Simon, Michel

Simon, Michel (1895-1975), Swiss actor, a major figure in French cinema. Born in Geneva, Simon read the works of the French dramatist Courteline at the age of 12, and decided to become an actor.

Simon made his debut in 1922 at the Comédie des Champs-Elysées, in Salomé by Oscar Wilde. George Pitoëff and Louis Jouvet recognized his unique potential as an actor, heightened by his distinctive drawling voice. In 1931-1932 he starred in two film masterpieces directed by Jean Renoir, La Chienne and Boudu Sauvé des Eaux (Boudu Saved from Drowning). In the latter he was appropriately cast as an anarchist, an outcast from society, a role that mirrored his own persona. Other challenging roles included the part of Père Jules in L'Atalante (1934) by Jean Vigo, and Molyneux in Drôle de Drame (1937; Bizarre, Bizarre), and Zabel in Quai des Brumes (1938; Port of Shadows), both directed by Marcel Carné. Simon's talents, his deeply moving technique combining realism with lyricism, were sought by the greatest directors, and some felt that he reached the zenith of his acting career in the 1951 film La Poison, directed by Sacha Guitry.