Who is Hélène Darras, the actress who filed a complaint against Gérard Depardieu?

Little known to the general public, actress Hélène Darras is on the front page of French newspapers this Thursday. In September, she filed a complaint against Gérard Depardieu for sexual assault. The information was revealed by France 2, which this Thursday is devoting a Supplementary Investigation into the 74-year-old French actor, accused of sexual assault by sixteen women. If until now she had not dared to file a complaint against the French actor, the actress had brought her testimony to the police in March 2022 to support that of Charlotte Arnould, the first woman to have denounced the actions of the actor. A month later, she testified to Mediapart, with her face uncovered, alongside two other victims: actress Sarah Brooks and actress and screenwriter Alysse Hallali.

Originally from the north of France, Hélène Darras dreamed of theater at a very young age. She began classes after obtaining her baccalaureate, alongside her history studies, which she eventually abandoned to devote herself fully to her passion for comedy. She went to Paris where she joined the Eva Saint Paul drama classes and then the Atelier Blanche Salant, where renowned actors such as Vincent Cassel and François Cluzet had passed before her.

In 2008, Hélène Darras was 26 years old and landed her first extra roles in the cinema. She appeared for a scene alongside Catherine Deneuve and Emmanuelle Devos in the film Un Conte de Noël by Arnaud Desplechin, presented at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. A few months earlier, the actress took part in the filming of Disco, directed by Fabien Onteniente starring a certain Gérard Depardieu. A terrible memory for Hélène Darras, who says she was sexually assaulted by the actor on the set. In September 2023, sixteen years after the events, she finally decided to file a complaint against Gérard Depardieu.

Hélène Darras’ career never really took off. In addition to her roles as extras in a few big-budget films - such as the film Seul Two with Eric and Ramzy (2008) - the actress has mainly appeared in independent films, commercials and TV series. Between 2007 and 2013, Hélène Darras will appear in four short films and three television series with Les Oubliées on France 3 (2007), Les predators (2007) on Canal and R.I.S Scientific police on TF1 (2011).