‘Artist’ actor Jean Dujardin and wife of four years call it quits

French actor Jean Dujardin, who became an international star thanks to the 2011 silent film The Artist, and his wife of four years have called it quits.

Dujardin, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in that film, was married to actress Alexandra Lamy. According to People magazine, Dujardin confirmed the news himself during a Paris literary event.

“It has been eight months that tabloids have been trying to make me out as depressed, an alcoholic, a womaniser,” Dujardin told reporters, The Daily Mail reports. “This is no more, or less, than the story of a couple who are separating, like any other couple.”

There had been rumors that the two were on the outs dating back to last year, when they spent Christmas apart, notes the Daily Mail. Lamy has reportedly spent the holiday with Chloe Jouannet, her daughter from a previous relationship. There had been tabloid rumors that he was dating actress Elsa Zylberstein, but he called those false.

The two were considered the most popular couple in France last year and met in 1999 while working on the TV series Un Gars, Une Fille. Last year, they also appeared in The Players together, a film Dujardin also produced and co-directed.

Dujardin is a superstar in France, but never gained international attention until Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist was released. He surprisingly beat George Clooney for the Best Actor Oscar, but there’s no bad blood between the two stars. Clooney cast him in his latest film, The Monuments Men.

The OSS 117 actor also caught the eye of Martin Scorsese, who cast him in his new film, The Wolf of Wall Street. That movie hits theaters on Christmas day.

image: ABC