Alexis Michalik

Alexis Michalik, born 13 December 1982, is a Franco-British actor, scriptwriter and director. He adapted Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet into his play R&J and he has written and staged his own plays, including Le Porteur d'histoire, Le Cercle des illusionnistes, Edmond and Intra Muros. He has acted in a number of films, including Sagan by Diane Kurys and Le Chant du loup by Abel Lanzac and he has acted in a number of TV series, mini-series, and TV films, including the series Kaboul Kitchen by Allan Mauduit and Jean-Patrick Benes. He has received various Molière awards for his plays.

He is the son of a Polish father, an artist, and a British mother. He was raised in the quartier des Abbesses in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. He studied at the collège Jules-Ferry, and at the conservatoire in the 19th arrondissement, and he passed the entrance examination for the Conservatoire national d'art dramatique.

His first stage role was as Roméo in 2001, in the play Juliette et Roméo directed by Irina Brook at the théâtre de Chaillot.

In 2003, he was admitted to the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique (CNSAD) in Paris. However, he gave up his place to stage his first show, Une folle journée, an adaptation of Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais. He created the show in 2005 at the Festival d'Avignon Off in the théâtre des Corps Saints, playing the role of the Count. Michalik used the name of his source material to name his theatre company, Los Figaros.

In 2006, he created La Mégère à peu près apprivoisée at Théâtre La Luna (Buffon), a musical comedy adaptation of the play by Shakespeare, in which he played the role of Petruchio. He met Arthur Jugnot, who produced the play in Avignon in 2007 et 2008, at the théâtre des Béliers, then in 2009 at the Vingtième Théâtre and then in 2010 at Le Splendid. The adaption was then put on television on the show Paris Première. During this show, he met Dominique Besnehard, the show's host, who would later produce two of Michalik's first short films.