BARRAULT, JEANLOUIS

(1910-1994)

Actor. Jean-Louis Barrault got his start on the Paris stage at the Atelier in 1931. He became acquainted withAntonin Artaudand the surrealists in 1935, and then went on to debut in film while continuing his stage career, acting alongside his wife,Madeleine Renaud. The two formed a renowned theatrical company, the Compagnie Renaud-Barrault in 1946.

Barrault's first film role was inMarc Allégret'sLes Beaux jours(1935). The following year, he was cast inAbel Gance'sLe Grand amour de Beethoven(1936) and Allégret'sSous les yeux d'occident(1936), as well as twoMarcel Carnéfilms,Drôle de Drame(1936) andJenny(1936).Barrault worked again with Allégret in 1938 in the filmOrageand in 1941 inParade en sept nuits. He worked with Gance again in 1938 on the filmJ'Accuse! One of Barrault's most memorable roles came in 1945, in Carné's classic filmLes Enfants du paradis.

Barrault tended to be cast as powerful, almost mythical men, but men who were sometimes physically challenged or physically unimpressive. He played Louis XI inChristian-JacquesandSacha Guitry'sLes Perles de la couronne(1937) and Napoleon in Ettore Scola'sLa Nuit de Varennes(1982), for example. The mythical quality extended even to his completely fictional roles, such as Baptiste inLes Enfants du paradis, probably one of the most memorable characters in French film history. Other films in which Barrault appears include Anatole Litvak'sMayerling(1936),Max Ophuls's classic filmLa Ronde(1950), Guitry'sSi Versailles m'était conté(1954), and Philippe Agostini'sLe Dialogue des Carmélites(1960). Barrault also had a significant, but unusual, English-language role in the classic war filmThe Longest Day(1962).