Jugnot 'tops <loc>French</loc> actor league'

Actor Gerard Jugnot - star of the Oscar-nominated film The Chorus - has beaten Gerard Depardieu to become <loc>France</loc>'s best-paid actor of 2004.

Jugnot made 5.45m Euros (£3.77m) last year, according to a table drawn up by <loc>France</loc>'s Le Figaro newspaper. In The Chorus (Les Choristes), Jugnot plays an inspiring music teacher at a school for troubled boys in 1949. Despite starring in five films in 2004, Depardieu made 3.35m Euros (£2.31m) putting him third place in the chart. "His name [Depardieu] is no longer sufficient to guarantee the success of a film," said Le Figaro newspaper. The Chorus, which Jugnot also co-produced, has drawn an audience of nearly nine million people since its release last year.

Godzilla star Jean Reno was <loc>France</loc>'s second best-paid actor in 2004, earning 3.55m Euros (£2.45m) . His roles include a recent uncredited cameo in the Oscar-nominated Hotel <loc>Rwanda</loc>. The highest-ranking woman on Le Figaro's list was Audrey Tautou in 10th place, earning 885,000 Euros (£611,000). She starred in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement (Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles) and is also lined up to co-star with Tom Hanks in Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code. The Chorus is nominated for best foreign film at Sunday's Oscar ceremony. On Saturday, it will compete for the title of best film against fellow nominee A Very Long Engagement in <loc>France</loc>'s Cesar film awards.