Gilbert Melki


Gilbert Melki is a French actor.

Life and career

Nephew of actor Claude Melki, Melki grew up in a Jewish family from Algeria. His father, an antiques dealer, came from Khenchela in Algeria and his mother was from France. Both hid during the World War II: his father in Lyon and his mother in Normandy.
His father sent him to a woodworking school, but Melki only stayed a few months. At 20 he decided to move towards comedy and took multiple drama classes. Fearful of not being up to par he went to live for several years in Italy.
After a first appearance on screen in 1992 in the Claude Chabrol film Betty, Gilbert Melki rose to prominence in 1996 through Would I Lie To You? by Thomas Gilou in which he played Patrick Abitbol, a great businessman and millionaire megalomaniac, a role he revisited in the sequel in 2001.
His later films include the 2005 film Crustacés et Coquillages. In 2012, he moved to television with the Canal+ comedy series Kaboul Kitchen.

Filmography