A French-Algerian actor with extraordinary physical presence and changing sensibility, Salim Kechiouche emerged on the French film scene in the mid-1990s as a revelation. Born in Lyon in 1979, his career is inextricably linked to that of director Gaël Morel, who discovered him as a teenager and made him his favorite actor, almost a Jean-Pierre Léaud of his generation, launching him with À toute vitesse (1996) and continuing their partnership in works such as Le Clan (2004). A kickboxing champion before entering the world of cinema, Kechiouche brings a rare physical intensity to the screen, a vulnerable masculinity that attracts the attention of directors such as François Ozon (Les Amants criminels). However, it is perhaps his role in Abdellatif Kechiche's Blue is the Warmest Color (2013), in the key role of Samir, that established him with international audiences. His career, which ranges with agility from auteur cinema to classical theater, is marked by a constant exploration of the boundaries of identity, desire, and the complex Maghrebi cultural heritage in contemporary France.