GOING FOR GOLD: French actor Raphaël Quenard has joined the ranks of Dior’s menswear brand ambassadors.
A rising star, Quenard is one of the 32 names shortlisted for the best newcomer award at the Césars, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, for his role in “Chien de la casse” (“Junkyard Dog”). International audiences can see him in the Netflix movie “Gold Brick,” the story of a disgruntled factory worker who runs a scam to get back at his incompetent bosses.
Emma Benestan, who directed him in “Fragile,” has compared Quenard to Jim Carrey for his unbridled energy. Known for his unusual nasal diction, the 32-year-old actor tracked down directors at screenings and industry events to lobby for roles, after initially gaining a degree in chemistry and then briefly working as a parliamentary assistant.
“He will embody the spirit and singularity of the house’s allure — reinvented each season by artistic director Kim Jones — modernity with a timeless signature, more than ever placed under the sign of audacity and creativity,” Dior said in a statement.
Speaking on French radio France Inter recently, Quenard said his main motivation in life was “panache,” echoing a line he contributed to the script of “Gold Brick.”
“To me, panache is the most beautiful thing there is because we would give everything for a sliver of a dream, a sprinkling of stardust, and that small thing, that little moment of grace, suspended in time, that holds us in thrall — that’s really something I would be ready to pay a lot of money for,” he said.
Quenard joins a men’s roster at Dior that includes actor Robert Pattinson, K-pop star Jimin of boy band BTS, footballer Kilian Mbappé and Monaco businessman Pierre Casiraghi, the grandson of Grace Kelly.
