Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

era. He starred in many classic films of European cinema, and worked with many prominent

auteur An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...

directors, including

Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, suc ...

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish Family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critica ...

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues a ...

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the post-World ...

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more th ...

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...

, and

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...

. He made a critical and commercial breakthrough in '' And God Created Woman'' (1956), followed by a starmaking romantic turn in ''

A Man and a Woman ''A Man and a Woman'' (french: Un homme et une femme) is a 1966 French film written and directed by Claude Lelouch and starring Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant. Written by Lelouch and Pierre Uytterhoeven, the film concerns a young widow ...

'' (1966), and '' The Great Silence'' (1968). He won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 1968 Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in '' The Man Who Lies'' and the

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

Award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival for

's ''Z''. Trintignant's other notable films include, '' My Night at Maud's'' (1969), '' The Conformist'' (1970), '' Three Colours: Red'' (1994), and ''

The City of Lost Children ''The City of Lost Children'' (french: La Cité des enfants perdus) is a 1995 science fantasy film directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Jeunet and Gilles Adrien, and starring Ron Perlman. An international co-production of c ...

'' (1995). He won the 2013 César Award for

for his role in

's '' Amour''.

Early life

Trintignant was born on 11 December 1930 in

Piolenc Piolenc (; oc, Puegoulen) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Piolenc is located north of Orange, and about north of Avignon. History Piolenc was the site of a Cluniac pr ...

, Vaucluse, the son of Claire (née Tourtin) and Raoul Trintignant, an industrialist. He grew up with the intention of studying law, but he soon discovered an interest in acting, and moved to Paris at the age of 20 to study drama, making his theatrical debut in 1951.

Career

Jean-Louis_Trintignant_et_Marie_Trintignant_1979

After touring in the early 1950s in several theater productions, his first motion picture appearance came in 1955, and the following year he gained stardom with his performance opposite

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

's '' And God Created Woman''. Trintignant's acting was interrupted for several years by mandatory military service. After serving in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

, he returned to Paris and resumed his work in film. He had the leading male role in

's film ''

'' (''Un homme et une femme'', 1966), which was the most commercially successful French film internationally for some years. In Italy, he was always dubbed into Italian, and he worked with Italian directors including Sergio Corbucci in '' The Great Silence'',

Valerio Zurlini Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian film director, stage director and screenwriter. Biography During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlin ...

in ''

Violent Summer ''Estate violenta'' (U.S. title: ''Violent Summer'') is a 1961 Italian award-winning black-and-white drama film directed by Valerio Zurlini, depicting a love affair between a prominent Fascist's young draft-dodging son, portrayed by Jean-Louis T ...

'' and ''

The Desert of the Tartars ''The Desert of the Tartars'' ( it, Il deserto dei Tartari) is a 1976 Italian film by director Valerio Zurlini with an international cast including Jacques Perrin, Vittorio Gassman, Max von Sydow, Francisco Rabal, Philippe Noiret, Fernando Re ...

'',

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film '' A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...

in '' La terrazza'',

in '' The Conformist'', and

Dino Risi Dino Risi (23 December 1916 – 7 June 2008) was an Italian film director. With Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Nanni Loy and Ettore Scola, he was one of the masters of ''commedia all'italiana''. Biography Risi was born in Milan. He had an o ...

in ''

The Easy Life ''Il sorpasso'' (, occasionally titled ''The Easy Life'') is a 1962 Italian cult comedy film co-written and directed by Dino Risi and starring Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Catherine Spaak. It is considered Risi's masterpiece and o ...

''. Throughout the 1970s, Trintignant starred in many films, including the English-language films ''

The Outside Man ''The Outside Man'' (French: ''Un homme est mort'') is a 1972 French-Italian thriller set in Los Angeles, directed by Jacques Deray and starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Roy Scheider, and Angie Dickinson. Plot A contract on the lif ...

'' in 1971 and '' Under Fire'' in 1983. Following this, he starred in

's final film, '' Confidentially Yours,'' and reprised his best-known role in the sequel '' A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later'' (''Un homme et une femme, 20 ans dejà'', 1986). In 1994, he starred in

's final film, '' Three Colors: Red''. For the remainder of his career, he took an occasional film role but focused on stage work. After a 14-year gap, Trintignant came back to the screen for

's film '' Amour''. Haneke sent Trintignant the screenplay, which had been written specifically for him. Trintignant said he chose film projects on the basis of the director and said of Haneke that "he has the most complete mastery of the cinematic discipline, from technical aspects like sound and photography to the way he handles actors". He worked with Haneke again in 2017 when he starred in '' Happy End''. On 20 July 2018, Trintignant announced his retirement from cinema,Jean-Louis Trintignant says good-bye to the cinema and begins to say goodbye to life
/ref> but, in March 2019, he accepted a role in Claude Lelouch's film ''

The Best Years of a Life ''The Best Years of a Life'' (french: Les plus belles années d'une vie) is a 2019 French drama film directed by Claude Lelouch. It was screened out of competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It follows the lead characters featured in the ...

'' (''Les plus belles annees d'une vie''), a follow-up to ''A Man and a Woman'' and its sequel ''A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later''.

Personal life and death

Trintignant came from a wealthy family. He was the nephew of racecar driver Louis Trintignant, who was killed in 1933 while practising on the Péronne racetrack in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hist ...

. Another uncle,

Maurice Trintignant Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest care ...

(1917–2005), was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver who twice won the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigio ...

as well as the

24 hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

. Jean-Louis himself was an enthusiastic amateur

rally driver Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

and competed in a number of high-level rallies in the 1970s and 1980s, including several rounds of the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

; he finished first in his class in the 1981

Monte Carlo Rally The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeast ...

. Raised in and around automobile racing, Trintignant was the natural choice of film director

for the starring role of a racecar driver in the 1966 film ''

''. He suffered a leg injury from a motorbike accident in June 2007. His first wife was actress

Stéphane Audran Stéphane Audran (born Colette Suzanne Dacheville; 8 November 1932 – 27 March 2018) was a French actress. She was known for her performances in award-winning films such as ''The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'' (1972) and ''Babette's Feast'' ...

. His second wife,

Nadine Marquand Nadine Trintignant (née Marquand; born 11 November 1934) is a French film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, and novelist. She is known for making films that surround the topic of family and relationships, such as ''Ça n'arrive qu'aux au ...

, was an actress, screenwriter, and director. They had three children: Vincent, Pauline (who died of

crib death Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usual ...

in 1969), and

Marie Trintignant Marie Trintignant (; 21 January 1962 – 1 August 2003) was a French film and stage actress. She appeared in over 30 movies during the span of her 36-year career. Her family was deeply involved in France's film industry, as her father was an acto ...

(21 January 1962 – 1 August 2003). At age 17 Marie performed in ''La terrazza'' alongside her father and later became a successful actress. She was killed at age 41 by her boyfriend, rock musician

Bertrand Cantat Bertrand Cantat (born 5 March 1964) is a French songwriter, singer, and musician known for being the former frontman of the rock band Noir Désir. In 2003, he was proven guilty without a doubt and convicted of the murder ("murder with indirect in ...

, in a hotel room in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Lithuania. In 2018, Trintignant announced that he was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

and would not be seeking treatment. In November 2021, it was reported that he was gradually losing his sight and was in declining health. Trintignant died at his home on 17 June 2022, at the age of 91.

Filmography

Source:

Awards and honours

References

Jean-Louis Trintignant: 1930–2022
. diariodelyaqui NEWS

External links

Jean-Louis Trintignant biography
o
newwavefilm.com
* *
''Jean-Louis Trintignant'' at ''New Wave Film''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trintignant, Jean-Louis 1930 births 2022 deaths 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Best Actor César Award winners Best Actor Lumières Award winners Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor winners Deaths from cancer in France Deaths from prostate cancer European Film Award for Best Actor winners French film directors French male film actors French male screenwriters French male stage actors French military personnel of the Algerian War French screenwriters Male Spaghetti Western actors People from Vaucluse Silver Bear for Best Actor winners World Sportscar Championship drivers