Benoît Poelvoorde (Namur, September 22, 1964) is a Belgian actor and director. He achieved international recognition in 1992 with the controversial mockumentary film *Man Bites Dog* (*C'est arrivé près de chez vous*), which he co-directed and starred in. Since then, he has built a versatile career, becoming one of the most well-known faces of Francophone cinema, capable of alternating between widely successful popular comedies and dramatic, tormented roles. His most celebrated performances include those in *Podium* (2004), *Entre ses mains* (2005), the box-office hit comedy *Nothing to Declare* (2010), *The Brand New Testament* (2015), and the ensemble film *Sink or Swim* (2018). His talent has been recognized with numerous awards and nominations; he has received several nominations for the César Award for Best Actor and has twice won the Magritte Award in the same category in Belgium, establishing himself as a central figure in his country's cinema.