Jack Davenport

Vous vous souvenez sûrement de lui pour son rôle dans la saga Pirates des

Caraïbes ou, plus récemment, dans la série The Morning show. Comédie ou drame, série ou film, Jack Davenport sait tout faire. Aujourd’hui, l’acteur joue l’alter ego anglais de Matthias dans Ten Percent, le remake britannique de la fameuse série de Fanny Herrero sur la vie d’une prestigieuse agence artistique. Retour sur la carrière de cet acteur polyvalent qui a connu le succès dans son pays d’origine et outre-Atlantique.

Early years

Jack Davenport was born on 1 March,1973 in Suffolk, England, to actors Maria Aitken and Nigel Davenport. The future star spent much of his youth on a farm run by his parents, and was later sent to boarding school following their separation. Davenport studied Literature and Film Studies at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, where he believed at the time he was more interested in production work than acting.

youth jeunesse / to run, ran, run gérer, exploiter / boarding school internat, pensionnat / acting métier d’acteur.

A special family

Even though his parents were in the entertainment industry, Davenport came from a long line of British movers and shakers. His great-great uncle was a politician and “London Evening Standard” publisher, Sir William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook. His maternal greatgrandfather was British diplomat John Maffey, 1st Baron Rugby and his maternal grandmother was Lady Penelope Aiken, an English socialite and Member of the Order of the British Empire.

entertainment (du) divertissement / line lignée, famille / movers and shakers personnalités, gens influents / great-great uncle arrière-grandoncle / London Evening Standard quotidien conservateur créé en 1827 et publié à Londres / publisher ici, propriétaire (d’un journal) / socialite membre de la haute société, mondain / Order of the British Empire ordre de chevalerie établi en 1917 par le roi George V.

First gig

Davenport went through a rigorous audition process to land his breakthrough role as Miles Stewart, a law graduate sharing a house in South London with four roommates, in This Life. The actor made his mark on British television once again with a starring role on the BBC Two sitcom Coupling. gig boulot (temporaire); ici, occasion de jouer / to land décrocher, obtenir / breakthrough ici, premier succès / This Life (VF) La Vie en face / to make, made, made one’s mark laisser sa marque / starring role rôle principal / Coupling (VF) Six Sexy.

American debut

Davenport made his American film debut in The Talented Mr. Ripley. It was directed by, Anthony Minghella, starred both Matt Damon in the title role, and Jude Law. Davenport played the homosexual musician Peter Smith-Kingsley, a European jet setter who falls victim to Ripley’s sociopathic behaviour.

The Talented Mr Ripley (VF) Le Talentueux Mr Ripley / to direct réaliser / to star avoir dans le rôle principal / behaviour comportement.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Davenport’s mainstream recognition increased after he appeared in the 2003 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl opposite Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. He played James Norrington, an expert swordsman and Knightley’s character’s fiancé. The film’s producer later revealed that Norrington was only supposed to appear in the first film, but due to the positive audience feedback, he was written back into the script for the follow-up features.

mainstream (du) grand public / blockbuster superproduction / curse malédiction / opposite ici, aux côtés de / swordsman homme d’épée, combattant à l’épée / character personnage / feedback retour, réactions / to write, wrote, written back into ici, réintégrer (par l’écriture) dans / script scénario / follow-up ici, ...qui suivent / feature long métrage.

Ten Percent

On 29 April, Prime Video UK released the British remake of the French series, Call My Agent, in which Jack Davenport plays Jonathan, a leading talent agent in an elite A-listers agency. In a fun role-reversal twist, he treated his own agent to a long lunch in order to pick his brains in preparation for the role.

Call My Agent! (VF) Dix pour cent / leading important, de premier plan / talent agent agent artistique / A-lister acteur très recherché, très en vue, vedette / reversal inversion / twist ici, différence / to treat inviter / to pick sb’s brains faire appel aux connaissances de qqn (brain[s] : cervelle, méninges).