Éric Caravaca born 21 November 1966 is a French actor film director and screenwriter The son of an engineer Caravaca of Spanish origin studied literature while taking acting lessons After obtaining his degree he left for Paris where he joined lÉcole nationale supérieure darts et techniques du théâtre and completed his formation at the Conservatoire national supérieur dart dramatique He then went to New York City in 1993 where he studied at the Actors Studio for a year Upon his return to France he began his career in theatre and gained attention in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot He made his film debut in 1996 in Un samedi sur la terre by Diane Bertrand He played mostly small roles until Cest quoi la vie directed by François Dupeyron in 1999 which earned him the César Award for Most Promising Actor He worked again with Dupeyron in La chambre des officiers in 2001 and appeared as Luc in Patrice Chéreaus film Son frère in 2003 opposite Bruno Todeschini He directed his first film The Passenger in 2005 in which he also played a role Thomas opposite Julie Depardieu which was presented at the Venice Film Festival Wikipedia