Background
He was born to Algerian parents.
He was born to Algerian parents.
He entered acting school and graduated in 2002.
While only 15 years old, he was first discovered by French actor director Gaël Morel. Morel gave him his first role in a feature film, À Toute Vitesse (Full Speed), released in 1996. Since then, Kechiouche has acted in most of Morel"s works including Premières Neiges in 1999, Le Clan (Three Dancing Slaves) in 2004 and Après Lui (2007).
While working with Gaël Morel Kechiouche developed his passion for acting, which he decided to make his career.
Salim Kechiouche now lives in Paris, dividing his time between cinema and the stage. In addition to Morel, Kechiouche has worked with other French directors such as François Ozon, as well as with non-French directors.
In 2003, Kechiouche played the role of Karim in Gigolo, directed by German director Bastian Schweitzer, opposite Amanda Lear. Kechiouche played a self-destructive gigolo trying to get his life back on track in the jet-set world of Paris.
The film was nominated for a Golden Bear Award in the Best Short Film category at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival.
Kechiouche"s portfolio of roles encompasses a wide spectrum of characters in short and feature films, plays and television series. Among his movies, he was particularly noticed in Grande École (2004), playing Mécir, and in his role as Hicham in Le Clan, released as Three Dancing Slaves in the United States of America, also in 2004. On stage in Paris, he played the role of Giuseppe Pelosi, the killer and lover of Pier Paolo Pasolini in Vie et Mort de Pier Paolo Pasolini, written by Michel Azama.
His boxing talents were used on a few occasions in some of his films where he played a boxer, notably in Les Amants Criminels, Archives De Nuit, Le Clan, Nos Retrouvailles and when playing himself in the experimental film Cinématon.
He also received attention for his full frontal nude scenes in at least two films. In Francois Ozon"s 1999 film, Les Amants Criminels, released as Criminal Lovers in the United States of America, he appeared fully nude in a shower scene near the beginning of the movie.
Kechiouche was just 18 at the time. A few years later, Kechiouche had several nude scenes including another lengthy full frontal scene in Grande École.
Painters and photographers have shown interest in using Kechiouche as a model.
Among these artists, Pierre et Gilles produced photographs and paintings related to Les Amants Criminels and for the play Vie et Mort de Pier Paolo Pasolini in 2003. Youssef Nabil and Michel Giliberti explored the dark side of Kechiouche"s looks through a dozen paintings in 2005 and 2006. Kechiouche appeared alongside French actress Julie-Marie Parmentier in the photo series Doppelgänger (2007) by French photographer Raphaël Neal.