Biography for Jean-Paul Belmondo

Belmondo began his acting career on stage in the provinces, working his way to Paris where he debuted in 1956 in "L'Hotel du libre echange". He then appeared in French renditions of "Caesar and Cleopatra" and "The Taming of the Shrew" before achieving screen stardom. Returning to the stage in the 90s, he toured in the title role of "Cyrano de Bergerac".

"Pierrot le fou", in which he portrayed a novelist writing an autobiographical tragedy, firmed his star status, as did his role as a chronic thief in "Le Voleur" (1966). Often, Belmondo's work has been in weak projects, and critics have often accused him of giving listless performances, but his photogenic charisma has always been evident. In the late 70s and into the 80s, Belmondo moved into playing urbane characters, albeit with a touch of cynicism, as in "Flic ou voyou" (1979) and "Le Solitaire" (1987). After a few years away from the screen, he returned as the Jean Valjean character in Claude Lelouch's variation on "Les Miserables" (1995) followed by the bedroom farce "Desire" (1996).

Maintaining a relatively high name-recognition in the USA, Belmondo has only made one English-language film, the international "Is Paris Burning?" (1966), as the daring resistance leader who takes over police headquarters. He also made a cameo in the misguided James Bond spoof, "Casino Royale" (1967). His 1974 film, "Stavisky", which co-starred another American favorite Charles Boyer, found an audience in the USA. Belmondo won praise for his turn as a 30s version of a junk bond dealer who almost brought down the government.