Jean-Louis Trintignant

Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ lwi tʁɛ̃tiɲɑ̃]; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic films of European cinema, and worked with many prominent auteur directors, including Roger Vadim, Costa-Gavras, Claude Lelouch, Claude Chabrol, Bernardo Bertolucci, Éric Rohmer, François Truffaut, Krzysztof Kieślowski, and Michael Haneke.

He made a critical and commercial breakthrough in And God Created Woman (1956), followed by a starmaking romantic turn in A Man and a Woman (1966). He won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 1968 Berlin International Film Festival for his performance in The Man Who Lies and the Best Actor Award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival for Costa-Gavras's Z. Trintignant's other notable films include The Great Silence (1968), My Night at Maud's (1969), The Conformist (1970), Three Colours: Red (1994), and The City of Lost Children (1995). He won the 2013 César Award for Best Actor for his role in Michael Haneke's Amour.

Early life

Trintignant was born on 11 December 1930 in Piolenc, Vaucluse. He had a brother four years older. During World War II, his father joined the resistance against the Nazi regime by aiding Jews, and his mother began an affair with a Nazi officer. This horizontal collaboration affected Jean-Louis his entire life.

He grew up with the intention of studying law and enrolled in Aix-Marseille University. However, he soon discovered an interest in acting and moved to Paris at the age of 20 to study drama, making his theatrical debut in 1951.