Michel Piccoli
Acting
Born: December 27, 1925 · Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Died: May 12, 2020 (aged 94)
Highest Rated
Biography
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
Holy Motors
2012
Belle de Jour
1967
Contempt
1963
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
1972
The Young Girls of Rochefort
1967
We Have a Pope
2011
La Grande Bouffe
1973
That Obscure Object of Desire
1977
Topaz
1969
The Phantom of Liberty
1974
Le Doulos
1962
Atlantic City
1980
Photos (8)
Movies (208)
Belle de Jour
Henri Husson
Contempt
Paul Javal
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Simon Dame
Holy Motors
Man with the Wine Stain
La Grande Bouffe
Michel
That Obscure Object of Desire
Mathieu Faber (voice) (uncredited)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Interior Minister
Topaz
Jacques Granville
Is Paris Burning?
Edgar Pisani
Adieu Philippine
Izquierdo dans l'émission de télévision 'Montserrat' (uncredited)
Atlantic City
Joseph
La Belle Noiseuse
Edouard Frenhofer
Diary of a Chambermaid
Monsieur Monteil
To Each His Own Cinema
Nikita Kruschev (segment "Rencontre unique")
Hauteclaire
Serlon de Savigny
The Phantom of Liberty
Police Prefect #2
Dom Juan
Dom Juan
Actors
Michel Piccoli
Cesar and Rosalie
Narrator (voice)
Going and Coming Back
Simon Lerner
The Things of Life
Pierre Bérard
The Black Angel
Georges Feuvrier
We Have a Pope
Melville
Mauvais Sang
Marc
Danger: Diabolik
Inspector Ginko
French Cancan
Le Capitaine Valorgueil
The Assassination
Colonel Kassar
The Last Woman
Michel
Spy, Stand Up
Jean-Paul Chance
How Good the Whites Are
Père Jean-Marie
Ousmane Sow
Narrateur
Max and the Junkmen
Max, inspector
The Taste of Blueberries
Michel
One Hundred and One Nights
Simon Cinéma
The Milky Way
Marquis de Sade
Little Lili
acteur qui joue Simon
The Passerby
Max Baumstein
Le Doulos
Nuttheccio
Lines of Wellington
Leópold Scheitzer
Woman in Chains
L'invité pressé au vernissage (uncredited)
Seven Deaths by Prescription
Dr Losseray
That Night of Varennes
King Louis XVI (uncredited)
The Grand Manoeuvre
Officer (uncredited)
Malady of Love
Raoul Bergeron
La Voleuse
Werner Kreuz
Lady L
Lecoeur
A Room in Town
Edmond Leroyer
Dillinger Is Dead
Glauco
The Infernal Trio
Georges Sarret
The Witches of Salem
James Putnam
May Fools
Milou
I’m Going Home
Gilbert Valence
Everything's Connected
Narrator
The Dust of Time
Spyros
Genealogies of a Crime
Georges Didier
La Chevelure
L'homme
Atrocious Tales of Love and Death
Victor Navarro
Nathalie
Franck Marchal
Themroc
Themroc
Nothing About Robert
Lord Ariel Chatwick-West
Raining Cats and Frogs
Ferdinand (voice)
Without Leaving an Address
Un journaliste aux archives (uncredited)
Without Leaving an Address
Un journaliste aux archives
The Prodigal Daughter
Le père
Shock Troops
L'homme de trop
Rencontre Unique
Nikita Khrouchtchev
Coming Apart
(archive footage)
Party
Michel
Mado
Simon Léotard
The Creatures
Edgar Piccoli
The Game Is Over
Alexandre Saccard
The Sleeping Car Murders
René Cabourg, l'employé besogneux (Victime #2)
Spoiled Children
Bernard Rougerie
It's Not Me
(archive footage)
Death in the Garden
Father Lizzardi
One Way or Another
Him
Wedding in Blood
Pierre Maury
The Prize of Peril
Frédéric Mallaire
Elsa the Rose
Narrator (voice)
Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others
François, médecin
The War Is Over
Inspector #1
Death in a French Garden
Graham Tombsthay
París-Tombuctú
Michel des Assantes
Sunday Buddies
Le directeur de l'aéro-club
Ten Days' Wonder
Paul Regis
Strange Affair
Bertrand Malair
The Diary of an Innocent Boy
Count Philippe
Adieu Bonaparte
Caffarelli
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
Conrad Brukner
Bad Liaisons
un inspecteur
Long Live Life
Michel Perrin
Heartbeat
Charles
Don't Touch the White Woman!
Buffalo Bill
Belle Toujours
Henri Husson
Marx Can Wait
Agostino (archive footage) (uncredited)
Chicago Digest
Slim Spring
Romy, A Free Woman
archive footage
Beyond the Door
Mr. Mutti
Rendezvous
Paul
Climates of Love
François
Tykho Moon
Mac Bee / frère Mac Bee
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
Le père
The Accuser
Saint-Ramé
Touch and Go
Valentin
Masquerade
Georges Sarrassin
The Audience
Padre Amerin
Boxes
Daddy
Loonies at Large
Henri Toussaint
Godard's Passion
Michel Boulard
A Leap in the Dark
Mauro Ponticelli
A Man, a Real One
Michel Piccoli
The Life of Mirrors
2025
Weak Spot
L'enquêteur
That Day
Harald
Daughters of Destiny
Pasquerel (segment "Jeanne")
Le Bal des casse-pieds
Désiré, l'homosexuel
The Bardot mystery
2012
Beaumarchais the Scoundrel
Prince de Conti
Amazons of Rome
Console Publicola
Train de nuit
1994
Invasion
Marcello
The Veiled Man
Kassar
The Savage State
Orlaville
Chance at Love
Philippe Decharme (segment "Lucky la chance")
Passion in the Desert
Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis
The Mark of the Day
Georges Gohelle
The Nonentity
der Tölpel
The Day and the Hour
Antoine
The Children Thief
Mr. Armand
Le Bel Âge
Maurice Reverdy
The Emigrant
Adam - Ram's father
Liza
Giorgio's friend
Paparazzi
Texte dit par (voice)
Far West
Indian chief
Life Size
Michel
Rene the Cane
Ispettore Marchand
Dangerous Moves
Akiva Liebskind
Horizons...
un ouvrier
The Eyes, the Mouth
Tío Agostino
Le Coup de grâce
Capri / Bruno
Success Is the Best Revenge
French Official
Price of Love
Georges
From Time to Time
Jules Verne
La dragée haute
Hugo Barsac
The Woman in Blue
Pierre
Tabarin
Jacques Forestier
The Duchess of Langeais
Vidame de Pamiers
Hello Cubans
Narrator (voice)
Will the High Salaried Workers Raise Their Hands!
José Viss
Le Quadrille des diamants
Richard Burke
Walking a Tightrope
Marcel Spadice
Loving in the Rain
Mr. Dellerue (voice)
La Cerisaie
Léonid
Saint-Tropez, devoirs de vacances
Gérard
My Love, My Love
Marrades
Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France
2009
The Voyage Into the Whirlpool Has Begun
1974
All About Loving
Raoul
Fire's Share
Robert Hansen
Croissance de Paris
Récitant (voice)
Tout chante autour de moi
Reverdier
Leonor
Richard
Sugar
Grezillo
Marie Soleil
Kafka
On War
Le grand Hou
La Belle Noiseuse: Divertimento
Edouard Frenhofer
Blanc de Chine
Batz
Les Joueurs
Chvokhniev
Our Lady of Hormones
Narrator
Gardens in Autumn
Marie, la mère de Vincent
Le Matelot 512
Narrator (voice)
Danger in the Middle East
Brian Cannon
Beast at Bay
Commissioner Jacques Guimard
My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister
Étienne Sembadel
The Dinosaur and the Baby
Paul Javal (archive footage)
La Nuit de Tom Brown
Tom Brown, jeune
The Prude
Pierre
La Ruelle au clair de lune
Pierre Willer
The Perfume of the Lady in Black
Lebel
Libero Burro
Zio Tony
The Bit Between the Teeth
Pierre Chazerand
Martha and I
Ernst
Sinners of Paris
L'inspecteur Vardier, de la P.J.
Un coupable
L'avocat
The Uninvited
François Desailly
Ernst Thälmann – Leader of the Working Class
Maurice Rouger
Délire à deux
Him
Magic Mirror
Prof. Heschel
The Price of Survival
René Winterhalter
The Distant Land
Friedrich Hofreiter
Luis Buñuel : Un cinéaste de notre temps
Narrator (voice)
F as in Fairbanks
Etienne
La Rumba
Damien Malleville
The Fate of Baron Leisenbohg
Le baron de Leisenbohg
L'Été en hiver
Jean, the Reporter
Beneath the Rooftops of Paris
Marcel
Confused Feelings
Professor
The Supper
Chateaubriand (voice)
Parisienne... Parisiennes
Récitant (voice)
The General of the Dead Army
Benetandi
The Happiest Place on Earth
Récitant (voice)
The Bellman
Un villageois
La Lune
1985
Traveling Companion
Cosimo
Le Divorcement
Philippe
Everything's Fine, We're Leaving
Louis
The Monkey Folk
1989
The Devil's Tricks
L'antiquaire
TV Shows (2)
Self / Appearances (39)
Ciné regards
Self · 6 eps
Apostrophes
Self · 1 eps
Spécial cinéma
Self · 2 eps
Vivement dimanche
Self · 1 eps
Wetten, dass..?
Self · 1 eps
Midi Première
Self · 1 eps
Champs-Elysées
Self · 5 eps
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self · 3 eps
Midi trente
Self · 5 eps
Nulle part ailleurs
Self · 1 eps
Chili Impressions
Self - Le lecteur des écrits d'A. Pinochet (voice) · 4 eps
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Brook by Brook
Self
The Beaches of Agnès
Self (archive footage)
The World of Jacques Demy
Self
Agnès Varda: From Here to There
Self · 5 eps
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Self (archive footage)
Lest We Forget
Self (segment "Pour Nasrin Rasooli, Iran")
Agnès Varda: From Here to There
Self
Speaking of Buñuel
Self
Claude Chabrol, the Maverick
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Claude Sautet, Romy, Yves, Michel et les autres
Self (archive footage)
Scénario du film Passion
Self
Portrait Of My Father
Self
Un divertissement et Michel Piccoli
Self
Godard by Godard
Self (archive footage)
Marco Ferreri: Dangerous But Necessary
Self (archive footage)
The Incredible Mr. Piccoli
Self - Actor (archive footage)
The Young Girls Turn 25
Self (archive footage)
Il était une fois... Vincent, François, Paul et les autres
Self
Kiarostami in Close up
as Self
Romy: Anatomy of a Face
Self
Otar Iosseliani, le merle siffleur
Self
Romy Schneider, étrange étrangère
Self
Once Upon a Time… Contempt
Self
François Mitterrand & Anne Pingeot: Pieces of a Love Story
Self (archive footage)
2 x 50 Years of French Cinema
Self
Bardot et Godard
Self
Les paradoxes de Buñuel
Self
Directing (5)
Writing (5)
Producing (9)
Seven Deaths by Prescription
Associate Producer
Spoiled Children
Producer
Don't Touch the White Woman!
Producer
Weak Spot
Co-Producer
The Savage State
Producer
Life Size
Producer
Leonor
Producer
The Price of Survival
Producer
The General of the Dead Army
Producer