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IMDbPro

Michel Piccoli(1925-2020)

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Michel Piccoli
When Melville, a cardinal, suddenly finds himself elected as the next Pope, he panics as he's presented to the faithful in St. Peter's Square.  To prevent a world wide crisis, the Vatican's spokesman calls in an unlikely psychiatrist who is neither religious or all that committed to find out what is wrong with the new Pope.
Play trailer1:42
We Have a Pope (2011)
23 Videos
99+ Photos
This suave, elegant character star was a ubiquitous presence in French cinema for nearly seven decades. His distinguished career extended to both stage and screen and his versatility was such that he could take on just about any persona (in his own words: "I do not put on an act... I slip away behind my characters"), from police inspectors to gangsters, from priests and academics to King Louis XVI and the Marquis de Sade. More than a few of his portrayals were of ordinary bourgeois caught up in difficult circumstances or undergoing mid-life crisis. However, Piccoli truly excelled in sardonic, cynical or morally ambiguous roles - playing smooth, quietly-spoken types harbouring dark passions or sinister secrets. His directors have included a veritable who's who of European film makers: Luis Buñuel (six times), Claude Sautet (five times), Alfred Hitchcock (who cast him as Jacques Granville, the principal antagonist in Topaz (1969)), Jean-Pierre Melville, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, and Jean-Luc Godard.

Piccoli was born in Paris on December 27 1925. His parents were both musicians: his father a Swiss-born violinist, his mother a French pianist. He made his screen debut at 19, for a number of years confined to small supporting roles. Becoming actively involved in left-wing politics, Piccoli joined the Saint-Germain-des-Prés social set, headquartered at the Tabou club and comprising intellectuals and artists whose adherents included the philosophers Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as the chanson and cabaret singer Juliette Gréco (to whom Piccoli was married from 1966 to 1976). His career took off in the early 60s and he enjoyed his first major success as Brigitte Bardot's husband in Godard's Contempt (1963). Luis Bunuel also recognized Piccoli's potential and employed his trademark cerebral eloquence on pivotal parts in important films like Diary of a Chambermaid (1964), Belle de Jour (1967) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972). In 1973, Piccoli formed his own production company, Films 66, which allowed him even greater freedom in selecting his roles. He continued to work steadily, retaining his huge popularity with French audiences throughout the 80s and 90s. Though nominated four times, he never won the coveted Cesar Award. However, his many other accolades included a win as best actor at Cannes in 1980 and two German Film Awards (in 1988 and 1992). He also directed three feature films, one of which, Alors voilà, (1997), won the Bastone Bianco critical award at the Venice Film Festival.
BornDecember 27, 1925
DiedMay 12, 2020(94)
BornDecember 27, 1925
DiedMay 12, 2020(94)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Photos122

Michel Piccoli, Amparo Soler Leal, and Concha Velasco in París Tombuctú (1999)
Michel Piccoli in TCM Remembers 2020 (2020)
Michel Piccoli in Le Doulos (1962)
Michel Piccoli in Le Doulos (1962)
Michel Piccoli in Le Doulos (1962)
Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michel Piccoli in Le Doulos (1962)
Alfred Adam and Michel Piccoli in The Crucible (1957)
Andréa Ferréol, Philippe Noiret, Michel Piccoli, and Ugo Tognazzi in La Grande Bouffe (1973)
Andréa Ferréol, Philippe Noiret, Michel Piccoli, and Ugo Tognazzi in La Grande Bouffe (1973)
Michel Piccoli in La Grande Bouffe (1973)
Andréa Ferréol, Philippe Noiret, Michel Piccoli, and Ugo Tognazzi in La Grande Bouffe (1973)
Michel Piccoli in La Grande Bouffe (1973)

Known for

Contempt (1963)
Contempt
7.5
  • Paul Javal
  • 1963
Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour (1967)
Belle de Jour
7.7
  • Henri Husson
  • 1967
We Have a Pope (2011)
We Have a Pope
6.7
  • Il papa
  • 2011
Alors voilà, (1997)
Alors voilà,
5.6
  • Writer
  • 1997

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Our Lady of Hormones (2015)
    Our Lady of Hormones
    • (voice)
  • Le goût des myrtilles (2014)
    Le goût des myrtilles
  • Lines of Wellington (2012)
    Lines of Wellington
  • John Malkovich in Lines of Wellington (2012)
    Lines of Wellington
  • Holy Motors (2012)
    Holy Motors
  • Vous n'avez encore rien vu (2012)
    Vous n'avez encore rien vu
  • We Have a Pope (2011)
    We Have a Pope
  • Flying Away
  • L'insurgée (2009)
    L'insurgée
  • Trilogia II: I skoni tou hronou (2008)
    Trilogia II: I skoni tou hronou
  • Jean-Pierre Mocky in Myster Mocky présente (2007)
    Myster Mocky présente
  • Asia Argento, Mathieu Amalric, Clotilde Hesme, and Léa Seydoux in On War (2008)
    On War
  • Le roi Lear (2007)
    Le roi Lear
  • Sous les toits de Paris (2007)
    Sous les toits de Paris
  • Antoine Chappey and Michel Piccoli in Rencontre unique (2007)
    Rencontre unique

Producer

  • The General of the Dead Army (1983)
    The General of the Dead Army
  • Der Preis fürs Überleben (1980)
    Der Preis fürs Überleben
  • L'état sauvage (1978)
    L'état sauvage
  • Des enfants gâtés (1977)
    Des enfants gâtés
  • Gérard Depardieu, Jane Birkin, Michel Piccoli, Charles Vanel, and Marina Vlady in 7 morts sur ordonnance (1975)
    7 morts sur ordonnance
    • (uncredited)
  • Leonor (1975)
    Leonor
  • La faille (1975)
    La faille
  • Michel Piccoli and Amparo Soler Leal in Lifesize (1974)
    Lifesize
  • Don't Touch the White Woman! (1974)
    Don't Touch the White Woman!

Writer

  • C'est pas tout à fait la vie dont j'avais rêvé (2005)
    C'est pas tout à fait la vie dont j'avais rêvé
  • La plage noire (2001)
    La plage noire
  • Alors voilà, (1997)
    Alors voilà,
  • Train de nuit (1994)
    Train de nuit
  • The General of the Dead Army (1983)
    The General of the Dead Army
  • Paparazzi (1964)
    Paparazzi

Videos25

Death In The Garden
Clip 0:52
Death In The Garden
Trailer
Trailer 3:06
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Trailer 3:01
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Trailer 0:49
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Trailer 2:57
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Official Trailer
Trailer 1:07
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:30
Official Trailer
Bande-annonce [OV]
Trailer 3:56
Bande-annonce [OV]
Bande-annonce [OV]
Trailer 1:32
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Bande-annonce [OV]
Trailer 1:40
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Trailer 1:54
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Bande-annonce [OV]
Trailer 3:40
Bande-annonce [OV]

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Discogs
    • France's national library catalogue
    • December 27, 1925
    • Paris, France
    • May 12, 2020
    • Saint-Philbert-sur-Risle, Eure, France(stroke)
    • Ludivine ClercJuly 8, 1978 - May 12, 2020 (his death, 2 children)
    • Henri Piccoli
  • Other works
    Play: Connaissez-vous la Voie Lactée? (1959)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 5 Interviews
    • 5 Articles
    • 4 Pictorials
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Was good friends with Simone Signoret, Yves Montand, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. They all supported the communist movement, but Piccoli disapproved of the totalitarian regimes in former Eastern Europe.
  • Quotes
    This métier necessitates farce. If you are bewitched by your own personality, bewitched by yourself, by the public or by the camera - the actor is inevitably immodest - but possesses a great awareness of the comic. I rather like the Italian expression "io faccio l'attore." The Italians don't say "I am an actor"; they say "io faccio l'attore." I would like to follow this idea to its logical end, to act like a marionette.

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