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)
Marx Can Wait
as Agostino (archive footage) (uncredited)
(2021)
François Mitterrand & Anne Pingeot: Pieces of a Love Story
as Self (archive footage)
(2019)
Claude Chabrol, the Maverick
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
(2018)
Dios de monoambiente
as Self (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)
(2017)
Coming Apart
as (archive footage)
(2017)
Marco Ferreri: Dangerous But Necessary
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)
Once Upon a Time… Contempt
as Self
(2009)
Le Bel Âge
as Maurice Reverdy
(2008)
On War
as Le grand Hou
(2008)
The Dust of Time
as Spyros
(2008)
The Beaches of Agnès
as Self (archive footage)
(2007)
The Duchess of Langeais
as Vidame de Pamiers
(2007)
To Each His Own Cinema
as Nikita Kruschev (segment "Rencontre unique")
(2007)
Le Roi Lear
as Le roi Lear
(2007)
Boxes
as Daddy
(2007)
Beneath the Rooftops of Paris
as Marcel
(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)
Raining Cats and Frogs
as Ferdinand (voice)
(2003)
A Man, a Real One
as Michel Piccoli
(2003)
That Day
as Harald
(2003)
Little Lili
as acteur qui joue Simon
(2002)
(2002)
(2001)
I’m Going Home
as Gilbert Valence
(2000)
Kiarostami in Close up
as as Self
(2000)
Actors
as Michel Piccoli
(2000)
Speaking of Buñuel
as Self
(2000)
Everything's Fine, We're Leaving
as Louis
(1999)
París-Tombuctú
as Michel des Assantes
(1999)
Libero Burro
as Zio Tony
(1999)
The Happiest Place on Earth
as Récitant (voice)
(1999)
Nothing About Robert
as Lord Ariel Chatwick-West
(1997)
Passion in the Desert
as Jean-Michel Venture de Paradis
(1997)
Genealogies of a Crime
as Georges Didier
(1996)
Tykho Moon
as Mac Bee / frère Mac Bee
(1996)
Beaumarchais the Scoundrel
as Prince de Conti
(1996)
Party
as Michel
(1996)
Traveling Companion
as Cosimo
(1996)
Ousmane Sow
as Narrateur
(1995)
2 x 50 Years of French Cinema
as Himself
(1995)
The World of Jacques Demy
as Self
(1995)
Tödliches Geld
as Paul Belmont
(1995)
One Hundred and One Nights
as Simon Cinéma
(1994)
The Emigrant
as Adam - Ram's father
(1994)
Berau, sur les traces de Joseph Conrad
as Presenter
(1994)
The Black Angel
as Georges Feuvrier
(1994)
(1994)
(1993)
Loonies at Large
as Henri Toussaint
(1993)
Archipel
as Leonard Wilde
(1993)
Rupture(s)
as Paul
(1993)
The Young Girls Turn 25
as Self (archive footage)
(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)
Against Oblivion
as Self
(1991)
La Belle Noiseuse
as Edouard Frenhofer
(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)
Martha and I
as Ernst
(1990)
May Fools
as Milou
(1989)
(1988)
La Ruelle au clair de lune
as Pierre Willer
(1988)
How Good the Whites Are
as Père Jean-Marie
(1988)
Un coupable
as L'avocat
(1988)
Blanc de Chine
as Batz
(1987)
La Rumba
as Damien Malleville
(1987)
The Distant Land
as Friedrich Hofreiter
(1987)
Malady of Love
as Raoul Bergeron
(1987)
The Veiled Man
as Kassar
(1986)
The Prude
as Pierre
(1986)
The Nonentity
as der Tölpel
(1986)
Mauvais Sang
as Marc
(1986)
My Brother-in-law Killed My Sister
as Étienne Sembadel
(1985)
(1985)
Adieu Bonaparte
as Caffarelli
(1985)
Death in a French Garden
as Graham Tombsthay
(1985)
Going and Coming Back
as Simon Lerner
(1984)
Success Is the Best Revenge
as French Official
(1984)
Le Matelot 512
as Narrator (voice)
(1984)
Dangerous Moves
as Akiva Liebskind
(1984)
Long Live Life
as Michel Perrin
(1983)
The Prize of Peril
as Frédéric Mallaire
(1983)
The General of the Dead Army
as Benetandi
(1982)
Godard's Passion
as Michel Boulard
(1982)
The Night of Varennes
as King Louis XVI (uncredited)
(1982)
The Passerby
as Max Baumstein
(1982)
La Cerisaie
as Léonid
(1982)
(1982)
Spy, Stand Up
as Jean-Paul Chance
(1982)
Scénario du film Passion
as Self
(1982)
Beyond the Door
as Mr. Mutti
(1982)
A Room in Town
as Edmond Leroyer
(1982)
The Eyes, the Mouth
as Tío Agostino
(1981)
The Prodigal Daughter
as Le père
(1981)
(1981)
Confused Feelings
as Professor
(1981)
Strange Affair
as Bertrand Malair
(1980)
Atlantic City
as Joseph
(1980)
The Price of Survival
as René Winterhalter
(1980)
A Leap in the Dark
as Mauro Ponticelli
(1979)
Le divorcement
as Philippe
(1979)
Atrocious Tales of Love and Death
as Victor Navarro
(1979)
The Bit Between the Teeth
as Pierre Chazerand
(1978)
The Savage State
as Orlaville
(1978)
Sugar
as Grezillo
(1978)
Little Girl in Blue Velvet
as Conrad Brukner
(1978)
Fire's Share
as Robert Hansen
(1978)
Strauberg ist da
as Strauberg
(1977)
Spoiled Children
as Bernard Rougerie
(1977)
That Obscure Object of Desire
as Mathieu Faber (voice) (uncredited)
(1977)
The Accuser
as Saint-Ramé
(1977)
Rene the Cane
as Ispettore Marchand
(1976)
Mado
as Simon Léotard
(1976)
One Way or Another
as Lui
(1976)
The Last Woman
as Michel
(1976)
F as in Fairbanks
as Etienne
(1975)
Leonor
as Richard
(1975)
Seven Deaths by Prescription
as Dr Losseray
(1975)
Weak Spot
as L'enquêteur
(1974)
The Infernal Trio
as Georges Sarret
(1974)
Life Size
as Michel
(1974)
The Phantom of Liberty
as The Second Police Prefect
(1974)
Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others
as François, médecin
(1974)
Un amour de pluie
as Mr. Dellerue (voice)
(1974)
Don't Touch the White Woman!
as Buffalo Bill
(1974)
(1973)
La Grande Bouffe
as Michel
(1973)
Far West
as Indian chief
(1973)
Themroc
as Themroc
(1973)
The Woman in Blue
as Pierre
(1973)
Wedding in Blood
as Pierre Maury
(1972)
Cesar and Rosalie
as Narrator (voice)
(1972)
The Audience
as Padre Amerin
(1972)
Liza
as Giorgio's friend
(1972)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
as Interior Minister
(1972)
The Assassination
as Colonel Kassar
(1971)
Max and the Junkmen
as Max, inspector
(1971)
Ten Days' Wonder
as Paul Regis
(1971)
Touch and Go
as Valentin
(1970)
Invasion
as Marcello
(1970)
The Things of Life
as Pierre Bérard
(1969)
The Milky Way
as Marquis de Sade
(1969)
Topaz
as Jacques Granville
(1969)
The Uninvited
as François Desailly
(1969)
Dillinger Is Dead
as Glauco
(1968)
Danger: Diabolik
as Inspector Ginko
(1968)
Woman in Chains
as L'invité pressé au vernissage (uncredited)
(1968)
The Diary of an Innocent Boy
as Count Philippe
(1968)
Heartbeat
as Charles
(1968)
Délire à deux
as Him
(1967)
Belle de Jour
as Henri Husson
(1967)
Shock Troops
as L'homme de trop
(1967)
Romy: Anatomy of a Face
as Self
(1967)
The Young Girls of Rochefort
as Simon Dame
(1967)
My Love, My Love
as Marrades
(1967)
The Dinosaur and the Baby
as Paul Javal (archive footage)
(1966)
The Creatures
as Edgar Piccoli
(1966)
The Game Is Over
as Alexandre Saccard
(1966)
Is Paris Burning?
as Edgar Pisani
(1966)
The War Is Over
as Inspector #1
(1966)
The Devil's Tricks
as L'antiquaire
(1966)
La Voleuse
as Werner Kreuz
(1966)
Elsa the Rose
as Narrator (voice)
(1966)
Le Coup de grâce
as Capri / Bruno
(1965)
The Sleeping Car Murder
as René Cabourg, l'employé besogneux (Victime #2)
(1965)
Lady L
as Lecoeur
(1965)
Masquerade
as Georges Sarrassin
(1965)
Dom Juan
as Dom Juan
(1964)
Marie Soleil
as Kafka
(1964)
Diary of a Chambermaid
as Monsieur Monteil
(1964)
All About Loving
as Raoul
(1964)
Café tabac
as Récitant (voice)
(1964)
Bardot et Godard
as Self
(1964)
Paparazzi
as Texte dit par (voice)
(1964)
Chance at Love
as Philippe Decharme (segment "Lucky la chance")
(1964)
Luis Buñuel : Un cinéaste de notre temps
as Narrator (voice)
(1964)
L'Été en hiver
as Jean, the reporter
(1963)
The Day and the Hour
as Antoine
(1963)
Contempt
as Paul Javal
(1963)
Hello Cubans
as Narrator (voice)
(1962)
Le Temps des assassins
as Récitant (voice)
(1962)
Climates of Love
as François
(1962)
Adieu Philippine
as Izquierdo dans l'émission de télévision 'Montserrat' (uncredited)
(1962)
Le Doulos
as Nuttheccio
(1962)
Parisienne... Parisiennes
as Récitant (voice)
(1961)
Hauteclaire
as Serlon de Savigny
(1961)
Amazons of Rome
as Console Publicola
(1961)
(1961)
La Chevelure
as L'homme
(1961)
Rendezvous
as Paul
(1961)
Quarante fontaines
as Récitant (voice)
(1960)
Les Joueurs
as Chvokhniev
(1960)
Danger in the Middle East
as Brian Cannon
(1960)
(1960)
La dragée haute
as Hugo Barsac
(1959)
Beast at Bay
as Commissioner Jacques Guimard
(1959)
La Nuit de Tom Brown
as Tom Brown, jeune
(1959)
Le Chalet sous la neige
as Robert
(1958)
Sinners of Paris
as L'inspecteur Vardier, de la P.J.
(1958)
Tabarin
as Jacques Forestier
(1957)
The Witches of Salem
as James Putnam
(1957)
Nathalie
as Franck Marchal
(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)
The Grand Manoeuvre
as Officer (uncredited)
(1955)
Ernst Thälmann – Leader of the Working Class
as Maurice Rouger
(1955)
French Cancan
as Le Capitaine Valorgueil
(1955)
Croissance de Paris
as Récitant (voice)
(1955)
Price of Love
as Georges
(1955)
Bad Liaisons
as un inspecteur
(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)
Chicago Digest
as Slim Spring
(1951)
Terreur en Oklahoma
as Tommy Goudchote
(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