Belmondo, Jean-Paul

Belmondo, Jean-Paul (1933- ), French actor, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, son of the renowned sculptor, Paul Belmondo. Originally set to become a sportsman, interested as he was in football and boxing, Belmondo was, however, tempted by acting and entered the Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique.

Success came quickly when, in 1960, he and the film-maker Jean-Luc Godard joined forces for their debuts in À Bout de Souffle (Breathless), one of the most important films of the nouvelle vague (New Wave). In it, Belmondo’s part was a kind of compromise between Marlon Brando and Humphrey Bogart, modifying the traditional image of the beautiful juvenile lead. His versatile acting technique enables him to play a variety of parts; his equally good comic and tragic roles are performed with a mixture of cynicism and sincerity, strength and frailty.

Belmondo’s final collaboration with Godard was on the celebrated Pierrot le Fou in 1965. While none of his subsequent films have had quite the same impact, during the late 1960s and 1970s he appeared in a number of interesting films such as Le Voleur (1967; The Thief of Paris) by Louis Malle; La Sirène de Mississippi (1969; Siren of the Mississippi) by François Truffaut; Docteur Papaul (1972; Dr Papaul) by Claude Chabrol; Stavisky (1974) by Alain Resnais; and Le Corps de Mon Ennemi (1976; Body of Mine) by Henri Verneuil. However, since the 1980s Belmondo has acted mainly in second-rate films, one exception being a version of Kean (1953), a play by Jean-Paul Sartre in which he performed in 1987. His portrayal of Henri Fortin in Les Misérables (1995), Claude Lelouch’s version of the classic Victor Hugo novel, was much admired. This was followed by Désiré (1996), a period comedy, Une Chance sur Deux (1998; Half a Chance), and Peut-Être (1999). In addition to acting, Belmondo has written a book, Trente Ans et 25 Films (1963), and in 1981 he created his own film company. He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur and was also made Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite and Officier des Arts et des Lettres.