Michel Piccoli
Michel Jacques Daniel Piccoli was the son of Henri Piccoli, violinist and Marcelle Expert-Bezançon (1892-1990), pianist and daughter of the French industrialist and politician Charles Expert-Bezançon. In 1954, Michel Piccoli married actress Éléonore Hirt with whom he had a daughter, Anne-Cordélia Piccoli. In 1966, he married the singer Juliette Gréco, then in 1978 the screenwriter Ludivine Clerc, with whom he adopted two children of Polish origin, Inord and Missia.
Placed in an establishment for problem children, the commitments of the young Piccoli, are made in opposition to his maternal grandfather, senator of the Third Republic, financier of the Radical Party, and important industrial painter, accused by the trade union left and by Georges Clemenceau, of having intoxicated his workmen through lead white which causes lead poisoning.
Michel Piccoli then trained as an actor first with Andrée Bauer-Théraud and then during Simon. After an appearance as an extra in "Sortilèges" by Christian-Jaque in 1945, Michel Piccoli made his film debut in "Le Point Du Jour" by Louis Daquin. In the theater he distinguished himself with the Renaud-Barrault and Grenier-Hussot companies as well as at the Théâtre de Babylone. Noticed in the film "French Cancan" in 1954, he continued on stage and worked with directors Jacques Audiberti, Jean Vilar, Jean-Marie Serreau, Peter Brook, Luc Bondy, Patrice Chéreau and André Engel, and became also know in popular TV movies. Having become an atheist after a family bereavement, he met Luis Buñuel in 1956, and ironically took on the role of a priest in "La Mort En Ce Jardin". In 1959, he shot "Le Rendez-Vous De Noël", a short film by André Michel based on the short story by Malek Ouary "Le Noël Du Petit Cireur", in Algiers. The 1960s sounded his consecration, noticed in "Le Doulos" by Jean-Pierre Melville, he was revealed internationally with "Le Mépris" by Jean-Luc Godard alongside Brigitte Bardot. From then on, he toured with the greatest French and international filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Buñuel, Youssef Chahine, Manoel de Oliveira...
He began the 1980s with the interpretation prize at the Cannes festival in 1980, with "Le Saut Dans Le Vide" by Marco Bellocchio, and that of the Berlin festival in 1982, with "Une Étrange Affaire" by Pierre Granier-Deferre. . He worked with Jacques Doillon, Leos Carax, before trying his hand at directing. In 2001 he received the IX Europe Prize for Theatre. He was part of the jury of the 60th Cannes Film Festival in 2007, chaired by Stephen Frears. In 2011, he played in "Habemus Papam" by Nanni Moretti. The last film in which Michel Piccoli appears is the film "Le Goût Des Myrtilles", by Thomas de Thiers in 2013.
Politically committed to the left, member of the Peace Movement (communist), Michel Piccoli distinguished himself by his positions against the National Front, and mobilized for Amnesty International.
Michel Piccoli died on May 12, 2020 following a stroke in his mansion in Saint-Philbert-sur-Risle in Eure. His funeral takes place in Évreux on May 19, 2020, where he is cremated, his ashes are scattered within the family property.
Known for
Sugar
Grezillo
Liza
Giorgio's friend
The Audience
Padre Amerin
Midi Première
Self
The Game Is Over
Alexandre Saccard
Life Size
Michel
German Film Award
Self
Marie Soleil
Kafka
Heartbeat
Charles
Woman in Chains
L'invité pressé au vernissage (uncredited)
The Uninvited
François Desailly
The Sleeping Car Murder
René Cabourg, l'employé besogneux (Victime #2)
Tykho Moon
Mac Bee / frère Mac Bee
Le divorcement
Philippe
Leonor
Richard
The Nonentity
der Tölpel
The Supper
Chateaubriand (voice)
Godard's Passion
Michel Boulard
Mado
Simon Léotard
Daughters of Destiny
Pasquerel (segment "Jeanne")
The Assassination
Colonel Kassar
Masquerade
Georges Sarrassin
Lady L
Lecoeur
Weak Spot
L'enquêteur
The Prude
Pierre
The Creatures
Edgar Piccoli
One Way or Another
Lui
La Grande Bouffe
Michel
Belle de Jour
Henri Husson
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Interior Minister
Beaumarchais the Scoundrel
Prince de Conti
Adieu Philippine
Izquierdo dans l'émission de télévision 'Montserrat' (uncredited)
The Bit Between the Teeth
Pierre Chazerand
The World of Jacques Demy
Self
Atlantic City
Joseph
Midi trente
Self
Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others
François, médecin
Mauvais Sang
Marc
París-Tombuctú
Michel des Assantes
Topaz
Jacques Granville
The Prodigal Daughter
Le père
Don't Touch the White Woman!
Buffalo Bill
Invasion
Marcello
Nathalie
Franck Marchal
The Duchess of Langeais
Vidame de Pamiers
Loonies at Large
Henri Toussaint
The Phantom of Liberty
The Second Police Prefect
The Milky Way
Marquis de Sade
Belle Toujours
Henri Husson
The Infernal Trio
Georges Sarret
Ernst Thälmann – Leader of the Working Class
Maurice Rouger
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Self (archive footage)
Un coupable
L'avocat
Holy Motors
Man with the Wine Stain
Is Paris Burning?
Edgar Pisani
The Grand Manoeuvre
Officer (uncredited)
The Passerby
Max Baumstein
Max and the Junkmen
Max, inspector
The Beaches of Agnès
Self (archive footage)
Genealogies of a Crime
Georges Didier
The Night of Varennes
King Louis XVI (uncredited)
The Prize of Peril
Frédéric Mallaire
The War Is Over
Inspector #1
Death in a French Garden
Graham Tombsthay
The Diary of an Innocent Boy
Count Philippe
Shock Troops
L'homme de trop
Cesar and Rosalie
Narrator (voice)
Magic Mirror
Prof. Heschel
Success Is the Best Revenge
French Official
Actors
Michel Piccoli
Libero Burro
Zio Tony
Against Oblivion
Self
La Lune
Themroc
Themroc
The Bellman
Un villageois
Hello Cubans
Narrator (voice)
Malady of Love
Raoul Bergeron
The Day and the Hour
Antoine
La Belle Noiseuse
Edouard Frenhofer
The Dust of Time
Spyros
The Things of Life
Pierre Bérard
Climates of Love
François
Going and Coming Back
Simon Lerner
Tabarin
Jacques Forestier
La Cerisaie
Léonid
Raining Cats and Frogs
Ferdinand (voice)
The Emigrant
Adam - Ram's father
Agnès Varda: From Here to There
Self
Marx Can Wait
Agostino (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ten Days' Wonder
Paul Regis
Tödliches Geld
Paul Belmont
Without Leaving an Address
Un journaliste aux archives (uncredited)
Without Leaving an Address
Un journaliste aux archives
Gardens in Autumn
Marie, la mère de Vincent
Les Joueurs
Chvokhniev
Adieu Bonaparte
Caffarelli
To Each His Own Cinema
Nikita Kruschev (segment "Rencontre unique")
French Cancan
Le Capitaine Valorgueil
The Savage State
Orlaville
The Last Woman
Michel
How Good the Whites Are
Père Jean-Marie
Sinners of Paris
L'inspecteur Vardier, de la P.J.
The Life of Mirrors
La Voleuse
Werner Kreuz
A Man, a Real One
Michel Piccoli
Lines of Wellington
Leópold Scheitzer
Un amour de pluie
Mr. Dellerue (voice)
I’m Going Home
Gilbert Valence
Beast at Bay
Commissioner Jacques Guimard
Touch and Go
Valentin
Amazons of Rome
Console Publicola
Danger: Diabolik
Inspector Ginko
The Accuser
Saint-Ramé
Rene the Cane
Ispettore Marchand
Nothing About Robert
Lord Ariel Chatwick-West
Hauteclaire
Serlon de Savigny
Kiarostami in Close up
as Self
Speaking of Buñuel
Self
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
Conrad Brukner
Chicago Digest
Slim Spring
Diary of a Chambermaid
Monsieur Monteil
Café tabac
Récitant (voice)
Walking a Tightrope
Marcel Spadice
Horizons...
un ouvrier
The Taste of Blueberries
Michel
Elsa the Rose
Narrator (voice)
Le Matelot 512
Narrator (voice)
The Voyage Into the Whirlpool Has Begun
Far West
Indian chief
Death in the Garden
Father Lizzardi
Will the High Salaried Workers Raise Their Hands!
José Viss
Godard by Godard
Self (archive footage)
Party
Michel
The Children Thief
Mr. Armand
Danger in the Middle East
Brian Cannon
Le Bal des casse-pieds
Désiré, l'homosexuel
Rupture(s)
Paul
The Mark of the Day
Georges Gohelle
2 x 50 Years of French Cinema
Himself
Spy, Stand Up
Jean-Paul Chance
Martha and I
Ernst
La Ruelle au clair de lune
Pierre Willer
Coming Apart
(archive footage)
Du crime considéré comme un des beaux-arts.
Morrand
Boxes
Daddy
One Hundred and One Nights
Simon Cinéma
Portrait Of My Father
Self
Les paradoxes de Buñuel
Self
Archipel
Leonard Wilde
A Room in Town
Edmond Leroyer
The Incredible Mr. Piccoli
Self - Actor (archive footage)
La Chevelure
L'homme
That Obscure Object of Desire
Mathieu Faber (voice) (uncredited)
Dangerous Moves
Akiva Liebskind
Le Temps des assassins
Récitant (voice)
The Fate of Baron Leisenbohg
Le baron de Leisenbohg
Fumée, histoire et fantaisie
The Happiest Place on Earth
Récitant (voice)
Wedding in Blood
Pierre Maury
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
Le père
From Time to Time
Jules Verne
Fire's Share
Robert Hansen
La Nuit de Tom Brown
Tom Brown, jeune
Otar Iosseliani, le merle siffleur
Himself
Our Lady of Hormones
Narrator
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage)
Contempt
Paul Javal
Long Live Life
Michel Perrin
A Leap in the Dark
Mauro Ponticelli
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Simon Dame
Little Lili
acteur qui joue Simon
Passion in the Desert
Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis
Seven Deaths by Prescription
Dr Losseray
Ousmane Sow
Narrateur
The Perfume of the Lady in Black
Lebel
La Belle Noiseuse: Divertimento
Edouard Frenhofer
The Veiled Man
Kassar
The Monkey Folk
May Fools
Milou
That Day
Harald
Parisienne... Parisiennes
Récitant (voice)
La France romane
Récitant (voice)
All About Loving
Raoul
Confused Feelings
Professor
Scénario du film Passion
Self
Quarante fontaines
Récitant (voice)
Beyond the Door
Mr. Mutti
Traveling Companion
Cosimo
Romy Schneider, étrange étrangère
Self
Le Quadrille des diamants
Richard Burke
The Woman in Blue
Pierre
The Black Angel
Georges Feuvrier
Claude Chabrol, the Maverick
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Once Upon a Time… Contempt
Self
Le Rendez-vous de Noël
Blanc de Chine
Batz
Dom Juan
Dom Juan
Price of Love
Georges
The Devil's Tricks
L'antiquaire
Chance at Love
Philippe Decharme (segment "Lucky la chance")
Torticola versus Frankensberg
Torticola
Berau, sur les traces de Joseph Conrad
Presenter
The Eyes, the Mouth
Tío Agostino
Marco Ferreri: Dangerous But Necessary
Self (archive footage)
Le Chalet sous la neige
Robert
Strange Affair
Bertrand Malair
We Have a Pope
Melville
Sunday Buddies
Le directeur de l'aéro-club
Beneath the Rooftops of Paris
Marcel
Le Coup de grâce
Capri / Bruno
Bardot et Godard
Self
Croissance de Paris
Récitant (voice)
Dios de monoambiente
Self (archive footage)
Strauberg ist da
Strauberg
Paparazzi
Texte dit par (voice)
My Love, My Love
Marrades
Claude Sautet, Romy, Yves, Michel et les autres
Self (archive footage)
Everything's Fine, We're Leaving
Louis
Le Plus Heureux des trois
Pianist
Le Roi Lear
Le roi Lear
Saint-Tropez, devoirs de vacances
Gérard
Everything's Connected
Narrator
The Dinosaur and the Baby
Paul Javal (archive footage)
Romy: Anatomy of a Face
Self
Tout chante autour de moi
Reverdier
La Leçon d'humour dans un parc
My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister
Étienne Sembadel
Bête de scène
Bad Liaisons
un inspecteur
Luis Buñuel : Un cinéaste de notre temps
Narrator (voice)
Rendezvous
Paul
Un divertissement et Michel Piccoli
Self
Dillinger Is Dead
Glauco
La dragée haute
Hugo Barsac
Train de nuit
Le Doulos
Nuttheccio
It's Not Me
(archive footage)
Délire à deux
Him
Il bambino di Betlemme
François Mitterrand & Anne Pingeot: Pieces of a Love Story
Self (archive footage)
The General of the Dead Army
Benetandi
Les Grandes Familles
Noël Schoudler
Agnès Varda: From Here to There
Self
Nouvelles d'Henry James
Capitaine Roger
The Witches of Salem
James Putnam
The Young Girls Turn 25
Self (archive footage)
Spoiled Children
Bernard Rougerie
Docteur Teyran
Jean Teyran
Atrocious Tales of Love and Death
Victor Navarro
On War
Le grand Hou
The Distant Land
Friedrich Hofreiter
La Rumba
Damien Malleville
The Price of Survival
René Winterhalter
Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres
Self
Le Bel Âge
Maurice Reverdy
F as in Fairbanks
Etienne
Terreur en Oklahoma
Tommy Goudchote
L'Été en hiver
Jean, the Reporter
Champs-Elysées
Self
Apostrophes
Self
Vivement dimanche
Self
Wetten, dass..?
Self
Spécial cinéma
Self
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
Nulle part ailleurs
Self
Samedi soir
Self
V.I.P. Schaukel
Self
Treffpunkte
Self