaque Catelain

Director & actor · born 9 February 1897 · Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines, France

Jaque Catelain was a French actor who came to prominence in silent films of the 1920s, and who continued acting in films and on stage until the 1950s. He also wrote and directed two silent films himself and was a capable artist and musician. He had a close association with the director Marcel L'Herbier.

He was born as Jacques Guérin-Castelain in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. His father was then the mayor and also moved in literary and theatrical circles, which allowed the young Jacques to encounter many famous names in his childhood. He showed early enthusiasm for the arts and music, and at the age of 16 he entered the Académie Julian in Paris to study fine arts. With the outbreak of war in the following year, he changed direction and chose to study acting at the Conservatoire, enrolling in the class of Paul Mounet, before being mobilised into the artillery.

Where to start: The Gallery of Monsters (1924).