In August, reports that Charlotte Casiraghi, the 27-year-old daughter of Princess Caroline of Hanover, was pregnant and engaged shocked the world (or at least those who care about royalty). The engagement, it turns out, is not true; but in France, the identity of the baby daddy was a source of major excitement — the man who sired Grace Kelly’s great-grandchild to be is 42-year-old Gad Elmaleh, one of the country’s most famous comedians.
This Friday, Elmaleh may make a name for himself stateside with the release of his new movie “Capital,” a financial thriller about a young bank executive named CEO after his boss collapses on a golf course. Helmed by famed French director Costa- Gavras, it’s a more serious role than this funny guy is used to playing.
“In France, this is what they say. In a very polite way, but they say, ‘You’re good in the movie. But in the next one, are you going to be funny?’ ” Elmaleh says. “But it’s OK, I take it.”
He rose to fame in the late ’90s and early aughts with his one-man shows, and has also starred in many a movie (including Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” as Détective Tisserant). The French love Elmaleh for his slice-of-life stand-up comedy — one popular YouTube video is a hilarious take-down of fancy restaurants. No wonder he’s referred to in the press as “the Jerry Seinfeld of France.” Coincidentally, Elmaleh and Seinfeld are close buds.
The two met while Elmaleh was doing the voice dub for Seinfeld’s role in the French version of the 2007 animated film “Bee Movie.”
“They told him there’s a French comedian who wants to meet you. He said, ‘OK, I want to meet him,’ ” says Elmaleh. “So we were in a room in Cannes, 20 people talking. Jerry Seinfeld opens the door, and he looked at everyone — I swear it’s true — he pointed at me, and he said, ‘Here’s the funny guy.’ ” The pair hit it off and now grab coffee whenever they are in the same city.
Elmaleh, who has a 12-year-old son from a previous marriage, says he and Seinfeld don’t swap parenting tips. He has plenty of time to talk about that with someone else in his life — Charlotte. For now, Elmaleh doesn’t want to know the baby’s gender and, therefore, hasn’t yet started designing the nursery.
“I’m very superstitious,” he explains. “I’m waiting for [the baby] to come, and then I will do everything for [it]. It’s so cute, I see the stores and all that and I’m very emotional.”
For now, he’ll keep supporting Charlotte — though he’s not yet familiar with the concept of giving a pregnant woman foot rubs.
“This is what you do in America?” he asks. “Wow, no.”