French actor Mathieu Kassovitz, who was injured in a motorcycle accident near Paris on Sunday, underwent surgery for serious injuries to an ankle, a leg and his pelvis, those around him said on Monday and wanted to reassure.
The 56-year-old actor’s life is not in danger, these sources told AFP. To ease his pain, he was put into an “artificial coma.”
According to the Évry prosecutor’s office, which AFP contacted on Sunday, the actor had come to complete advanced motorcycle driving courses at the Linas-Monthléry autodrome (Essonne). He did not crash into another vehicle.
He was thrown from the two-wheeler on which he was traveling alone and fell violently to the ground.
The actor, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, had no head trauma, those close to him told AFP.
An investigation into the causes of the injuries was opened by the Évry public prosecutor’s office and entrusted to the municipal security brigade of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (Essonne).
Mathieu Kassovitz is known to the general public for his role as Malotru, a secret agent in the hit series “The Office of Legends”. He looks back on a varied career as an actor and director.
He made a sensational entry into the world of cinema in 1995 with the self-directed black-and-white film “La Haine” about the misery of the suburbs and police violence, which primarily starred the actor Vincent Cassel. This event film earned him a prize at Cannes.
As an actor, Mathieu Kassovitz – nicknamed “Kasso” – has made dozens of films (“A very discreet hero” by Jacques Audiard, “Amen” by Costa-Gavras, “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain” by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and even auditioned the Hollywood adventure (“Gothika”, 2003).
After years of ups and downs, he returned to the lead role in 2015 thanks to director Éric Rochant, who gave him the role of Guillaume Debailly aka Malotru, a secret agent torn between duty and love. He will appear with Diane Kruger in “Visions” on Wednesday.