He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. Dujardin garnered international fame and widespread acclaim with his performance of George Valentin in the award-winning silent movie The Artist by Hazanavicius.
Despite this newfound popularity, he chose to keep his focus on France, where he remains a popular actor, although he later appeared in the English-language films The Wolf of Wall Street and The Monuments Men After attending high school, he went to work for the construction company of his father, Jacques Dujardin, as a locksmith. Jean Dujardin began his acting career performing a self-written one-man show in various bars and cabarets in Paris.
From to , Dujardin starred in the France production of the originally Canadian comedy series Un gars, une fille , alongside his future wife Alexandra Lamy , before transitioning to a career in film.
The TV series charted the path of a relationship; each episode was less than ten minutes long. In , he portrayed the titular surfer in the popular comedic film Brice de Nice and performed on its accompanying soundtrack.
In , he starred alongside Albert Dupontel , playing his character's cancer in The Clink of Ice , a French black comedy written and directed by Bertrand Blier. Dujardin went on to win the Best Actor award at the 84th Academy Awards.
