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Michel Piccoli
Michel Piccoli
	Piccoli at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli; 27 December 1925; Paris, France
Died	12 May 2020 (aged 94); Saint-Philbert-sur-Risle, France
Occupations	Actor; screenwriter; director; musician; singer;
Years active	1945–2015
Spouses	; Eléonore Hirt (m. 1954; div. 1965) ; Juliette Gréco (m. 1966; div. 1977) ; Ludivine Clerc (m. 1980)
Children	3
Signature

Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide variety of roles and worked with many acclaimed directors, being awarded with a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and a Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival.^[1]^[2]

Life and career

Piccoli was born in Paris to a musical family; his French mother was a pianist and his Swiss father was a violinist from the canton of Ticino.

He appeared in many different roles, from seducer to cop to gangster to Pope, in more than 170 movies. He appeared in six films directed by Luis Buñuel including Belle de Jour (1967) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), but also appeared as Brigitte Bardot's husband in Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963) and as the main antagonist in Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz (1969).^[3] He also appeared in many films by Claude Sautet, sometimes co-starring in them with Romy Schneider, and became a frequent collaborator of director Marco Ferreri, with whom he worked on several films, including Dillinger Is Dead and La Grande Bouffe.

In the 1990s, Piccoli also worked as a director on three films.^[4] One of his last leading roles was his portrayal of a depressed, newly elected pope in Nanni Moretti's We Have a Pope (2011), for which he was awarded with the David di Donatello Award for Best Actor.^[3]

Political views

Piccoli was part of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés circle in the 1950s, which included Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. He was a member of the French Communist Party in this era.^[1] A lifelong left-winger, he objected to repression in the Soviet bloc, and supported the Solidarity trade union in Poland.^[2]

Personal life and death

Piccoli married three times and divorced twice.^[5] His first marriage was to Éléonore Hirt. They had one daughter together. He was then married for eleven years to singer Juliette Gréco. His final marriage was to Ludivine Clerc, with whom he adopted a daughter and a son.^[4]

Piccoli died from complications of a stroke on 12 May 2020, at the age of 94.^[6]^[7]

Europe Theatre Prize

In 2001, he was awarded the IX Europe Theatre Prize, in Taormina, with the following motivation:

Michel Piccoli began his career on the stage - his Don Juan remains celebrated - before crossing to the "other shore", the cinema, finally coming to accept the relativity of travelling back and forth between the two and taking full advantage of their potential interaction. Piccoli captivates us because he is halfway between the clearly defined identity of the film actor and the ductile identity of the stage actor. When Bondy, Brook, and Chéreau turned to him, despite his reputation as a cinema performer, it was undoubtedly because of this receptiveness and adaptability. He was not trapped by an image, but brought a unique presence. He was also ready to take on an unprecedented variety of roles, which took him from Schnitzler to Chekhov and Pirandello, from Shakespeare to Koltès. The film actor was able of step back and make way for his double, the stage actor. What is it that we love about Piccoli? The fact that he is an artist who has lasted over time without turning into an effigy… he provides certainty and maintains a hidden dimension. The light does not expel the shadow, which always accompanies the brilliance of the legendary actor that he is. There is nothing one-dimensional about him. Michel Piccoli is a European figure. In him we do not see so much an international star unaware of borders, but an open-minded actor who strives to cross them. A free citizen, he does not want to become a prisoner and his whole life bears witness to this unquenched desire to go beyond limits. National as well as artistic limits. Michel Piccoli refuses civil indifference. He has never lacked commitment, and has always taken sides and got involved. His ethic is constant, whether as an actor or as a citizen. If he is taken as a model, it is always despite himself. He is not a hero who puts himself on display. More than anyone else, Piccoli has managed to maintain his humanity. A vibrant humanity that continues to guide his actions and his words. Michel Piccoli is an exemplary actor, responsible towards himself and towards his art.^[8]

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Role	Notes
1945	The Bellman	Christian-Jaque	A villager	Uncredited
1949	Daybreak	Louis Daquin	Georges Gohelle
1949	The Perfume of the Lady in Black	Louis Daquin	Lebel
1951	Without Leaving an Address	Jean-Paul Le Chanois	A journalist in the archives	Uncredited
1954	Destinées	Jean Delannoy Christian-Jaque Marcello Pagliero	Pasquerel	(segment Jeanne)
1954	Tout chante autour de moi	Pierre Gout	Reverdier
1955	The Price of Love	Maurice de Canonge	Georges
	French Cancan	Jean Renoir	Captain Valorgueil
	Bad Liaisons	Alexandre Astruc	An inspector
	Ernst Thälmann	Kurt Maetzig	Rouger
	The Grand Maneuver	René Clair	An officer	Uncredited
1956	Shadow of the Guillotine	Jean Delannoy	The refractory priest
1956	Death in the Garden	Luis Buñuel	Father Lizardi
1957	The Crucible	Raymond Rouleau	James Putnam
1957	Nathalie	Christian-Jaque	Inspector Franck Marchal
1958	Rafles sur la ville [fr]	Pierre Chenal	Inspector Paul Vardier
	Les copains du dimanche	Henri Aisner	The director of the flying club
	Tabarin	Richard Pottier	Jacques Forestier
1959	La Bête à l'affût [fr]	Pierre Chenal	Commissioner Jacques Guimard
1960	La dragée haute	Jean Kerchner	Hugo Barsac
1960	Le Bal des espions [fr]	Michel Clément	Brian Cannon
1961	Amazons of Rome	Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia Vittorio Cottafavi Peter O'Cord	Console Publicola
	Le Rendez-vous [fr]	Jean Delannoy	Paul
	Les Petits Drames	Paul Vecchiali	Surgeon
1962	Adieu Philippine	Jacques Rozier	Actor playing 'Izquierdo'	Uncredited
1962	Climats	Stellio Lorenzi	François Crozant
1963	Le Doulos	Jean-Pierre Melville	Nuttheccio
	The Day and the Hour	René Clément	Antoine
	Contempt	Jean-Luc Godard	Paul Javal
1964	Diary of a Chambermaid	Luis Buñuel	M. Monteil
	La Chance et l'Amour [fr]	Bertrand Tavernier Claude Berri Charles L. Bitsch [fr] Éric Schlumberger [fr]	Philippe Decharme	(segment Lucky la chance)
	All About Loving	Jean Aurel	Raoul
	Salut Les Cubains!	Agnès Varda	Himself
1965	Masquerade	Basil Dearden	George Sarrassin
	Le Coup de grâce [fr]	Jean Cayrol Claude Durand	Capri / Bruno
	The Sleeping Car Murders	Costa-Gavras	René Cabourg
	Lady L	Peter Ustinov	Lecoeur
1966	The War Is Over	Alain Resnais	First customs inspector
	Les Ruses du diable [fr]	Paul Vecchiali	The antique dealer
	The Game Is Over	Roger Vadim	Alexandre Saccard
	La Voleuse	Jean Chapot	Werner Kreuz
	Les Créatures	Agnès Varda	Edgar Piccoli
	Is Paris Burning?	René Clément	Edgard Pisani
1967	The Young Girls of Rochefort	Jacques Demy	Simon Dame
	Shock Troops	Costa-Gavras	The Extra Man
	Belle de jour	Luis Buñuel	Henri Husson
	My Love, My Love	Nadine Trintignant	Marrades
1968	Benjamin	Michel Deville	Count Philippe de Saint-German
	Danger: Diabolik	Mario Bava	Inspector Ginko
	La Chamade	Alain Cavalier	Charles
	La prisonnière	Henri-Georges Clouzot	The guest in a hurry at the opening	Uncredited
1969	Dillinger Is Dead	Marco Ferreri	Glauco
	The Milky Way	Luis Buñuel	Marquis de Sade
	L'Invitée [fr]	Vittorio De Seta	François Desailly
	Topaz	Alfred Hitchcock	Jacques Granville
1970	The Things of Life	Claude Sautet	Pierre Bérard
1970	L'Invasion [fr]	Yves Allégret	Marcello
1971	Max et les ferrailleurs	Claude Sautet	Max
	La Poudre d'escampette [fr]	Philippe de Broca	Valentin
	Ten Days' Wonder	Claude Chabrol	Paul Regis
1972	L'udienza	Marco Ferreri	Father Amerin
	Liza	Marco Ferreri	Giorgio's friend
	The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie	Luis Buñuel	Minister of the Interior
	The Assassination	Yves Boisset	Colonel Kassar
	César and Rosalie	Narrator	Claude Sautet	Voice
1973	La Femme en bleu	Michel Deville	Pierre
	Themroc	Claude Faraldo	Themroc
	Wedding in Blood	Claude Chabrol	Pierre Maury
	La Grande Bouffe	Marco Ferreri	Michel
	Far West	Jacques Brel	Indian Chief
1974	Don't Touch the White Woman!	Marco Ferreri	Buffalo Bill
	Un amour de pluie	Voix seulement	Jean-Claude Brialy	Voice
	Le Trio infernal	Francis Girod	Georges Sarret
	Tamaño natural [es]	Luis García Berlanga	Michel
	The Phantom of Liberty	Luis Buñuel	Second Prefect
	Vincent, François, Paul and the Others	Claude Sautet	François
	E cominciò il viaggio nella vertigine		Toni de Gregorio
1975	La smagliatura	Peter Fleischmann	Investigator
	Leonor	Juan Luis Buñuel	Richard
	Sept morts sur ordonnance	Jacques Rouffio	Dr. Pierre Losseray
1976	The Last Woman	Marco Ferreri	Michel
	Todo modo	Elio Petri	Lui
	F comme Fairbanks	Maurice Dugowson	Etienne
	Mado	Claude Sautet	Simon Léotard
1977	René la Canne	Francis Girod	Inspector Marchand
	The Accuser	Jean-Louis Bertucelli	Saint-Ramé
	Spoiled Children	Bertrand Tavernier	Bernard Rougerie
1978	La Part du feu	Étienne Périer	Robert Hansen
	Strauberg ist da	Strauberg	Mischa Gallé
	The Savage State	Francis Girod	Orlaville
	La petite fille en velours bleu	Alan Bridges	Conrad Brukner
	Le sucre	Jacques Rouffio	Grezillo
1979	Neapolitan Mystery	Sergio Corbucci	Victor Navarro
	Le divorcement	Philippe	Pierre Barouh
	Le mors aux dents	Pierre Chazerand	Laurent Heynemann
1980	A Leap in the Dark	Marco Bellocchio	Mauro Ponticelli
	Der Preis fürs Überleben	Hans Noever	René Winterhalter
	Atlantic City	Louis Malle	Joseph
1981	The Prodigal Daughter [fr]	Jacques Doillon	The Father
	Confused Feelings [fr]	Étienne Périer	The Professor	TV movie
	Strange Affair	Pierre Granier-Deferre	Bertrand Malair
1982	Espion, lève-toi	Yves Boisset	Jean-Paul Chance
	The Passerby	Jacques Rouffio	Max Baumstein
	That Night in Varennes	Ettore Scola	King Louis XVI	Uncredited
	Passion	Jean-Luc Godard	Michel Boulard
	The Eyes, the Mouth	Marco Bellocchio	Uncle Agostino
	Beyond the Door	Liliana Cavani	Mr. Mutti
	Une chambre en ville	Jacques Demy	Edmond Leroyer
	Que les gros salaires lèvent le doigt ! [fr]	Denys Granier-Deferre	José Viss
1983	Le Prix du Danger	Yves Boisset	Frédéric Mallaire
1983	The General of the Dead Army	Luciano Tovoli	Benetandi
1984	Dangerous Moves	Richard Dembo	Akiva Liebskind
	Viva la vie	Claude Lelouch	Michel Perrin
	Success Is the Best Revenge	Jerzy Skolimowski	French Officer
	Le matelot 512	René Allio	Récitant	Voice
1985	Death in a French Garden	Michel Deville	Graham Tombsthay
	Partir, revenir	Claude Lelouch	Simon Lerner
	Adieu Bonaparte	Youssef Chahine	Caffarelli
1986	My Brother-in-Law Killed My Sister	Jacques Rouffio	Etienne Sembadel
	Le Paltoquet [fr]	Michel Deville	Le Paltoquet
	Mauvais Sang	Leos Carax	Marc
	La Puritaine	Jacques Doillon	Pierre
1987	La rumba [fr]	Roger Hanin	Damien Malleville
	The Distant Land	Luc Bondy	Friedrich Hofreiter
	L'homme voilé	Maroun Bagdadi	Kassar
	Maladie d'amour	Jacques Deray	Raoul Bergeron
1988	Come sono buoni i bianchi [it]	Marco Ferreri	Father Jean-Marie
1988	Blanc de Chine	Denys Granier-Deferre	Batz
1990	May Fools	Louis Malle	Milou
1990	Martha and I	Jiří Weiss	Ernst Fuchs
1991	La Belle Noiseuse	Jacques Rivette	Edouard Frenhofer
	The Children Thief	Christian de Chalonge	M. Armand
	Walking a Tightrope	Nikos Papatakis	Marcel Spadice
1992	Divertimento	Jacques Rivette	Edouard Frenhofer
	Le Bal des casse-pieds [fr]	Yves Robert	Désiré
	Archipel	Pierre Granier-Deferre	Leonard Wilde
	La vie crevée	Guillaume Nicloux	Raymond
	The Supper	Édouard Molinaro	François-René de Chateaubriand	Voice
1993	La cavale des fous	Marco Pico	Henri Toussaint
1993	Rupture(s)	Christine Citti	Paul
1994	Al-Mohager	Youssef Chahine	Adam
1994	L'ange noir	Jean-Claude Brisseau	Georges Feuvrier
1995	Les Cent et une Nuits de Simon Cinéma	Agnès Varda	Simon Cinéma
1996	Beaumarchais	Édouard Molinaro	Prince de Conti
	Traveling Companion	Peter Del Monte	Cosimo
	Party	Manoel de Oliveira	Michel
	Tykho Moon	Enki Bilal	Mac Bee
1997	Genealogies of a Crime	Raúl Ruiz	Georges Didier
1997	Passion in the Desert	Lavinia Currier	Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis
1999	Rien sur Robert	Pascal Bonitzer	Lord Ariel Chatwick-West
	Le plus beau pays du monde	Marcel Bluwal	Récitant (fin du film)	Voice
	Libero Burro	Sergio Castellitto	Uncle Toni
	París-Tombuctú [es]	Luis García Berlanga	Michel des Assantes
2000	Les Acteurs	Bertrand Blier	Himself
2000	Tout va bien, on s'en va [fr]	Claude Mouriéras	Louis
2001	I'm Going Home	Manoel de Oliveira	Gilbert Valence
2002	Divine Intervention	Elia Suleiman	Santa Claus Breathing	Voice
2003	That Day	Raúl Ruiz	Harald
	Raining Cats and Frogs	Jacques-Rémy Girerd	Ferdinand	Voice
	Little Lili	Claude Miller	Actor playing Simon
2005	C'est pas tout à fait la vie dont j'avais rêvé			Director and Writer
2005	Magic Mirror	Manoel de Oliveira	Prof. Heschel
2006	Gardens in Autumn	Otar Iosseliani	Marie
2006	Belle Toujours	Manoel de Oliveira	Henri Husson
2007	The Duchess of Langeais	Jacques Rivette	Vidame de Pamiers
	Boxes	Jane Birkin	Father
	Les Toits de Paris [fr]	Huner Saleem	Marcel
2008	On War	Bertrand Bonello	Le grand Hou
2008	The Dust of Time	Theodoros Angelopoulos	Spyros
2009	L'insurgée	Laurent Perreau	Maurice Reverdy
2011	We Have a Pope	Nanni Moretti	Cardinal Melville / The Pope
2012	You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet	Alain Resnais	Himself
	Holy Motors	Leos Carax	Man with birthmark
	Lines of Wellington	Valeria Sarmiento	Leópold Scheitzer
2014	Le goût des myrtilles	Thomas de Thier	Michel