Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli 27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020 was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide variety of roles and worked with many acclaimed directors, being awarded with a Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and a Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival.
Life and career
Piccoli was born in Paris to a musical family; his French mother was a pianist and his Swiss father was a violinist from the canton of Ticino.
He appeared in many different roles, from seducer to cop to gangster to Pope, in more than 170 movies. He appeared in six films directed by Luis Buñuel including Belle de Jour (1967) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), but also appeared as Brigitte Bardot’s husband in Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt (1963) and as the main antagonist in Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz (1969). He also appeared in many films by Claude Sautet, sometimes co-starring in them with Romy Schneider, and became a frequent collaborator of director Marco Ferreri, with which worked on several films, including Dillinger Is Dead and La Grande Bouffe.
In the 1990s, Piccoli also worked as a director on three films. One of his last leading roles was his portrayal of a depressed, newly elected pope in Nanni Moretti’s We Have a Pope (2011), for which he was awarded with the David di Donatello Award for Best Actor.
Political views
Piccoli was part of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés circle in the 1950s, which included Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. He was a member of the French Communist Party in this era. A life-long left-winger, he objected to repression in the Soviet bloc, and supported the Solidarity trade union in Poland.
Personal life and death
Piccoli married three times, first to Éléonore Hirt, then for eleven years to the singer Juliette Gréco and finally to Ludivine Clerc. He had one daughter from his first marriage, Anne-Cordélia. He also had two adopted children with Ludivine Clerc.
Piccoli died from complications of a stroke on 12 May 2020, at the age of 94.
Filmography
Michel Piccoli in 1945
| Year | Title | Director | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | The Bellman | Christian-Jaque | A villager | Uncredited |
| 1949 | Le point du jour | Louis Daquin | Georges Gohelle | |
| The Perfume of the Lady in Black | Louis Daquin | Lebel | ||
| 1951 | Without Leaving an Address | Jean-Paul Le Chanois | A journalist in the archives | Uncredited |
| 1954 | Destinées | Jean Delannoy Christian-Jaque Marcello Pagliero |
Pasquerel | (segment Jeanne) |
| Tout chante autour de moi | Pierre Gout | Reverdier | ||
| 1955 | Interdit de séjour | Maurice de Canonge | Georges | |
| French Cancan | Jean Renoir | Captain Valorgueil | ||
| Bad Liaisons | Alexandre Astruc | An inspector | ||
| Ernst Thälmann | Kurt Maetzig | Rouger | ||
| The Grand Maneuver | René Clair | An officer | Uncredited | |
| 1956 | Shadow of the Guillotine | Jean Delannoy | The refractory priest | |
| Death in the Garden | Luis Buñuel | Father Lizardi | ||
| 1957 | The Crucible | Raymond Rouleau | James Putnam | |
| Nathalie | Christian-Jaque | Inspector Franck Marchal | ||
| 1958 | Rafles sur la ville | Pierre Chenal | Inspector Paul Vardier | |
| Les copains du dimanche | Henri Aisner | The director of the flying club | ||
| Tabarin | Richard Pottier | Jacques Forestier | ||
| 1959 | La Bête à l’affût | Pierre Chenal | Commissioner Jacques Guimard | |
| 1960 | La dragée haute | Jean Kerchner | Hugo Barsac | |
| Le Bal des espions | Michel Clément | Brian Cannon | ||
| 1961 | Amazons of Rome | Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia Vittorio Cottafavi Peter O’Cord |
Console Publicola | |
| Le Rendez-vous | Jean Delannoy | Paul | ||
| Les Petits Drames | Paul Vecchiali | Surgeon | ||
| 1962 | Adieu Philippine | Jacques Rozier | Actor playing ‘Izquierdo’ | Uncredited |
| Climats | Stellio Lorenzi | François Crozant | ||
| 1963 | Le Doulos | Jean-Pierre Melville | Nuttheccio | |
| The Day and the Hour | René Clément | Antoine | ||
| Contempt | Jean-Luc Godard | Paul Javal | ||
| 1964 | Diary of a Chambermaid | Luis Buñuel | M. Monteil | |
| La Chance et l’Amour | Bertrand Tavernier Claude Berri Charles L. Bitsch Éric Schlumberger |
Philippe Decharme | (segment Lucky la chance) | |
| All About Loving | Jean Aurel | Raoul | ||
| 1965 | Masquerade | Basil Dearden | George Sarrassin | |
| Le Coup de grâce | Jean Cayrol Claude Durand |
Capri / Bruno | ||
| The Sleeping Car Murders | Costa-Gavras | René Cabourg | ||
| Lady L | Peter Ustinov | Lecoeur | ||
| 1966 | The War Is Over | Alain Resnais | First customs inspector | |
| Les Ruses du diable | Paul Vecchiali | The antique dealer | ||
| The Game Is Over | Roger Vadim | Alexandre Saccard | ||
| La Voleuse | Jean Chapot | Werner Kreuz | ||
| Les Créatures | Agnès Varda | Edgar Piccoli | ||
| Is Paris Burning? | René Clément | Edgard Pisani | ||
| 1967 | The Young Girls of Rochefort | Jacques Demy | Simon Dame | |
| Shock Troops | Costa-Gavras | The Extra Man | ||
| Belle de jour | Luis Buñuel | Henri Husson | ||
| My Love, My Love | Nadine Trintignant | Marrades | ||
| 1968 | Benjamin | Michel Deville | Count Philippe de Saint-German | |
| Danger: Diabolik | Mario Bava | Inspector Ginko | ||
| La Chamade | Alain Cavalier | Charles | ||
| La prisonnière | Henri-Georges Clouzot | The guest in a hurry at the opening | Uncredited | |
| 1969 | Dillinger Is Dead | Marco Ferreri | Glauco | |
| The Milky Way | Luis Buñuel | Marquis de Sade | ||
| L’Invitée | Vittorio De Seta | François Desailly | ||
| Topaz | Alfred Hitchcock | Jacques Granville | ||
| 1970 | The Things of Life | Claude Sautet | Pierre Bérard | |
| L’Invasion | Yves Allégret | Marcello | ||
| 1971 | Max et les ferrailleurs | Claude Sautet | Max | |
| La Poudre d’escampette | Philippe de Broca | Valentin | ||
| Ten Days’ Wonder | Claude Chabrol | Paul Regis | ||
| 1972 | L’udienza | Marco Ferreri | Father Amerin | |
| Liza | Marco Ferreri | Giorgio’s friend | ||
| The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie | Luis Buñuel | Minister of the Interior | ||
| Plot | Yves Boisset | Colonel Kassar | ||
| César and Rosalie | Narrator | Claude Sautet | Voice | |
| 1973 | La Femme en bleu | Michel Deville | Pierre | |
| Themroc | Claude Faraldo | Themroc | ||
| Wedding in Blood | Claude Chabrol | Pierre Maury | ||
| La Grande Bouffe | Marco Ferreri | Michel | ||
| Far West | Jacques Brel | Indian Chief | ||
| 1974 | Don’t Touch the White Woman! | Marco Ferreri | Buffalo Bill | |
| Un amour de pluie | Voix seulement | Jean-Claude Brialy | Voice | |
| Le Trio infernal | Francis Girod | Georges Sarret | ||
| Tamaño natural | Luis García Berlanga | Michel | ||
| The Phantom of Liberty | Luis Buñuel | Second Prefect | ||
| Vincent, François, Paul and the Others | Claude Sautet | François | ||
| E cominciò il viaggio nella vertigine | Toni de Gregorio | |||
| 1975 | La smagliatura | Peter Fleischmann | Investigator | |
| Leonor | Juan Luis Buñuel | Richard | ||
| Sept morts sur ordonnance | Jacques Rouffio | Dr. Pierre Losseray | ||
| 1976 | The Last Woman | Marco Ferreri | Michel | |
| Todo modo | Elio Petri | Lui | ||
| F comme Fairbanks | Maurice Dugowson | Etienne | ||
| Mado | Claude Sautet | Simon Léotard | ||
| 1977 | René la Canne | Francis Girod | Inspector Marchand | |
| The Accuser | Jean-Louis Bertucelli | Saint-Ramé | ||
| Spoiled Children | Bertrand Tavernier | Bernard Rougerie | ||
| 1978 | La Part du feu | Étienne Périer | Robert Hansen | |
| Strauberg ist da | Strauberg | Mischa Gallé | ||
| The Savage State | Francis Girod | Orlaville | ||
| La petite fille en velours bleu | Alan Bridges | Conrad Brukner | ||
| Le sucre | Jacques Rouffio | Grezillo | ||
| 1979 | Neapolitan Mystery | Sergio Corbucci | Victor Navarro | |
| Le divorcement | Philippe | Pierre Barouh | ||
| Le mors aux dents | Pierre Chazerand | Laurent Heynemann | ||
| 1980 | A Leap in the Dark | Marco Bellocchio | Mauro Ponticelli | |
| Der Preis fürs Überleben | Hans Noever | René Winterhalter | ||
| Atlantic City | Louis Malle | Joseph | ||
| 1981 | La Fille prodigue | Jacques Doillon | The Father | |
| La confusion des sentiments | Étienne Périer | The Professor | TV movie | |
| Strange Affair | Pierre Granier-Deferre | Bertrand Malair | ||
| 1982 | Espion, lève-toi | Yves Boisset | Jean-Paul Chance | |
| The Passerby | Jacques Rouffio | Max Baumstein | ||
| That Night in Varennes | Ettore Scola | King Louis XVI | Uncredited | |
| Passion | Jean-Luc Godard | Michel Boulard | ||
| The Eyes, the Mouth | Marco Bellocchio | Uncle Agostino | ||
| Beyond the Door | Liliana Cavani | Mr. Mutti | ||
| Une chambre en ville | Jacques Demy | Edmond Leroyer | ||
| Que les gros salaires lèvent le doigt ! | Denys Granier-Deferre | José Viss | ||
| 1983 | Le Prix du Danger | Yves Boisset | Frédéric Mallaire | |
| The General of the Dead Army | Luciano Tovoli | Benetandi | ||
| 1984 | Dangerous Moves | Richard Dembo | Akiva Liebskind | |
| Viva la vie | Claude Lelouch | Michel Perrin | ||
| Success Is the Best Revenge | Jerzy Skolimowski | French Officer | ||
| Le matelot 512 | René Allio | Récitant | Voice | |
| 1985 | Death in a French Garden | Michel Deville | Graham Tombsthay | |
| Partir, revenir | Claude Lelouch | Simon Lerner | ||
| Adieu Bonaparte | Youssef Chahine | Caffarelli | ||
| 1986 | My Brother-in-Law Killed My Sister | Jacques Rouffio | Etienne Sembadel | |
| Le Paltoquet | Michel Deville | Le Paltoquet | ||
| Mauvais Sang | Leos Carax | Marc | ||
| La Puritaine | Jacques Doillon | Pierre | ||
| 1987 | La rumba | Roger Hanin | Damien Malleville | |
| The Distant Land | Luc Bondy | Friedrich Hofreiter | ||
| L’homme voilé | Maroun Bagdadi | Kassar | ||
| Maladie d’amour | Jacques Deray | Raoul Bergeron | ||
| 1988 | Come sono buoni i bianchi | Marco Ferreri | Father Jean-Marie | |
| Blanc de Chine | Denys Granier-Deferre | Batz | ||
| 1990 | May Fools | Louis Malle | Milou | |
| Martha and I | Jiří Weiss | Ernst Fuchs | ||
| 1991 | La Belle Noiseuse | Jacques Rivette | Edouard Frenhofer | |
| The Children Thief | Christian de Chalonge | M. Armand | ||
| Walking a Tightrope | Nikos Papatakis | Marcel Spadice | ||
| 1992 | Divertimento | Jacques Rivette | Edouard Frenhofer | |
| Le Bal des casse-pieds | Yves Robert | Désiré | ||
| Archipel | Pierre Granier-Deferre | Leonard Wilde | ||
| La vie crevée | Guillaume Nicloux | Raymond | ||
| The Supper | Édouard Molinaro | François-René de Chateaubriand | Voice | |
| 1993 | La cavale des fous | Marco Pico | Henri Toussaint | |
| Rupture(s) | Christine Citti | Paul | ||
| 1994 | Al-Mohager | Youssef Chahine | Adam | |
| L’ange noir | Jean-Claude Brisseau | Georges Feuvrier | ||
| 1995 | Les Cent et une Nuits de Simon Cinéma | Agnès Varda | Simon Cinéma | |
| 1996 | Beaumarchais | Édouard Molinaro | Prince de Conti | |
| Traveling Companion | Peter Del Monte | Cosimo | ||
| Party | Manoel de Oliveira | Michel | ||
| Tykho Moon | Enki Bilal | Mac Bee | ||
| 1997 | Genealogies of a Crime | Raúl Ruiz | Georges Didier | |
| Passion in the Desert | Lavinia Currier | Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis | ||
| 1999 | Rien sur Robert | Pascal Bonitzer | Lord Ariel Chatwick-West | |
| Le plus beau pays du monde | Marcel Bluwal | Récitant (fin du film) | Voice | |
| Libero Burro | Sergio Castellitto | Uncle Toni | ||
| París-Tombuctú | Luis García Berlanga | Michel des Assantes | ||
| 2000 | Les Acteurs | Bertrand Blier | Himself | |
| Tout va bien, on s’en va | Claude Mouriéras | Louis | ||
| 2001 | I’m Going Home | Manoel de Oliveira | Gilbert Valence | |
| 2002 | Divine Intervention | Elia Suleiman | Santa Claus Breathing | Voice |
| 2003 | That Day | Raúl Ruiz | Harald | |
| Raining Cats and Frogs | Jacques-Rémy Girerd | Ferdinand | Voice | |
| Little Lili | Claude Miller | Actor playing Simon | ||
| 2005 | C’est pas tout à fait la vie dont j’avais rêvé | Director and Writer | ||
| Magic Mirror | Manoel de Oliveira | Prof. Heschel | ||
| 2006 | Gardens in Autumn | Otar Iosseliani | Marie | |
| Belle Toujours | Manoel de Oliveira | Henri Husson | ||
| 2007 | The Duchess of Langeais | Jacques Rivette | Vidame de Pamiers | |
| Boxes | Jane Birkin | Father | ||
| Les Toits de Paris | Huner Saleem | Marcel | ||
| 2008 | On War | Bertrand Bonello | Le grand Hou | |
| The Dust of Time | Theodoros Angelopoulos | Spyros | ||
| 2009 | L’insurgée | Laurent Perreau | Maurice Reverdy | |
| 2011 | We Have a Pope | Nanni Moretti | Cardinal Melville / The Pope | |
| 2012 | You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet | Alain Resnais | Himself | |
| Holy Motors | Leos Carax | Man with birthmark | ||
| Lines of Wellington | Valeria Sarmiento | Leópold Scheitzer | ||
| 2014 | Le goût des myrtilles | Thomas de Thier | Michel |
Awards and nominations
Michel Piccoli at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival
- Cannes Film Festival
- 1980: Best Actor Award for A Leap in the Dark
- Berlin Film Festival
- 1982: Silver Bear for Best Actor for Strange Affair
- Locarno Festival
- 2007: Best Actor Award for Les Toits de Paris
- 2007: Excellence Award
- César Awards
- 1981: Nominated for the César Award for Best Actor for Strange Affair
- 1984: Nominated for the César Award for Best Actor for Dangerous Moves
- 1990: Nominated for the César Award for Best Actor for May Fools
- 1991: Nominated for the César Award for Best Actor for La Belle Noiseuse
- Shanghai International Film Festival
- 1997: Golden Goblet Award for Best Actor for Traveling Companion
- David di Donatello Awards
- 2012: David di Donatello for Best Actor for We Have a Pope
- European Film Awards
- 2001: Nominated for the European Film Award for Best Actor for I’m Going Home
- 2007: Nominated for the European Film Award for Best Actor for Belle Toujours
- 2011: Honorary Award
- 2011: Nominated for the European Film Award for Best Actor for We Have a Pope
In 2001 he was the recipient of the Europe Theatre Prize.