Jean-Claude Brialy 30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007 was a French actor and director.
Life and career
Brialy was born in Aumale, French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland France with his family in 1942, moved to Paris in 1954, and appeared in his first film in 1955.
He became a star in the late 1950s when he was one of the most prolific actors of the French “nouvelle vague”. He made films with such important nouvelle vague filmmakers as Claude Chabrol, Éric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Malle, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, and Jacques Rozier; and with other filmmakers such as Roger Vadim, Claude Lelouch and Luis Buñuel.
He was also a director of a number of films, including Églantine (1971). In his autobiographies, Le Ruisseau des singes (River of Monkeys) (2000) and J’ai oublié de vous dire… (I Forgot to Tell You …) (2004) he revealed that he was bisexual.
He was an alumnus of the Prytanée National Militaire. He owned a restaurant, L’Orangerie, on the Île Saint-Louis, worked as a TV presenter, a singer and a radio host.
Honours
Monaco: Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit (November 2002)
Filmography
As actor
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Fool’s Mate | Claude | Jacques Rivette | Short |
| La Sonate à Kreutzer | Trukhacevskij | Éric Rohmer | ||
| 1957 | L’ami de la famille | Philippe Lemonnier | Paolo Sorrentino | |
| Young Girls Beware | Le client du sexy-bar | Yves Allégret | Uncredited | |
| Amour de poche | Jean-Loup | Pierre Kast | ||
| Tous peuvent me tuer | Jean-Claude | Henri Decoin | ||
| 1958 | Elevator to the Gallows | a chess player | Louis Malle | Uncredited |
| Paris Belongs to Us | Jean-Marc | Jacques Rivette | ||
| School for Coquettes | Robert | Jacqueline Audry | ||
| Le Beau Serge | François Baillou | Claude Chabrol | ||
| The Lovers | the house husband | Louis Malle | Uncredited | |
| Et ta soeur | Bruno Puymartin | Maurice Delbez | ||
| Christine | Théo Kaiser | Pierre Gaspard-Huit | ||
| 1959 | Les Cousins | Paul Thomas | Claude Chabrol | |
| The 400 Blows | Man in Street | François Truffaut | ||
| All the Boys Are Called Patrick | Patrick | Jean-Luc Godard | Short | |
| Le chemin des écoliers | Paul Tiercelin | Michel Boisrond | ||
| Bad Girls Don’t Cry | Scintillone | Mauro Bolognini | ||
| Les Yeux de l’amour | Pierre Ségur | Denys de La Patellière | ||
| 1960 | Le Bel Âge | Jean-Claude | Pierre Kast | |
| The Gigolo | Jacky | Jacques Deray | ||
| Tire-au-flanc 62 | Capitaine | François Truffaut and Claude de Givray | Uncredited | |
| 1961 | A Story of Water | young man in a car | Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut | Short |
| Wise Guys | Ronald | Claude Chabrol | ||
| A Woman Is a Woman | Émile Récamier | Jean-Luc Godard | ||
| Three Faces of Sin | Laurent Renaud | François Villiers | ||
| Les Lions sont lâchés | Didier Marèze | Henri Verneuil | ||
| Amores Célebres | Törring | Michel Boisrond | (segment “Agnès Bernauer”) | |
| Paris Belongs to Us | Jean-Marc | Jacques Rivette | ||
| 1962 | A Very Private Affair | narrator | Louis Malle | Voice, Uncredited |
| The Burning Court | Marc Desgrez | Julien Duvivier | ||
| The Seven Deadly Sins | Arthur | Claude Chabrol | (segment “Avarice, L'”) | |
| Girl on the Road | Jean-Claude | Jacqueline Audry | ||
| L’Éducation sentimentale | Frédéric Moreau | Alexandre Astruc | ||
| Cléo from 5 to 7 | the male nurse | Agnès Varda | Uncredited | |
| Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin | François de Vierne | Édouard Molinaro | ||
| Le Diable et les Dix Commandements | Didier Martin | Julien Duvivier | (segment “Bien d’autrui ne prendras”) | |
| 1963 | Le glaive et la balance | Jean-Philippe Prévost | André Cayatte | |
| Les Veinards | a young man in a car | Jack Pinoteau | (segment “Un gros lot”), Uncredited | |
| Carom Shots | Paul Martin | Marcel Bluwal | ||
| La banda Casaroli | Corrado Minguzzi | Florestano Vancini | ||
| Château en Suède | Sébastien | Roger Vadim | ||
| 1964 | La Bonne Soupe | Jacquot | Robert Thomas | |
| Tonio Kruger | Tonio Kruger | Rolf Thiele | ||
| La Chasse à l’homme | Antoine Monteil | Édouard Molinaro | ||
| Circle of Love | Alfred | Roger Vadim | ||
| Male Companion | Antoine | Philippe de Broca | ||
| Comment épouser un premier ministre | Philippe Lambert | Michel Boisrond | ||
| Les siffleurs | Jean-Claude Brialy | Corneliu Porumboiu | ||
| Love at Sea | L’homme qui aime la nuit et la jeunesse | Guy Gilles | cameo appearance | |
| 1965 | L’Amour à la chaîne | Le spectateur du cabaret | Claude de Givray | Uncredited |
| La bonne occase | Michel Drach | Cameo Appearance | ||
| Cent briques et des tuiles | Marcel | Pierre Grimblat | ||
| The Mandrake | Ligurio | Alberto Lattuada | ||
| Io la conoscevo bene | Dario Marchionni | Antonio Pietrangeli | ||
| 1966 | I nostri mariti | Ottavio | Luigi Zampa | (segment “Il marito di Olga”) |
| King of Hearts | the Duke of Trèfle | Philippe de Broca | ||
| 1967 | Anna | Serge | Pierre Koralnik | TV movie |
| Shock Troops | Jean | Costa-Gavras | ||
| The Oldest Profession | Philibert | Philippe de Broca | (segment “Mademoiselle Mimi”) | |
| Lamiel | the Count of Aubigné | Jean Aurel | ||
| Operazione San Pietro | Cajella | Lucio Fulci | ||
| 1968 | Manon 70 | Jean-Paul | Jean Aurel | |
| Darling Caroline | Comte de Boimussy | Denys de La Patellière | ||
| The Bride Wore Black | Corey | François Truffaut | ||
| 1970 | The Ball of Count Orgel | Count of Orgel | Marc Allégret | |
| Claire’s Knee | Jérôme | Éric Rohmer | ||
| 1971 | Gang War | Domenico “Mimì” Gargiulo | Steno | |
| A Season in Hell | Paul Verlaine | Nelo Risi | ||
| 1972 | Un meurtre est un meurtre | Paul Kastner | Étienne Périer | |
| 1973 | L’oiseau rare | Armand, ‘l’oiseau rare’ | Jean-Claude Brialy | |
| 1974 | Un amour de pluie | Le dragueur | Jean-Claude Brialy | |
| The Phantom of Liberty | Monsieur Foucault | Luis Buñuel | ||
| Comme un pot de fraises | Norbert | Jean Aurel | ||
| 1975 | Catherine & Co. | Guillaume | Michel Boisrond | |
| Les Onze Mille Verges | Le client de la gallerie d’art | Éric Lipmann | Uncredited | |
| 1976 | The Judge and the Assassin | Villedieu | Bertrand Tavernier | |
| Un animal doué de déraison | Claude | Pierre Kast | ||
| Scrambled Eggs | Brumaire | Joël Santoni | ||
| L’Année sainte | Pierre Bizet | Jean Girault | ||
| Barocco | Walt, the editor | André Téchiné | ||
| 1977 | Julie pot de colle | Jean-Luc | Philippe de Broca | |
| The Accuser | Le Rantec | Jean-Louis Bertucelli | ||
| Pour Clémence | Narrator | Charles Belmont | Voice | |
| Double Murder | Van Nijlen | Steno | ||
| 1978 | Robert et Robert | Jacques Millet | Claude Lelouch | |
| The Song of Roland | Le Seigneur | Frank Cassenti | ||
| 1979 | Le Maître-nageur | Logan | Jean-Louis Trintignant | |
| Bobo Jacco | Guillaume | Walter Bal | ||
| 1980 | L’oeil du maître | Cazeau | Stéphane Kurc | |
| The Lady Banker | Paul Cisterne | Francis Girod | ||
| 1981 | Les Uns et les Autres | the Lido’s director | Claude Lelouch | |
| 1982 | That Night in Varennes | Monsieur Jacob | Ettore Scola | |
| The Girl from Trieste | Professor Martin | Pasquale Festa Campanile | ||
| 1983 | Le Démon dans l’île | Dr. Paul Henry Marshall | Francis Leroi | |
| Cap Canaille | Samuel Kedabjan | Juliet Berto and Jean-Henri Roger | ||
| Deadly Circuit | Monsieur Voragine | Claude Miller | ||
| Édith et Marcel | Loulou Barrier | Claude Lelouch | ||
| Sarah | Gabriel Larcange | Maurice Dugowson | ||
| Stella | Roland Caron | Laurent Heynemann | ||
| La Crime | Jean-François Rambert | Philippe Labro | ||
| Papy fait de la résistance | tennis player sycophant | Jean-Marie Poiré | ||
| 1984 | Pinot simple flic | Morcy | Gérard Jugnot | |
| 1985 | Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!! | the inspector | Jean-Pierre Vergne | |
| Le 4ème pouvoir | Serge Leroy | TV director | ||
| Le Mariage du siècle | Kaffenberg | Philippe Galland | ||
| An Impudent Girl | Sam | Claude Miller | ||
| 1986 | Inspecteur Lavardin | Claude Alvarez | Claude Chabrol | |
| Suivez mon regard | Freddy Langlois, l’impresario | Jean Curtelin | ||
| A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later | Un spectateur de ’40 ans déjà’ | Claude Lelouch | Uncredited | |
| Le Débutant | Willy | Daniel Janneau | ||
| 1987 | Lévy et Goliath | Bijou / Delaroche | Gérard Oury | |
| Grand Guignol | M. Albert | Jean Marboeuf | ||
| Maschenka | Kolin | John Goldschmidt | ||
| Le Moustachu | Leroy | Dominique Chaussois | ||
| Maladie d’amour | Frédéric | Jacques Deray | ||
| Les Innocents | Klotz | André Téchiné | ||
| 1989 | Comédie d’été | Gaston | Daniel Vigne | |
| 1990 | There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs | the judge | Duccio Tessari | |
| My New Partner II | Le banquier | Claude Zidi | ||
| Faux et usage de faux | Charles Laumière | Laurent Heynemann | ||
| No Fear, No Die | Pierre Ardennes | Claire Denis | ||
| 1991 | Août | Martin | Henri Herré | |
| 1994 | La Reine Margot | Coligny | Patrice Chéreau | |
| Le Monstre | Mr. Roccarotta | Roberto Benigni | ||
| 1995 | One Hundred and One Nights | the guide for Japanese tourists | Agnès Varda | |
| A French Woman | Arnoult | Régis Wargnier | ||
| Beaumarchais | Abbot | Édouard Molinaro | ||
| Le Fils de Gascogne | Himself | Pascal Aubier | ||
| 1996 | Beaumarchais | Abbot | Édouard Molinaro | |
| Les Caprices d’un fleuve | Monsieur de Saint-Chamont | Bernard Giraudeau | ||
| Portraits chinois | René Sandre | Martine Dugowson | ||
| 1999 | L’Homme de ma vie | Lucien Vilner | Stéphane Kurc | |
| Kennedy et moi | Benny Grimaldi | Sam Karmann | ||
| 2000 | Les Acteurs | Himself | Bertrand Blier | |
| In extremis | The lawyer | Étienne Faure | ||
| 2001 | Concorrenza sleale | Nonno Mattia | Ettore Scola | |
| South Kensington | Fernandino | Carlo Vanzina | ||
| 2002 | Les Filles, personne s’en méfie | Le projectionniste | Charlotte Silvera | |
| C’est le bouquet ! | Robert Fresnel | Jeanne Labrune | ||
| 2003 | The Car Keys | Himself | Laurent Baffie | |
| 2004 | People | Minimo | Fabien Onteniente | |
| 2005 | Quartier V.I.P. | Ferdinand | Laurent Firode | |
| Les Rois maudits | Hugues de Bouville | Josée Dayan | Episode: “Le Roi de Fer” | |
| 2007 | Vous êtes de la police ? | Alfred Lamproie | Romuald Beugnon | (final film role) |
As director
- Églantine (1971)
- Les volets clos (1973)
- L’oiseau rare (1973)
- Un amour de pluie (1974)
Bibliography
- Le Ruisseau des singes (autobiography)
- J’ai oublié de vous dire… (second autobiography)