Patrice Chereau

I'm familiar with him only from "Danton." I never saw any film he directed, as the films seemed either too violent or too sexually graphic for me to be able to sit through. I'd like to know from someone in France if his role in "Danton" played any part in making him known for "art films."

Did he speak English fluently? He played a French general in the very big 90's Michael Mann film "The Last of the Mohicans," but he was far from sounding like a fluent English speaker in that movie.