Julie Gayet nominated for role of a lifetime by French film academy

GlobalPost

For Julie Gayet, you could call it the role of a lifetime … and those of French President Francois Hollande and his former first lady, Valerie Trierweiler.

While a Hollande biopic might appear inevitable, Gayet has instead been nominated for a Cesar Award thanks to her turn as a sexy diplomat in the French comedy “Quai d’Orsay.”

The Cesar awards are France’s version of the Oscars, and will be handed out Feb. 28.

Gayet was implicated as Hollande’s lover by the French magazine Closer, which alleged the president and actress had been carrying out a two-year affair.

It led to hospitalization for Trierweiler, and her split from Hollande.

More from GlobalPost: Hollande goes Rambo

As for Gayet’s role – in the movie, not the suspected tryst – the 41-year-old screen veteran plays a character named Valérie Dumontheil.

The movie is based on cartoons that lampooned Dominique de Villepin, the real-life French former foreign minister, according to The Telegraph.

Agence France-Presse called the Dumontheil character “a mini-skirted adviser to the minister who uses her seductive powers to get what she wants.”

Quai d’Orsay is a Paris street that’s home to the French Foreign Ministry.

More from GlobalPost: Hollande admits 'painful moments' in personal life
 

Will you support The World today?

The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!