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Meet Louis Garrel — The French Actor Who's Stealing Hearts For His Role Of Professor Bhaer In 'Little Women'

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Who Is Louis Garrel? Meet The French Actor Who Plays Professor Bhaer In 'Little Women'

Fans have been flocking to theaters to see Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women on the big screen after its Christmas Day release. And although it certainly has an all-star cast that includes Meryl Streep, Laura Dern, Saiorse Ronan and Florence Pugh, some of the lesser known actors in the film are getting attention, too. 

Example: Louis Garrel, who plays Professor Bhaer in the movie. Fans may not have heard of him before Little Women, but now, it seems like it’s his time to shine.

So who is Louis Garrel? Here’s everything you need to know about this actor.

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1. Who is Louis Garrel? He's a 36-year-old French actor.

Although he’s pretty new to American movies, Garrel has a storied history as a French actor. He’s best known for playing Theo in The Dreamers, but he’s also known for his roles in Love Songs, A Faithful Man, and playing Jean-Luc Godard in Godard Mon Amor.

And now that he's made his Little Women appearance, it wouldn't be surprising if we start seeing him around more often.

2. He’s also tried his hand at working behind the camera. 

Garrel both acted in and directed A Faithful Man (which also starred Lily-Rose Depp) in 2018 — and in an interview about the film, he said he wanted to make a movie “about men and women” because he’s French. This wasn’t Garrel’s first directorial attempt; before this, he also directed, co-wrote, and starred in the 2015 movie Two Friends.

3. He's a married man.

Garrel may keep most of his personal life on the downlow, but we do know a few things about who he is when he’s not acting. In 2017, Garrel married Laetitia Casta, a French actress and model who also happens to be a former Victoria’s Secret Angel in a private ceremony in Corsica.

He also has a daughter, Celine, from his previous relationship with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. 

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4. Garrel's portrayal of Professor Bhaer is turning heads.

Gerwig definitely took a few creative liberties in her version of Little Women, and one of those was making Professor Bhaer a little younger (and, notably, hotter) than the version of him fans met in the 1994 movie. And so far, it seems like audiences and critics alike are responding well to this.

“On the page, he is a porky middle-aged German. (Laurie says, 'I consider him a trump, in the fullest sense of that expressive word.' Yikes!) In the film, he becomes an ardent French smolderer. It’s like ordering bratwurst and getting coq au vin,” said The New Yorker’s review of the film.

5. He’s pretty quiet on social media. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Louis Garrel (@garrellouis) on Sep 4, 2016 at 3:51pm PDT

Garrel does seem to have an Instagram account, with just a few posts and just over 7,000 followers. He doesn’t share anything too personal — in fact, the majority of his 17 photos on his account are professionally taken.

This makes sense, though, given that Garrel seems to like keeping his private life totally separate from his professional life. 

6. Garrel loved working with so many “powerful women” on the movie.

In an interview while promoting the film, Garrel opened up about the mostly female cast, and what it was like to work with Gerwig.

“To shoot the movie with so many powerful women, it was a delightful moment,” he said. “I could feel that Greta Gerwig was so connected to the book and she has something to say... Jo March is super-important to her, and in a way, she thinks that Jo is her. That poetical, young woman who wants to be a writer against everyone and she’s going to be a writer and she’s gonna succeed. That’s the joy of the film.” 

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Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.