Gérard Hernandez's warm, gravelly voice suits both reassuring elders and practised grumblers. We value him most as a character performer, especially in animation, though his reputation cannot be understood through his cinema credits alone.
Fi1m perspective
Listen to Gérard Hernandez's gravelly voice and the warmth is as noticeable as the gruffness. That combination suits the reassuring elder and the habitual grumbler, which helps explain his long association with both Papa Smurf and Grouchy Smurf in the French version of The Smurfs, beginning in 1981. His live-action work has often made him a policeman, an inspector or a waiter. His television credits include Commissaire Perret in Père et Maire, one of those policemen who recur through his live-action work. The moustache makes him easier to place, too.
Fantastic Planet (1973) is well worth seeing, though it offers a limited introduction to Hernandez himself. He voices Master Taj in René Laloux's animated science fiction, where the creatures and Alain Goraguer's music make a stronger impression than the characters. We were disturbed by those creatures; their appearance makes the film's warning about coexistence difficult to shrug off. The reservation is important: this is animation we recommend for its drawings and music, not a film in which the individual performances are the chief attraction.
His cinema work runs through small parts and ensembles rather than a succession of leading roles. Jacques Becker's Le Trou (1960) gives him a prisoner in the infirmary; Bertrand Tavernier's Coup de Torchon (1981) gives him Leonelli, alongside Philippe Noiret and Jean-Pierre Marielle. Those credits are worth knowing, but they should not obscure the voice work. His dubbing credits also include Gonzo in the French version of The Muppet Show, alongside the work in animated films and series. From The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976) to Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion (2018), animation is a sustained part of his work, not an occasional diversion.
Television brought a later change in visibility with Raymond in Scènes de ménages (2009), after decades of supporting roles. That wider recognition did not require him to abandon the character actor's trade. His familiar voice is a considerable asset for a recurring television character. For a fuller sense of Hernandez, give the animation and television as much attention as the cinema.
Biography
Gérard Hernandez is a Spanish-French actor. He was born Julio Gerardo Hernández on 20 January 1933 in Valladolid, Spain, and was naturalised French in 1975.
He is known for his voice work in animated films and French dubs, including Master Taj in Fantastic Planet (1973), Vénérable du sommet in The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976), and Atmosférix in Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion (2018). Other credits include Papa Smurf and Grouchy Smurf in the French version of The Smurfs (1981).
In live-action films he has played supporting roles, among them a prisoner in Le Trou (1960), a policeman in The Brain (1969), and Leonelli in Coup de Torchon (1981). On television he has appeared regularly in game shows and portrayed Commissaire Perret in Père et Maire (2002–2009) and Raymond in Scènes de Ménages (from 2009).
