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Simon Abkarian

Simon Abkarian

Actor · Born March 5, 1962 (64) · Gonesse, Val d'Oise, France

Simon Abkarian (born 5 March 1962) is a French-Armenian actor. Born in Gonesse, Val d'Oise, of Armenian descent, Abkarian spent his childhood in Lebanon. He moved to Los Angeles, where he joined an Armenian theater company managed by Gerald Papazian. He returned to France in 1985, settling in Paris. He took classes at the Acting International school, then he joined Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil. Abkarian left the Théâtre du Soleil in 1993 and played in 2001 "Beast on the Moon" by Richard Kalinoski, directed by Irina Brook, a play about the life of a survivor of the Genocide of the Armenians, a role which won him critical acclaims and the Molière of the best comedian. His first roles in cinema were proposed by French filmaker Cédric Klapisch, who asked him to play in several of his movies, notably in "Chacun cherche son chat" ("When the Cat is Away" (1996) and in "Ni pour, ni contre (bien au contraire)" en 2003. He was featured in Sally Potter's Yes (2004), in which he played the lead role. Abkarian then played Mehdi Ben Barka in the thriller "J'ai vu tuer Ben Barka" by Serge Le Péron, about the kidnapping and the murder of the leader of the Moroccan opposition. He then played in "Prendre Femme" by Ronit Elkabetz which won him several interpretation prizes. Playing different roles and in different genres, he was featured in the adventure "Zaïna, cavalière de l'Atlas" by Bourlem Guerdjou, in the comedy "Le Démon de midi" by Marie-Pascale Osterriet. He has also appeared in Atom Egoyan's Ararat (2002), he was Albert in Almost Peaceful (2004) by French Director Michel Deville a film about Holocaust survivors, he was featured in "Your Dreams" (2005) by Denis Thybaud. He played the role of villain Alex Dimitrios in the James Bond film, Casino Royale. The character is a Government contractor and arms dealer working against Bond. He was featured as Sahak in the thriller "Les Mauvais Joueurs" ("The Gamblers") (2007) by Frédéric Balekdjian. He has also been the voice of Ebi in the French version of the animated feature "Persepolis". Abkarian played the role of the eminent Armenian poet Missak Manouchianin in "Army of Crime" (2010) by Robert Guédiguian, a French filmaker based in Marseilles, who is also of Armenian parentage. He has also played Dariush Bakhshi, the Iranian Special Consul, in the BBC drama Spooks MI-5. Abkarian is known for his intensity in acting and for his ecclectism in the roles he choses. Description above from the Wikipedia article Simon Abkarian, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia .

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 5, 1962 (64)
From
Gonesse, Val d'Oise, France
Works as
Actor
Titles
43 on MovieCove · 98 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 29% in 30 days

What are Simon Abkarian's films like?

Across their 38 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.

Genres

Drama7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 57th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Action6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 38th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Animation4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 87th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Animation movies
Comedy4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 73rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Adventure3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 53rd percentile
: browse their Adventure movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 97th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies
Crime2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 36th percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Mystery2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 36th percentile
: browse their Mystery movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
22%
Self
22%
Power
17%
Bonds
17%
Survival
9%
Society
8%
Ideas
4%
Romantic love8 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity7 titles, browse their movies with this themeFreedom8 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice9 titles, browse their movies with this themeOppression5 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition5 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception5 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival4 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 35 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 9 · Serious 5 · Dark 21

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 17 · Stylized 12 · Heightened 6

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 12 · Intense 18

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 14 · Shifting 18 · Whiplash 3

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 27 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 2

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 12 · Even-paced 19 · Relentless 4

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 21 · Full focus 7

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 8 · Affecting 9 · Heavy 18

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 21 · Open-ended 8 · Ambiguous 6

Roles they play

18 analyzed roles

Usually the Shadow: 5 of 18 analyzed roles.

Shadow
5 of 18
Ally
5 of 18
Hero
4 of 18
Shapeshifter
1 of 18
Mentor
1 of 18
Herald
1 of 18
Trickster
1 of 18
Show the 18 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
29
Melancholic
16
Dread
8
Thrilling
8
Hopeful
9
Other
33

How their films linger

Hopeful14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 11 with a twist

  • Happy6
  • Bittersweet19
  • Tragic5
  • Ambiguous8

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Simon Abkarian's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 43 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Simon Abkarian's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

98 credits, 43 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Le lièvre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Actor

  • Playground(2024)

    as The Father

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • De Gaulle: Liberté(2026)

    as Charles de Gaulle

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • De Gaulle: Résistance(2026)

    as Charles de Gaulle

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Vanished(2026)

    Show 4 episodes · as Gaspard Drax

    Midcredits score: 6th percentile of all shows

  • Chroniques d'un indic (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    as Lakhdar

  • The 4th Wall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    as Marwan

  • Mémoires de Palestine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    as Narrator (voice)

  • Overdose(2022)

    as Daniel Prat

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Notre-Dame(2022)

    Show 6 episodes · as Max

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all shows

  • The Way to Happiness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as Saül Birnbaum

  • Electre des bas-fonds (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Scenario Writer · Actor

  • Restless(2022)

    as Antoine Marelli

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Cop Goes Missing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    as Tristan

  • Off-Season (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    as Anthony

  • Permis de construire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    as Müller

  • Black Notebooks (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Actor

  • Les damnés de la Commune(2021)

    as Narrateur (voice)

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Le dernier jour du jeûne (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Writer · Actor

  • Romance(2020)

    Show 6 episodes · as Tony

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows

  • The Audition(2019)

    as Philippe

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Someone, Somewhere(2019)

    as Mansour

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Swallows of Kabul(2019)

    as Atiq (voice)

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Ce soir-là et les jours d'après (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    as Karan

  • Rebels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    as Simon Bénéké, Sandra's father

  • The Sonata(2018)

    as Charles Vernais

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Cyrano, My Love(2018)

    as Ange Fleury

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Journey from Greece(2017)

    as Kakourgos

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Overdrive(2017)

    as Jacomo Morier

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Playground (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Show 10 episodes · as The Father

  • J'ai tué ma femme (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    as Le patron du café

  • The Eavesdropper(2016)

    as Gerfaut

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Chouf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    as Le libanais

  • Malaterra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 8 episodes · as Thomas Rotman

  • Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    as Hovannès Alexandrian

  • Tehlirian on Trial: Armenia's Avenger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    as Narrator

  • 1915(2015)

    as Simon

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • The Cut(2014)

    as Krikor

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Colt 45(2014)

    as Commander Luc Denard

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Gett(2014)

    as Elisha

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Angélique(2013)

    as L'avocat François Desgrez

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • The Marchers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    as Le père de Farid

  • Les invincibles(2013)

    as Nino Lorcy

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • Qu'est-ce qu'on va faire de toi? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    as Abraham Drucker

  • Zero Dark Thirty(2012)

    as Detainee on Monitor

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Kaboul Kitchen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Show 36 episodes · as Colonel Amanullah

  • Zarafa(2012)

    as Hassan (voice)

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Force (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as Jimi Weiss

  • Les Amants naufragés (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    as Milo Garavan

  • Tony's Revenge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Show 8 episodes · as Tony Roucas

  • Comme une ombre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Vincent

  • Turk's Head (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    as Le veuf

  • Pigalle, la nuit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Show 8 episodes · as Nadir Zainoun

  • Rage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    as Merlin

  • Army of Crime(2009)

    as Missak Manouchian

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Secret Defense(2008)

    as Al Barad

    Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all films

  • The Wedding Song(2008)

    as Raoul

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Le Menteur : La Pièce ! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Lelio

  • Musée haut, musée bas(2008)

    as Gilles Paulin

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • Khamsa (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Khamsa's Father

  • House of Saddam(2008)

    Show 1 episode · as Qais

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all shows

  • A World of Ours (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as L'oncle de Noé (voice)

  • The Seven Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as Eliyau

  • Minor Revelations (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Actor

  • L'Affaire Ben Barka (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    as le général Oufkir, ministre marocain de l'intérieur

  • Rendition(2007)

    as Said Abdel Aziz

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • New Délire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    as Gunter (voice)

  • Persepolis(2007)

    as Marjane's Father (voice)

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • La disparue de Deauville(2007)

    as Pierre

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • Casino Royale(2006)

    as Alex Dimitrios

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • The Snake(2006)

    as Sam

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Armenia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    as Sarkis Arabian

  • S.A.C. : Des hommes dans l'ombre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Cesari

  • I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Mehdi Ben Barka

  • Zaina: Rider of the Atlas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Omar

  • Yes(2004)

    as He

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • The Demon Stirs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Julien Cestac

  • Les mauvais joueurs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Sahak

  • In Your Dreams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    as Wilson

  • To Take A Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    as Eliyahoo

  • Not for, or Against (Quite the Contrary)(2003)

    as Freddy

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • La légende de Parva(2003)

    as Swami (voice)

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Almost Peaceful (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    as Albert

  • Aram (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    as Aram

  • The Truth About Charlie(2002)

    as Lieutenant Dessalines

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Ararat(2002)

    as Arshile Gorky

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • MI-5(2002)

    Show 8 episodes · as Dariush Bakhshi

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • Lila Lili (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    as Simon

  • Tempest in a Teapot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Actor

  • J'irai au paradis car l'enfer est ici (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    as Simon

  • The Silence of Rak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    as Customer

  • When the Cat's Away(1996)

    as Carlos

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Dead Man Walking(1995)

    Thanks

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Ana El Awan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Actor

  • The Goldfish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    as Customer

  • La nuit miraculeuse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Actor

  • God Will Know His Own (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

  • Malin Fors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 97 titles, 94 of them dated from 1989 to 2026; peak year 2018.

Biggest box office

Casino Royale (2006)

$606M worldwide

Highest rated

De Gaulle: Liberté (2026)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Casino Royale (2006)

Film career

19892026

Peak 2018 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 10 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

  • 1996Screen debut· When the Cat's Away
  • 2002First top-billed film· Ararat
  • 2019Career best· The Swallows of Kabul
  • 2022Career best· Notre-Dame

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting96 of 97: 94 only acting, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score57thWriting2 of 97: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleOther crew1 of 97: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1980s1 · acting1990s8 · 7 acting · 1 crew2000s35 · acting2010s31 · acting2020s19 · 19 acting · 2 crew

Billing

usually 4th · top billed in 16% of 38 roles
9606111621

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

How do Simon Abkarian's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 58th percentile, the median of all 38; across their 35 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 56th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

56thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 35

Approval · how many liked their films

58thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 35

Reach · how many have seen their films

74thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 35

Midcredits score across 43 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up14
  • 50th to 74th13
  • 25th to 49th10
  • Below 25th6

Shape of the crowd

16 of their 43 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Universally Panned1
  • Divisive3
  • Crowd Pleaser16
  • Broadly Agreed3
  • Mixed13

Most divisive · actor

1915 (2015)

99th percentile spread · 44% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

De Gaulle: Liberté (2026)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the acting 68/100 in their films, across 32 reviewed titles; fans 77, detractors 41. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Simon Abkarian's work okay for kids?

Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore4 titlesmedian 68 · intenseMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity11 titles31–53 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 52 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 41 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 67 · intenseMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Simon Abkarian work with?

People who share at least 2 of Simon Abkarian's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Zinedine Soualem shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers