From Extra To Icon: How Guillaume Marbeck Landed His First Major Film Role Playing Jean-Luc Godard
Most actors dream of landing a breakthrough role. Guillaume Marbeck wasn't even trying. The French filmmaker spent a decade working every possible job on film sets, learning his craft from the bottom up, with no intention of becoming a movie star. Then Richard Linklater cast him as Jean-Luc Godard in Nouvelle Vague, and everything changed. The film premiered at Cannes in May 2025, earned an 11-minute standing ovation, and sparked a bidding war that ended with Netflix paying $4 million for U.S. distribution rights. It received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy category. Now streaming on Netflix after a limited theatrical release, Nouvelle Vague has introduced audiences worldwide to an actor who had mostly worked on short films before taking on one of cinema's most iconic figures.
