His acting debut was in Éric Rochant's Un monde sans pitié (1989),[3] which earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor.

His first feature film as director was Ma femme est une actrice (2001), which co-starred Charlotte Gainsbourg, Attal's real-life partner.

He acted in The Interpreter and Anthony Zimmer, and in Rush Hour 3 he played a French cab driver named George.

Attal's longtime partner is Anglo-French actress-singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, whom he met on the set of the 1991 film Aux yeux du monde.

Attal publicly proposed to Gainsbourg on 19 June 2013 during an awards ceremony when he received the French National Order of Merit.