
Michel Piccoli
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-12-27
Day of Death
2020-05-12 (94 years old)
Place of Birth
Paris, Ile-de-France, France
Michel Piccoli
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.
Acting
(2025)
(2025)
Film Study 01
as Footage from La Belle Noiseuse
(2024)
It's Not Me
as (archive footage)
(2023)
Godard by Godard
as Self (archive footage)
(2022)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
as Self (archive footage)
(2021)
François Mitterrand & Anne Pingeot: Pieces of a Love Story
as Self (archive footage)
(2021)
Marx Can Wait
as Agostino (archive footage) (uncredited)
(2019)
Claude Chabrol, the Maverick
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
(2018)
Dios de monoambiente
as Self (archive footage)
(2017)
Marco Ferreri: Dangerous But Necessary
as Self (archive footage)
(2017)
Coming Apart
as (archive footage)
(2017)
The Incredible Mr. Piccoli
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
(2017)
Claude Sautet, Romy, Yves, Michel et les autres
as Self (archive footage)
(2015)
Our Lady of Hormones
as Narrator
(2014)
The Taste of Blueberries
as Michel
(2012)
Holy Motors
as Man with the Wine Stain
(2012)
Lines of Wellington
as Leópold Scheitzer
(2012)
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet
as Le père
(2011)
We Have a Pope
as Melville
(2011)
(2011)
(2010)
Portrait Of My Father
as Self
(2009)
Le Bel Âge
as Maurice Reverdy
(2009)
Once Upon a Time… Contempt
as Self
(2008)
The Beaches of Agnès
as Self (archive footage)
(2008)
The Dust of Time
as Spyros
(2008)
On War
as Le grand Hou
(2007)
To Each His Own Cinema
as Nikita Kruschev (segment "Rencontre unique")
(2007)
Boxes
as Daddy
(2007)
The Duchess of Langeais
as Vidame de Pamiers
(2007)
Beneath the Rooftops of Paris
as Marcel
(2007)
Le Roi Lear
as Le roi Lear
(2007)
Sole Meeting
as Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev
(2006)
Magic Mirror
as Prof. Heschel
(2006)
Belle Toujours
as Henri Husson
(2006)
Gardens in Autumn
as Marie, la mère de Vincent
(2006)
Otar Iosseliani, le merle siffleur
as Himself
(2005)
Everything's Connected
as Narrator
(2004)
(2003)
Little Lili
as acteur qui joue Simon
(2003)
Raining Cats and Frogs
as Ferdinand (voice)
(2003)
That Day
as Harald
(2003)
A Man, a Real One
as Michel Piccoli
(2002)
(2002)
(2001)
I’m Going Home
as Gilbert Valence
(2000)
Actors
as Michel Piccoli
(2000)
Speaking of Buñuel
as Self
(2000)
Everything's Fine, We're Leaving
as Louis
(2000)
Kiarostami in Close up
as as Self
(1999)
Nothing About Robert
as Lord Ariel Chatwick-West
(1999)
The Happiest Place on Earth
as Récitant (voice)
(1999)
París-Tombuctú
as Michel des Assantes
(1999)
Libero Burro
as Zio Tony
(1997)
Genealogies of a Crime
as Georges Didier
(1997)
Passion in the Desert
as Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis
(1996)
Beaumarchais the Scoundrel
as Prince de Conti
(1996)
Tykho Moon
as Mac Bee / frère Mac Bee
(1996)
Traveling Companion
as Cosimo
(1996)
Party
as Michel
(1996)
Ousmane Sow
as Narrateur
(1995)
One Hundred and One Nights
as Simon Cinéma
(1995)
The World of Jacques Demy
as Self
(1995)
2 x 50 Years of French Cinema
as Himself
(1995)
Tödliches Geld
as Paul Belmont
(1994)
The Black Angel
as Georges Feuvrier
(1994)
The Emigrant
as Adam - Ram's father
(1994)
(1994)
(1994)
Berau, sur les traces de Joseph Conrad
as Presenter
(1993)
Rupture(s)
as Paul
(1993)
The Young Girls Turn 25
as Self (archive footage)
(1993)
Loonies at Large
as Henri Toussaint
(1993)
Archipel
as Leonard Wilde
(1992)
The Supper
as Chateaubriand (voice)
(1992)
Le Bal des casse-pieds
as Désiré, l'homosexuel
(1992)
La Belle Noiseuse: Divertimento
as Edouard Frenhofer
(1991)
La Belle Noiseuse
as Edouard Frenhofer
(1991)
Against Oblivion
as Self
(1991)
The Children Thief
as Mr. Armand
(1991)
Walking a Tightrope
as Marcel Spadice
(1991)
The Fate of Baron Leisenbohg
as Le baron de Leisenbohg
(1990)
May Fools
as Milou
(1990)
Martha and I
as Ernst
(1989)
(1988)
How Good the Whites Are
as Père Jean-Marie
(1988)
Blanc de Chine
as Batz
(1988)
Un coupable
as L'avocat
(1988)
La Ruelle au clair de lune
as Pierre Willer
(1987)
Malady of Love
as Raoul Bergeron
(1987)
La Rumba
as Damien Malleville
(1987)
The Distant Land
as Friedrich Hofreiter
(1987)
The Veiled Man
as Kassar
(1986)
Mauvais Sang
as Marc
(1986)
My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister
as Étienne Sembadel
(1986)
The Prude
as Pierre
(1986)
The Nonentity
as der Tölpel
(1985)
Death in a French Garden
as Graham Tombsthay
(1985)
Adieu Bonaparte
as Caffarelli
(1985)
Going and Coming Back
as Simon Lerner
(1985)
(1984)
Dangerous Moves
as Akiva Liebskind
(1984)
Success Is the Best Revenge
as French Official
(1984)
Long Live Life
as Michel Perrin
(1984)
Le Matelot 512
as Narrator (voice)
(1983)
The Prize of Peril
as Frédéric Mallaire
(1983)
The General of the Dead Army
as Benetandi
(1982)
The Passerby
as Max Baumstein
(1982)
The Night of Varennes
as King Louis XVI (uncredited)
(1982)
A Room in Town
as Edmond Leroyer
(1982)
Spy, Stand Up
as Jean-Paul Chance
(1982)
Godard's Passion
as Michel Boulard
(1982)
Beyond the Door
as Mr. Mutti
(1982)
(1982)
The Eyes, the Mouth
as Tío Agostino
(1982)
Scénario du film Passion
as Self
(1982)
La Cerisaie
as Léonid
(1981)
Strange Affair
as Bertrand Malair
(1981)
The Prodigal Daughter
as Le père
(1981)
Confused Feelings
as Professor
(1981)
(1980)
Atlantic City
as Joseph
(1980)
A Leap in the Dark
as Mauro Ponticelli
(1980)
The Price of Survival
as René Winterhalter
(1979)
Atrocious Tales of Love and Death
as Victor Navarro
(1979)
Le divorcement
as Philippe
(1979)
The Bit Between the Teeth
as Pierre Chazerand
(1978)
Sugar
as Grezillo
(1978)
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
as Conrad Brukner
(1978)
Fire's Share
as Robert Hansen
(1978)
The Savage State
as Orlaville
(1978)
Strauberg ist da
as Strauberg
(1977)
That Obscure Object of Desire
as Mathieu Faber (voice) (uncredited)
(1977)
Spoiled Children
as Bernard Rougerie
(1977)
The Accuser
as Saint-Ramé
(1977)
Rene the Cane
as Ispettore Marchand
(1976)
The Last Woman
as Michel
(1976)
Mado
as Simon Léotard
(1976)
One Way or Another
as Lui
(1976)
F as in Fairbanks
as Etienne
(1975)
Weak Spot
as L'enquêteur
(1975)
Leonor
as Richard
(1975)
Seven Deaths by Prescription
as Dr Losseray
(1974)
The Phantom of Liberty
as The Second Police Prefect
(1974)
Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others
as François, médecin
(1974)
The Infernal Trio
as Georges Sarret
(1974)
Life Size
as Michel
(1974)
Don't Touch the White Woman!
as Buffalo Bill
(1974)
Un amour de pluie
as Mr. Dellerue (voice)
(1974)
(1973)
La Grande Bouffe
as Michel
(1973)
Wedding in Blood
as Pierre Maury
(1973)
Themroc
as Themroc
(1973)
Far West
as Indian chief
(1973)
The Woman in Blue
as Pierre
(1972)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
as Interior Minister
(1972)
Cesar and Rosalie
as Narrator (voice)
(1972)
Liza
as Giorgio's friend
(1972)
The Assassination
as Colonel Kassar
(1972)
The Audience
as Padre Amerin
(1971)
Touch and Go
as Valentin
(1971)
Ten Days' Wonder
as Paul Regis
(1971)
Max and the Junkmen
as Max, inspector
(1970)
The Things of Life
as Pierre Bérard
(1970)
Invasion
as Marcello
(1969)
Topaz
as Jacques Granville
(1969)
The Milky Way
as Marquis de Sade
(1969)
Dillinger Is Dead
as Glauco
(1969)
The Uninvited
as François Desailly
(1968)
Danger: Diabolik
as Inspector Ginko
(1968)
The Diary of an Innocent Boy
as Count Philippe
(1968)
Woman in Chains
as L'invité pressé au vernissage (uncredited)
(1968)
Heartbeat
as Charles
(1968)
Délire à deux
as Him
(1967)
Belle de Jour
as Henri Husson
(1967)
The Young Girls of Rochefort
as Simon Dame
(1967)
Shock Troops
as L'homme de trop
(1967)
My Love, My Love
as Marrades
(1967)
The Dinosaur and the Baby
as Paul Javal (archive footage)
(1967)
Romy: Anatomy of a Face
as Self
(1966)
Is Paris Burning?
as Edgar Pisani
(1966)
The Creatures
as Edgar Piccoli
(1966)
The Game Is Over
as Alexandre Saccard
(1966)
The War Is Over
as Inspector #1
(1966)
La Voleuse
as Werner Kreuz
(1966)
The Devil's Tricks
as L'antiquaire
(1966)
Le Coup de grâce
as Capri / Bruno
(1966)
Elsa the Rose
as Narrator (voice)
(1965)
The Sleeping Car Murder
as René Cabourg, l'employé besogneux (Victime #2)
(1965)
Lady L
as Lecoeur
(1965)
Dom Juan
as Dom Juan
(1965)
Masquerade
as Georges Sarrassin
(1964)
Diary of a Chambermaid
as Monsieur Monteil
(1964)
Paparazzi
as Texte dit par (voice)
(1964)
Marie Soleil
as Kafka
(1964)
Chance at Love
as Philippe Decharme (segment "Lucky la chance")
(1964)
All About Loving
as Raoul
(1964)
Luis Buñuel : Un cinéaste de notre temps
as Narrator (voice)
(1964)
Bardot et Godard
as Self
(1964)
Café tabac
as Récitant (voice)
(1964)
L'Été en hiver
as Jean, the reporter
(1963)
Contempt
as Paul Javal
(1963)
The Day and the Hour
as Antoine
(1963)
Hello Cubans
as Narrator (voice)
(1962)
Le Doulos
as Nuttheccio
(1962)
Adieu Philippine
as Izquierdo dans l'émission de télévision 'Montserrat' (uncredited)
(1962)
Climates of Love
as François
(1962)
Le Temps des assassins
as Récitant (voice)
(1962)
Parisienne... Parisiennes
as Récitant (voice)
(1961)
Amazons of Rome
as Console Publicola
(1961)
La Chevelure
as L'homme
(1961)
Hauteclaire
as Serlon de Savigny
(1961)
Rendezvous
as Paul
(1961)
(1961)
Quarante fontaines
as Récitant (voice)
(1960)
Les Joueurs
as Chvokhniev
(1960)
(1960)
(1960)
Danger in the Middle East
as Brian Cannon
(1959)
La Nuit de Tom Brown
as Tom Brown, jeune
(1959)
Beast at Bay
as Commissioner Jacques Guimard
(1959)
Le Chalet sous la neige
as Robert
(1958)
Tabarin
as Jacques Forestier
(1958)
Sinners of Paris
as L'inspecteur Vardier, de la P.J.
(1957)
Nathalie
as Franck Marchal
(1957)
The Witches of Salem
as James Putnam
(1957)
Sunday Buddies
as Le directeur de l'aéro-club
(1957)
Le quadrille des diamants
as Richard Burke
(1957)
Le Plus Heureux des trois
as Pianist
(1956)
Death in the Garden
as Father Lizzardi
(1956)
La France romane
as Récitant (voice)
(1955)
French Cancan
as Le Capitaine Valorgueil
(1955)
Ernst Thälmann – Leader of the Working Class
as Maurice Rouger
(1955)
The Grand Manoeuvre
as Officer (uncredited)
(1955)
Price of Love
as Georges
(1955)
Bad Liaisons
as un inspecteur
(1955)
Croissance de Paris
as Récitant (voice)
(1954)
Daughters of Destiny
as Pasquerel (segment "Jeanne")
(1954)
Saint-Tropez, devoirs de vacances
as Gérard
(1954)
Tout chante autour de moi
as Reverdier
(1953)
Horizons...
as un ouvrier
(1952)
Torticola versus Frankensberg
as Torticola
(1951)
Without Leaving an Address
as Un journaliste aux archives (uncredited)
(1951)
Without Leaving an Address
as Un journaliste aux archives
(1951)
Terreur en Oklahoma
as Tommy Goudchote
(1951)
Chicago Digest
as Slim Spring
(1951)
(1949)
The Mark Of The Day
as Georges Gohelle
(1949)
The Perfume of the Lady in Black
as Lebel
(1945)
The Bellman
as Un villageois
Crew
(2006)
C'est pas tout à fait la vie dont j'avais rêvé
Director, Writer
(2001)
The Black Beach
Director, Writer
(1997)
Alors voilà,
Director, Writer
(1994)
Train de nuit
Writer, Director
(1991)
Against Oblivion
Director
(1983)
The General of the Dead Army
Producer
(1980)
The Price of Survival
Producer
(1978)
The Savage State
Producer
(1975)
Weak Spot
Co-Producer
(1975)
Leonor
Producer
(1975)
Seven Deaths by Prescription
Associate Producer
(1974)
Don't Touch the White Woman!
Producer
(1974)
Life Size
Producer
(1964)
Paparazzi
Writer