Jean-Baptiste Maunier (1990)

 early life

Maunier was born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunier. He has a younger brother, Benjamin. His father sang in a well-known church choir which may have partly inspired Maunier in his own singing career. Maunier attended a private Catholic school in Lyon, France. He studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York between 2008–2009 to perfect his acting and English, returning to France to sing in the group Les Enfoires.

 acting career

Maunier gained fame for his starring role in the 2004 French film Les Choristes, in which he plays Pierre Morhange, a delinquent with an exceptional singing voice at the correctional school Fond de L'Étang. Christophe Barratier, the director of Les Choristes, chose Maunier because "he had the right look" and a marvellous voice. He was also exceptionally appealing for the role.

Following the release of the film, Maunier and the choir took part in numerous concerts all over the world, including Japan and Canada. In February 2005, Maunier left the choir in order to devote more time to his studies and to his acting career.
In April and August 2005, he took part in a four-episode television series for France 2 directed by Hervé Baslé, Le Cri. In the series, Maunier plays the part of a young worker in a steelworks. The series was released in 2006.

Maunier appears in Le Grand Meaulnes, a film directed by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe, based on a novel of the same name by Alain-Fournier. Maunier plays Francois Seurel in this film, which was first released in October 2006.

In Piccolo, Saxo et compagnie, released in December 2006, an animated film about musical instruments and notes on an adventure, Maunier lent his voice to the character Saxo.

In the summer of 2006, Maunier acted in Hellphone, a full-length film directed by James Huth. In this film, Maunier plays the role of Sid, a fan of the rock group AC/DC who finds he has a mobile phone with surprising powers. The film was released in March 2007.

His most recent film is L'Auberge rouge, directed by Gérard Krawczyk, an adaptation of the 1951 version. Maunier stars as Octave. It opened in theaters in France on 5 December 2007.

Jean-Baptiste has recently spent a year studying at New York's Lee Strasberg Institute to unleash his acting potentials. Staying in the US has also allowed him to polish and perfect his English. He has returned to France now, and has performed in the Enfoirés charity concert of 2010.