Jean Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor and producer. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward. His best known credits include '' Breathless'' (1960), '' That Man from Rio'' (1964), '' Pierrot le Fou'' (1965), ''Borsalino'' (1970), and '' The Professional'' (1981). He was most notable for portraying police officers in action thriller films and became known for his unwillingness to appear in English-language films, despite being heavily courted by Hollywood. An undisputed box-office champion like Louis de Funès and Alain Delon of the same period, Belmondo attracted nearly 160 million spectators in his 50-year career. Between 1969 and 1982, he played four times in the most popular films of the year in France: ''The Brain'' (1969), '' Fear Over the City'' (1975), ''Animal'' (1977), '' Ace of Aces'' (1982), being surpassed on this point only by Louis de Funès.

During his career, he was called the French counterpart of actors such as James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Humphrey Bogart. Described as an icon and national treasure of France, Belmondo was seen as an influential actor of French cinema and an important figure in shaping European cinema. In 1989, Belmondo won the César Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté''. He was nominated for two BAFTA Awards throughout his career. In 2011 and then in 2017, he received a lifetime achievement honor: the Palme d'honneur during the Cannes Film Festival and a César d'honneur 42nd César Awards.

Early life

Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris, on 9 April 1933. Belmondo's father, Paul Belmondo, was a ''Pied-Noir'' sculptor who was born in Algeria of Italian descent, whose parents were of Sicilian and Piedmontese origin. His mother,
Sarah Madeleine Rainaud-Richard, was a painter. As a boy, he was more interested in sport than school, developing a particular interest in boxing and soccer.

Belmondo made his amateur boxing debut on 10 May 1949 in Paris when he knocked out René Desmarais in one round. Belmondo's boxing career was undefeated, but brief. He won three straight first-round knockout victories from 1949 to 1950. "I stopped when the face I saw in the mirror began to change", he later said.

He did his National Service in French North Africa where he hit himself with a rifle butt to end his military service.

Belmondo was interested in acting. His late teenage years were spent at a private drama school, and he began performing comedy sketches in the provinces. He studied under Raymond Giraud and then attended the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts when he was twenty. He studied there for three years. He would probably have won the prize for best actor, but participated in a sketch mocking the school, which offended the jury; this resulted in his only getting an honourable mention, "which nearly set off a riot among his incensed fellow students" in August 1956, according to one report. The incident made front-page news.

Career

1950s

Belmondo's acting career properly began in 1953, with two performances at the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris in Jean Anouilh's ''Médée'' and Georges Neveux's ''Zamore''. Belmondo began touring the provinces with friends including Annie Girardot and Guy Bedos.

Belmondo first appeared in the short ''Moliere'' (1956). His first film role was a scene with Jean-Pierre Cassel in ''On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels'' (1957), which was cut from the final film; however he had a bigger part in the follow up ''A Dog, a Mouse, and a Sputnik'' (1958).

Belmondo had a small role in the comedy ''Be Beautiful But Shut Up'' (1958), appearing with Alain Delon, followed by a role as a gangster in '' Young Sinners'' (1958), directed by Marcel Carné.

Belmondo supported Bourvil and Arletty in '' Sunday Encounter'' (1958). Jean-Luc Godard directed him in a short, ''Charlotte and Her Boyfriend'' (1958), where Belmondo's voice was dubbed by Godard after Belmondo was conscripted into the army. As part of his compulsory military service, he served in Algeria as a private for six months.

Belmondo's first lead role was in ''Les Copains du dimanche'' (1958). He later had a supporting part in ''An Angel on Wheels'' (1959) with Romy Schneider then appeared in ''Web of Passion'' (1959) for Claude Chabrol. He played D'Artagnan in ''The Three Musketeers'' (1959) for French television.

1960s

Belmondo starred in '' Consider All Risks'' (1960), a gangster story with Lino Ventura. He then played the lead role in Jean-Luc Godard's '' Breathless'' (''À Bout de Souffle'', 1960), which made him a major figure in the French New Wave.

''Breathless'' was a major success in France and overseas and launched Belmondo internationally and as the face of the New Wave – even though, as he said "I don't know what they mean" when people used that term. In the words of ''The New York Times'' it led to his having "more acting assignments than he can handle."

He followed it with ''Trapped by Fear