BOUQUET, MICHEL

(1925- )

Actor. Michel Bouquet was born in Paris. His career as an actor began with a meeting with Maurice Escande, who would later become one of his professors at the Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique in Paris. He became a respected theater actor who worked closely with the acclaimed French play-wright Jean Anouilh. His first appearances onscreen were in 1947 in Gilbert Gil'sBrigade criminelleand Maurice Cloche'sMonsier Vincent. He subsequently worked under several notable French directors, includingHenri-Georges Clouzot(inManon, 1949),Jean Grémillon(in his 1949Pattes blanches, which was cowritten by Anouilh), andAbel Gance(inLa Tour de Neslein 1955). He also acted in Anouilh's filmDeux sous de violettesin 1951. Bouquet is well known for his work withNouvelle Vagueor New Wave directorClaude Chabrol, which started in 1965 withLe tigre se parfume à la dynamite, followed byLa Route de Corinthein 1967. Bouquet's most prominent role with Chabrol was alongside Stéphane Audran inLa Femme infidèle(1968). He paired again with Chabrol inLa Rupture(1970),Juste avant la nuit(1971), andPoulet au vinaigre(1985). Bouquet was chosen by New Wave directorFrançois Truffautfor a leading role next toJeanne MoreauinLa Mariée était en noir(1967) and a supporting role in hisLa Sirène du Mississippi.

In the 1970s, Bouquet veered away from New Wave directors and toward other then-emerging cinéastes. He starred in Yves Boisset'sUn Condé(1970), Edouard Luntz'sLe dernier saut(1970) andL'Humeur vagabonde(1972), Nelly Kaplan'sPapa,les petits bateaux(1971), Roger Pigaut'sComptes à rebours(1971) andTrois millards sans ascenseur(1972), René Gainville'sLe Complot(1973), Nadine Trintignant'sDéfense de savoir(1973), and Alain Corneau'sFrance société anonyme(1974).He also played supporting roles inJacques Deray'sBorsalino(1970), Harry Kumel'sMalpertuis(1971), Jean-Louis Bertucelli'sPaulina 1880(1972), and Francis Veber'sLe Jouet(1976). Bouquet acted largely in television films in the 1980s, with a few exceptions such as his work inPoulet au vinaigre, his role as Javert inRobertHossein's 1982Les Misérables, and his leading performance alongsideBernard Blierin Christian Zerbib'sFuite en avant. In 1990, he starred in Belgian director Jaco van Dormael'sToto le héros, for which he won Best Actor at the European Film Awards.

In the 1990s, Bouquet played supporting roles in Corneau'sTous les matins du monde(1991) and Jean Becker'sÉlisa(1995) and a leading role in Roger Guillot'sJoie de vivre(1993). In 1997, he became a professor at the Conservatoire. He appeared again with Moreau to play the writer Guisseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in the Italian filmManoscritto del principe(2000), by Roberto Andô. He won his next major awards — aCésarAward and a Lumiere Award for Best Actor—for his work in Anne Fontaine'sComment j'ai tué mon père(2002). He then costarred with Philippe Noiret inBertrand Blier'sLes Côtelettes, and withMiou-Miouin Michelle Porte'sL'Après-midi de Monsieur Andesmas(2004). In 2005, Bouquet gave a memorable interpretation of President François Mitterrand inRobert Guédiguian'sLe Promeneur du Champ de Mars.