Jean-Baptiste Maunier

Jean-Baptiste Maunier (born December 22, 1990), nicknamed JB or Jean-Bapt[1] is a French actor and singer. He is 1.94m (6'5") and has green eyes.( )
Maunier was born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunier, he has a younger brother Benjamin. His father used to sing in a well-known church choir, Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint Raphael, which may have partly inspired Maunier in his own singing career.[2] Maunier attended a private Catholic school in Lyon, France. He has studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York between 2008-2009 to perfect his acting and English, and has now returned to France.
Maunier gained fame for his starring role in the 2004 French film Les Choristes, in which Maunier 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.[1]

Following the release of the film, Maunier and the choir took part in numerous concerts all over the world, including Japan and Canada.[1] In February 2005, Maunier left the choir in order to devote more time 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 December 5th, 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.
Upon entering collège (middle school), Maunier was asked to make a choice between various activities. He chose singing and became a member of Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc (full name is "La Chorale des Petits Enfants De Saint-Marc"). In the choir, he was tutored by the choirmaster, Nicolas Porte, and learned to develop his singing voice.

In Les Choristes, the film that made him widely famous for his singing skills, both Maunier's solo and the chorus of "Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc" are featured on the original soundtrack.

In 2005, to keep a souvenir of his voice before it broke, Maunier decided to sing with Clemence Saint-Preux and had released the single,'Concerto pour deux Voix, which was in turn an adaptation of Concerto pour une voix.[2]

While Maunier's vocal career is on hold for now, since 2005 he has participated in Les Enfoirés, an ensemble of notable singers and performers in France that periodically performs charity concerts.


Filmography

* 2004 : Les Choristes directed and written by Christophe Barratier. Available on DVD; IMDB entry
* 2006 : Le cri, a France 2 TV series of Hervé Baslé in 4 parts. IMDB entry
* 2006 : Piccolo, Saxo, et compagnie, A children's CGI film. IMDB entry
* 2006 : Le Grand Meaulnes, directed by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe. IMDB entry
* 2007 : Hellphone, directed by James Huth. IMDB entry
* 2007 : La lettre de guy moquet (short film), Jean Baptiste plays Guy Moquet. Broadcasted in France in Oct, 2007.
* 2007 : L'auberge Rouge (film), Jean-Baptiste stars as Octave. Released on December 5th, 2007 in France.