David Belle

Born in Normandy, David Belle grew up an athlete, climber and martial arts enthusiast. His father and grandfather inspired his passion for sports, both are professional rescuers in the French military fire services. David learned to perfection his agility and physical aptitudes through kung-fu training, earning his black belt. David‟s sports goal is to always „go beyond‟.

At 15, David dropped-out of high school and moved to Paris to pursue a diploma in firstaid rescue, and gymnastics. At this time he met other teenagers with whom he shared a passionate creative ambition for sports. David headed a small group who became known as the Yamakasi and co-founded Parkour*, the art of movement, a discipline in which every « tracer » conceives the urban architecture like an obstacle relay to master. Parkour*, inspired by his father‟s own workout routine, is considered a form of „street art‟ that includes a demanding combination of jumping, climbing and running.

In 1993, David joined a group of Parisian firemen, but was forced to leave after an injury. David joined the marine troops in Vannes for his required military service. Rope climbing champion, like his father before him, and department champion in obstacle relay, he received the diploma of honor for his regiment. However, he quickly realized that his taste for adventure, need for freedom and personal philosophy were not compatible with military life in the barracks.

After completing his military service, David devised a campaign to promote Parkour by disseminating video clips of his exploits to the media.

In 1997, seduced by his incredible performances in these clips, the group Stade 2, devoted a documentary to him. This experience introduced him to the actor Hubert Koundé (La Haine). Hubert guided David‟s initial steps into acting, leading him to enroll in the celebrated acting training school Pygmalion.

After several roles in music videos, short films, TV movies and international commercials, Luc Besson contacted David for the film Yamakasi (2001). David was unable to participate in the project due to complications with his former group, but nevertheless, his new relationship with Luc would prove vital to his burgeoning career.

David‟s first break into cinema was in Engrenage by Franck Nicotra (2001), followed by Femme Fatale by Brian de Palma, Intervention Divine d'Elia Suleiman (2002) and Les Rivières Pourpres 2 by Olivier Dahan(2004), where he met the actor Cyril Rafaelli, his future partner in the explosive Banlieue 13 (2004) by Luc Morel and produced by... Luc Besson. The success of the movie and David‟s major role revealed him to the French and
international public.

Success was followed up by a supporting role in the movie Le Transporteur 2 by Louis Leterrier (2005), and his participation in the futuristic thriller Babylon A.D. by Matthieu Kassovitz (2007), in which he also choreographed the Parkour scenes. David and his athletic abilities have had over 50 millions clicks on Youtube. He was contacted by Sam Raimi to wear the suit of Spiderman for the combat scenes in the third installment of the series. However, he was unable to play the role of the super-hero due to timing complications with his role in the sequel Banlieue 13 : Ultimatum by Patrick Alessandrin (2009).

At this same time, the producer Jerry Bruckheimer also contacted him. David was hired to train Jake Gyllenhall in Parkour for the movie Prince of Persia by Mike Newell (2010), shot at the Pinewood Studios in England, on condition that the training not interfere with shooting for Banlieue 13 : Ultimatum. David developed much of the fighting choreography and also participated in the elaboration of the decors created especially for the athletic demands of Parkour.

The year after, David played in Colombiana by Olivirer Mégaton (2011) with Zöe Saldana and The Family, by Luc Besson, starring Robert De Niro, Michele Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones (2013).

Relativity Media