Arnaud Tsamere

Arnaud Tsedri (born 11 March 1975), better known by the stage name Arnaud Tsamere, is a French comedian, actor, television presenter and sports journalist. Born in Bordeaux and raised in the Yvelines, he joined the Déclic Théâtre group after quitting his sales job. There, he acted in plays and participated in improvisation events. He wrote his first one-man show, Réflexions profondes sur pas mal de trucs, in 2002 with Arnaud Joyet, and his second, Chose Promise, in 2007 with Joyet and François Rollin. His third, Confidences sur pas mal de trucs plus ou moins confidentiels, has been performed since 2014. He has attended numerous comedy festivals and is currently a member of the Ligue Majeure d’Improvisation.

Tsamere’s television career began when he presented the weather forecast on Canal+. From 2010, he became well known for appearing on France 2’s sketch comedy show On n’demande qu’à en rire—and its short-lived spin-off the ONDAR Show—after he was discovered by Laurent Ruquier; he often performed sketches with Jérémy Ferrari. He also plays Captain Sport Extrême in the comedy science fiction programme Hero Corp. In 2014, he hosted TMC’s Canapé Quiz; he has also appeared on various French talk, sports and game shows. Tsamere has acted in several films, including the short Being Homer Simpson with Philippe Peythieu and Véronique Augereau, and Fonzy, a 2013 adaptation of Starbuck.

Tsamere’s paternal grandparents are from Guipavas, and his father is Breton. He was born in Bordeaux, but grew up in Versailles, Rocquencourt and Trappes, in the Yvelines department. His father was a general in the French Air Force who was awarded the Legion of Honour, and his mother a housewife, whom he has described as “the best in her domain”. He has two brothers. He describes himself as having had a “strict upbringing”.

Speaking about his early life and its relation to his surreal comic style, Tsamere said: “I grew up in a very comfortable environment. I wanted for nothing; serious things never happened to me in life. I have never been a victim of injustice, so I have nothing to protest. I don’t have any particular origins which would be interesting to talk about. … So, I do absurd stuff because I don’t want to talk about other things.”

After getting his baccalauréat, he studied law at university, where he discovered an improvisational match in his first year and “fell in love” with the performance. In 1998, he obtained a master’s degree in business law and later got a job working in export sales. However, he realised that he “could no longer live without the stage”, and on the advice of his friend Arnaud Joyet and Déclic Théâtre co-founder Alain Degois, quit his job and launched his career as a comedian.

After quitting his previous job, Tsamere took part in the Déclic Théâtre improvisation group under its co-founder Alain “Papy” Degois, who he said “pushed me, gave me confidence, coddled me [and] got me to act in plays and improvisation matches”. Between 2003 and 2005, he played the baron Christian de Neuvillette in an adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Château de Gizeux with the theatre group La Pastière, to which he was introduced by Degois. …

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