He was still attending secondary school when he took his first steps in front of the camera. In 1999, he played in a short film Alias by Marina de Van and then got a small part in Le Pacte des loups by Christophe Gans. Michel Blanc noticed him and offered him a part in 2002 in his film
See How They Run. From then on, he never left the sets, shooting one or two films a year, among which Strayed by André Téchiné, A Very Long Engagement by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (for which he received the César for Best Promising Actor), Hannibal Lecter by Peter Webber, The Sea Wall
by Rithy Panh, The Princess of Montpensier by Bertrand Tavernier.
He also appeared in a short film by Gus Van Sant in the collective film Paris je t’aime. He embodied the image of the Chanel brand for the perfume Bleu in an advertisement made by Martin Scorsese. In 2014, he gained recognition with the projection of Bertrand Bonello’s film Saint Laurent, in competition at Cannes, in which he personifies a deeply touching Yves Saint Laurent.
