21/01/2003 - French rock icon is surprise winner of this year's Jean Gabin best acting newcomer for Leconte's L'homme du train. The young star of 8 Women wins the Schneider award

The announcement of the winners of the 2003 edition of the Romy Schneider & Jean Gabin Awards included a welcome, if unexpected albeit well-deserved surprise; not least since the award traditionally goes to the most promising young acting talents. The winner of the 23rd Jean Gabin acting award is 59-year-old French rock icon, Johnny Halliday. The singer-songwriter won for L’homme du train [+see also:
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film profile] by Patrice Leconte. Hallyday is not new to the big screen, having played minor roles in memorable movies like Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Les diaboliques, Jean-Luc Godard’s Détective, Costa-Gavras’ Conseil de famille and Laetitia Masson’s Love Me.
This year’s winner of the 20th Romy Schneider award, established in memory of the Austrian-born actress, is 23 year-old Ludivine Sagnier, who came to the forefront of public attention in Ozon’s 8 Women [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. Sagnier also has starring roles in Ozon’s forthcoming Swimming Pool [+see also:
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film profile], Claude Miller’s La petite Lili and Pascal Bonitzer’s Petites Coupures.
Past winners of the Schneider/Gabin awards include Juliette Binoche, Sandrine Kiberlain, Guillaume Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte, Mathieu Kassovitz and Clotilde Coureau.

(Translated from French)