Jeremie Renier: the hippest thing to come out of Belgium since mussels and Martin Margiela

Worlds away from Harry Potter, another young man has been growing up onscreen before our eyes. In 1995, Jeremie Renier, then a wiry, blond 14-year-old, gave depth and substance to La Promesse (1996), by the great Belgian filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, playing a boy who defies his corrupt father to save an illegal immigrant and her baby--an act Renier today describes as "the true defense of morality." Part of the film's power came from Renier's openness and innocence. Its best-remembered image was of Renier riding hell-bent on a red scooter.

"La Promesse touched a lot of people," says Renier, now 25, from his home in Brussels. "I had offers of work because of it, and that meant a lot. The downside was that I didn't want to be the guy with only this movie in his career."

Not likely. Three years later came Criminal Lovers (1999), a sensual, scary fairy tale of sorts by controversial French director Francois Ozon (Swimming Pool, 2003), which opens with a bloody stabbing, closes with Renier's rape, and never loses its creepy grip. It put Renier, 18, squarely onto the international stage and into a series of even wider-ranging roles, from an 18th-century nobleman (Brotherhood of the Wolf, 2001) to the alienated son of an adult filmmaker (The Pornographer, 2001).

Ten years after La Promesse, the Dardennes reappear with the Cannes Palm d'Or winner L'Enfant, which comes out in America this month, featuring Renier in the immense role of Bruno, a young panhandler and petty thief in a bleak Belgian mill town who sells his newborn son as casually as he'd peddle a hot watch. Almost never off screen, Bruno evokes callousness itself, bluffing, swaggering, utterly unconscious of the enormity of his act until L'Enfant's final devastating scene of comprehension--and awakening. The film debuted at Cannes last May, where Renier saw it for only his second time and was shocked when it unexpectedly carried off the festival's top honor. "I was really shaken," says the actor. "There was a standing ovation for quite a few minutes. It was very moving."

Though not as moving as the birth of Renier's own child in December, who will no doubt be absolutely safe in his father's hands. With a goofy comedy (Dikkenek), a psychological thriller (Fair Play), and a drama (Cavalcade) all awaiting release, Renier says he's looking forward to some well-earned time off with the baby, his longtime partner, and his new form of relaxation: picture puzzles. Nevertheless, Renier's experience reuniting with the Dardennes on L'Enfant has left him reflecting on his own journey, both onscreen and off, during the past decade. "I had to work with them again," says Renier of the Dardennes. "I was wondering what I had become, as an actor and as a man. I was not that 14-year-old child anymore--were they going to like me? But it was wonderful."

Sheila Benson is a contributing editor at Interview magazine. Left: Suit by GUCCI. Shirt by DIESEL. Skin products by BIOTHERM. Styling: POLINA ARONOVA. Grooming: TATYANA MAKAROVA/ Judy Casey Paris. Special thanks: BRASSERIE DES BUTTES CHAUMONT. Fashion details page 222. Photos: JOANNA VAN MULDER.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning