Jean-Paul Belmondo was a French actor born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1933 and died in Paris in 2021.
Jean-Paul Belmondo was a French actor born in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1933 and died in Paris in 2021.
After a brief stint as a professional boxer, Jean-Paul Belmondo made his stage debut in 1950 in Sleeping Beauty.
He failed to get into the Comédie Française and the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, but managed to get in after his second attempt. There he met Jean-Pierre Marielle, Jean Rochefort, Pierre Vernier and Bruno Crémer.
In 1956, he played in the film Les copains du dimanche, his first feature film. But his first real role came in Sois belle et tais toi where he met Alain Delon.
Then came A double tour and A bout de souffle in 1960. He had a series of title roles in Moderato Cantabile, Une femme est une femme and Leon Morin prêtre.
He also played in Cartouche, Un singe en hiver and L’aîné des Ferchaux. His popularity grew when he played in L’homme de Rio, Cent mille dollars au soleil, Les tribulations d’un chinois en Chine, L’as des as, Le magnifique, Le professionnel, L’animal or Week-end à Zuydcoote.
He received the César for Best Actor for Itinéraire d’un enfant gâté and a Palme d’honneur at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
During his studies in anthropology at the Sorbonne, Jean-Luc Godard assiduously attended the film clubs of the capital. He became friends with André Bazin, Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, Jacques Rivette and Éric Rohmer….
