Eriq Ebouaney

Biography

Eriq Ebouaney is a French actor born in Angers in 1967 to Cameroonian immigrant parents. His career spans European cinema and international productions, and he has played roles across very different genres.

As a child he had no interest in acting and expected to become a businessman. He worked as a sales manager until, around the age of thirty, he joined a theatre company and gave up that job to act professionally. His film debut came in 1996 with Cédric Klapisch's Chacun cherche son chat. His first leading role followed in Lumumba (2000), in which he played Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, shot in Beira, Mozambique.

He then appeared in Brian De Palma's Femme Fatale (2002), opposite Antonio Banderas, and in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005). In 2008 he took part in the Australian film Disgrace and in Transporter 3, where he played Ice opposite Jason Statham. More recently he has worked outside Europe, including in the Indian Malayalam film L2: Empuraan (2025), as Kabuga.

He is best remembered for Lumumba and for a steady presence in European and international action and drama.

Key films

• Chacun cherche son chat (1996): film debut, directed by Cédric Klapisch.
• Lumumba (2000): leading role as Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.
• Femme Fatale (2002): opposite Antonio Banderas, directed by Brian De Palma.
• Kingdom of Heaven (2005): part of the cast of Ridley Scott's epic.
• Transporter 3 (2008): as Ice, opposite Jason Statham.