Case 5: 1 Cesar + 30 Movies… Who is Alexis Manent, Mary in Ladj Ly’s New Movie?

Best known for his role as a tough cop in Les Misérables (2019) Ladj Ly, Alexis Manent stars this week in the director’s shocking new film, Bâtiment 5. He plays a pediatrician who becomes the mayor of a suburban town. , one of whose districts should be the subject of the development plan.

Building 5: Is Ladj Ly’s movie based on a true story?

Born in Paris in 1982, Alexis took his first steps in front of the camera through the Kourtrajmé collective, created by Kim Chapiron, Toumani Sangare and Romain Gavra, with whom he starred in the short films Easy Pizza Rider (2002) and Désir dans l. ‘Space (2004). In cinema, he found his first role in Fred Kawai’s thriller Mea Culpa.

He continues, still on the big screen, as a soldier on forced leave in Voir du pays (2016) and continues to play supporting roles in the biopic Le Divan de Staline (2017), the comedy Marry me mon pote (id.) , the thriller 9 Fingers (2018) ) and the sci-fi film directed by Romain Dury in the Mist (id.).

In 2019, Alexis Manenti became famous for Ladge Lee’s Les Misérables (Jury Prize in Cannes and four Césars), where he played one of the main characters with Damien Bonnard and Djibril Zonga. In this film, set in the Montfermeil area, he plays Chris, a BAC cop with questionable methods.

This most amazing performance allowed him to receive a César for the best male candidate of 2020. Note that he already played the character in a short film of the same name that Ladj Ly directed two years ago (and which the actor co-wrote).

Based on this performance, the native of Paris was offered many roles: he played the role of a drug dealer with promising Sandor Funtek in K Contrary (2020), a gas station manager in Poissoneaux (Ident.) and a journalist who worked with Pio Marmai in the investigation. State scandal.

In 2022, Alexis Manenti plays a caring educator in an intense cover-up about incest. In the same year, he impressed again in the skin of a charismatic and calm city dweller, but prepared for the worst, in Athena on Netflix (directed by someone I know very well: Romain Gavras).

A true lover of social cinema, the actress plays Hafsia Hertz’s companion in 2023’s Le Rapissement and teams up with Ladj Ly for Bâtiment 5, where she steps into the shoes of the young opportunistic mayor. “It was interesting for me to find him in a completely different role”The 45-year-old director confides.

Finally, Alexis is also active on the television side, as evidenced by his appearances in the mini-series Une Ile, The Eddy and 6 X Confiné.es.