Benoît Ferreux (; born 29 September 1955) is a French film, television and stage actor who is possibly best recalled internationally for his role in the 1971 film ''

Murmur of the Heart ''Murmur of the Heart'' (french: Le souffle au cœur) is a 1971 Cinema of France, French comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Louis Malle. The film stars Lea Massari, Benoît Ferreux and Daniel Gélin. Written as Malle's semi-auto ...

''.BBC.com. Film & Drama.
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Career as a child actor

Benoît Ferreux was born in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. In early 1970, at age 14, he was cast to appear in director

Louis Malle Louis Marie Malle (; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down," Malle's filmogr ...

's 1971 coming-of-age drama ''Murmur of the Heart'' (french: Le souffle au cœur). Set in 1954, Ferreux played Laurent Chevalier, a boy living in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

who is coming to terms with his burgeoning sexuality and his close relationship with his Italian mother Clara (portrayed by

Lea Massari Lea Massari, born Anna Maria Massetani (born 30 June 1933) is an actress and singer from Italy. Massari was born Anna Maria Massetani in Rome, but changed her name to Lea Massari when she was 22 after the death of her fiancé Leo. She studied a ...

), which ultimately leads to an incestuous liaison at a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

where he is being treated for a

heart murmur Heart murmurs are unique heart sounds produced when blood flows across a heart valve or blood vessel. This occurs when turbulent blood flow creates a sound loud enough to hear with a stethoscope. Turbulent blood flow is not smooth. The sound di ...

. The film was selected for competition at the 1971

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. The same year, Ferreux appeared alongside actors

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

and Marcello Mastroianni in the

Nadine Trintignant 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 a ...

directed drama '' It Only Happens to Others'' (French: '' Ça n'arrive qu'aux autres'').''New York Times Movies''.
/ref>

Later career

Ferreux would go on to appear in a number of roles as an adult in his native France in film and television. In 1981 he appeared in the John Huston-directed English language drama ''

Escape to Victory ''Escape to Victory'' (stylized as ''Victory'') is a 1981 American-British-Italian sports war film directed by John Huston and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Pelé. The film is about Allied prisoners of wa ...

'' with actors Sylvester Stallone,

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

and Brazilian footballer Pelé. In 2007 he appeared in the

Alain Corneau Alain Corneau (7 August 1943 – 30 August 2010) was a French film director and writer. Corneau was born in Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret. Originally a musician, he worked with Costa-Gavras as an assistant, which was also his first opportunity to work ...

-directed crime thriller ''The Second Wind'' (French: ''Le Deuxième souffle''), starring

Daniel Auteuil Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...

and

Monica Bellucci Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (; born 30 September 1964) is an Italian actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model, modelling for Dolce & Gabbana and Dior, before making a transition to Italian films and later American and French f ...

. In 2010 he had a small role in the Alain Corneau-directed ''Crime d'amour'' (English: ''Love Crime'').

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1971) - Laurent Chevalier *'' It Only Happens to Others'' (1971) *'' The Guerrilla'' (1973) *''Défense de savoir'' (1973) *''La Messe dorée'' (1975) - Gary *''Mélodrame'' (1976) - Johnny *''

Violette Nozière ''Violette Nozière'' is a 1978 French crime film directed by Claude Chabrol and starring Isabelle Huppert and Stéphane Audran. The film, based on a true French murder case in 1933, is about an eighteen-year-old girl named Violette and her en ...

'' (1978) *'' L'enfant secret'' (1979) *'' Le Maître-nageur'' (1979) - Le garagiste *'' Moonraker'' (1979) - Moonraker Pilot #2 (uncredited) *''Premier voyage'' (1980) - Charles *''

'' (1981) - Jean Paul Rémy *'' Five Days One Summer'' (1982) - French Student *''

Until September ''Until September'' is a 1984 romantic drama film directed by Richard Marquand and starring Karen Allen and Thierry Lhermitte. The plot concerns an American tourist and a French banker who fall in love in Paris. Plot Moe Alexander (Karen Allen) i ...

'' (1984) - Willager *''Je hais les acteurs'' (1986) - Assistant *''Sale destin'' (1987) - Killer *'' Le Brasier'' (1991) - Boxer *''Gwladys'' (2005) *''

The Second Wind ''The Second Wind'' (french: Le Deuxième Souffle) is a 2007 French crime film directed by Alain Corneau and starring Daniel Auteuil and Monica Bellucci. It is a remake of the 1966 film '' Le Deuxième Souffle''. Cast * Daniel Auteuil - Gustav ...

'' (2007) - Marcel le Stéphanois *''

Love Crime Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the lov ...

'' (2010) - Le cadre coléreux *''

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

'' (2014) - François

References

External links

* 1955 births French male film actors French male television actors French male child actors Living people 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors {{france-screen-actor-stub