Depardieu has heart surgery

Gerard Depardieu with Uma Thurman at Cannes this year

French film star Gerard Depardieu has undergone a heart bypass operation at a Paris hospital after suffering from chest pains.

A doctor at the Foch hospital, where the actor had surgery on Monday, said there were no complications during the six-hour operation.

"Gerard Depardieu underwent a normal coronary bypass and the outcome was straightforward," said the hospital's Professor Gilles Dreyfus.

Depardieu's film agency ArtMedia added that the 51-year-old Cyrano de Bergerac star was recovering well and was expected to make a full recovery.

His agent Claude Davy said Depardieu had been feeling tired and suffering from chest pains for two weeks. He was examined by doctors on Saturday and they decided to admit him to hospital immediately.

He denied TV reports that the actor had been taken ill while working on a new movie. He added that Depardieu had recently finished making the thriller Vidocq and had been due to start work again on Monday.

Prolific career

Although a huge star in his native France, Depardieu has also made a name for himself as a big international film star.

His most recent cinema outing in the UK and US was in the French-made comedy Asterix - a live-action version of the classic cartoon strip.

The burly Depardieu played loveable strong man Obelix.

However, his prolific career - he has starred in more than 100 films - has proved him to be versatile in a wide range of drama.

Films such as Cyrano de Bergerac, Jean de Florette and Germinal have all shown his ability to master tragedy.

Then Green Card, with Andie McDowell, also proved that he could do romantic comedy just as well.

As one of France's best-loved stars, Depardieu is a regular fixture at the annual Cannes Film Festival.

This year was no exception as he dropped in to promote another recent project, Vatel.

The movie is a lavish costume drama, in which Depardieu stars alongside Hollywood actress Uma Thurman.

It won general acclaim as the film that opened the two-week movie-fest.