Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 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, Dino Risi, 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.
Career After touring in the early 1950s in several theatre productions, his first motion picture appearance came in 1955, and the following year he gained stardom with his performance opposite Brigitte Bardot in Roger Vadim's And God Created Woman. Trintignant's acting was interrupted for several years by mandatory military service. After serving in Algiers, he returned to Paris and resumed his work in film. He had the leading male role in Claude Lelouch's film A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme, 1966), which was the most commercially successful French film internationally for some years.
In Italy, he was always dubbed into Italian, and he worked with Italian directors including Sergio Corbucci in The Great Silence, Valerio Zurlini in Violent Summer and The Desert of the Tartars, Ettore Scola in La terrazza, Bernardo Bertolucci in The Conformist, and Dino Risi in The Easy Life.
Throughout the 1970s, Trintignant starred in many films, including the English-language films The Outside Man in 1971 and Under Fire in 1983. Following this, he starred in François Truffaut's final film, Confidentially Yours, and reprised his best-known role in the sequel A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (Un homme et une femme, 20 ans déjà, 1986).
In 1994, he starred in Krzysztof Kieślowski's final film, Three Colors: Red. For the remainder of his career, he took an occasional film role but focused on stage work. After a 9-year gap, Trintignant came back to the screen for Michael Haneke's film Amour.Cannes 2012, "Amour": le retour à la lumière de Jean-Louis Trintignant, Huffington Post in cooperation with Le Monde, 20 May 2012. Haneke sent Trintignant the screenplay, which had been written specifically for him. Trintignant said he chose film projects based on the director and said of Haneke that "he has the most complete mastery of the cinematic discipline, from technical aspects like sound and photography to the way he handles actors". He worked with Haneke again in 2017 when he starred in Happy End.
On 20 July 2018, Trintignant announced his retirement from cinema, but, in March 2019, he accepted a role in Claude Lelouch's film The Best Years of a Life (Les plus belles années d'une vie), a follow-up to A Man and a Woman and its sequel A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later.
Personal life
Trintignant came from a wealthy family. He was the nephew of racing driver Louis Trintignant, who was killed in 1933 while practising on the Péronne racetrack in Picardy. Another uncle, Maurice Trintignant (1917–2005), was a Formula One driver who twice won the Monaco Grand Prix as well as the 24 hours of Le Mans. Jean-Louis himself was an enthusiastic amateur rally driver and competed in a number of high-level rallies in the 1970s and 1980s, including several rounds of the World Rally Championship; he finished first in his class in the 1981 Monte Carlo Rally. Raised in and around automobile racing, Trintignant was the natural choice of film director Claude Lelouch for the starring role of a racing driver in the 1966 film A Man and a Woman. He suffered a leg injury from a motorbike accident in June 2007.
His first wife was actress Stéphane Audran. His second wife, Nadine Marquand, was an actress, screenwriter, and director. They had three children: Vincent, Pauline (who died of crib death in 1969), and Marie Trintignant (21 January 1962 – 1 August 2003). At age 17, Marie performed in La terrazza alongside her father and later became a successful actress. She was killed at the age of 41 by her boyfriend, rock musician Bertrand Cantat, in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania.
In 2018, Trintignant announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and would not be seeking treatment. In November 2021, it was reported that he was gradually losing his sight and was in declining health. He died at his home on 17 June 2022, at the age of 91.
Filmography Source:
Year Title Role Director Notes1955If All the Guys in the WorldJean-LouisChristian-Jaque1956La Loi des ruesYves TréguierRalph HabibAnd God Created WomanMichel Tardieu Roger Vadim Women's ClubMichelRalph Habib1959Les liaisons dangereusesDancenyRoger VadimViolent SummerCarlo CaremoliValerio Zurlini1960AusterlitzSégur juniorAbel Gance1961Pleins feux sur l'assassinJean-Marie de KerloguenGeorges FranjuJourney Beneath the DesertPierreEdgar G. Ulmer1962Joseph FabianiAndré VersiniLe Combat dans l'îleClément LesserAlain CavalierIl SorpassoRoberto MarianiDino Risi1963Château en SuèdeÉricRoger Vadim 1964 The Last Steps Joe Jacques Robin1964Mata Hari, Agent H21François LasalleJean-Louis Richard1965The Sleeping Car MurdersÉric Grandin Costa-Gavras1966A Man and a WomanJean-Louis DurocClaude LelouchDiamond SafariRaphaële VincenteMichel DrachLa Longue MarchePhilippeAlexandre AstrucTrans-Europ-ExpressEliasAlain Robbe-Grillet1967RaphaëlCol cuore in golaBernardTinto BrassMy Love, My Love Vincent FalaiseNadine Trintignant1968Death Laid an Egg MarcoGiulio QuestiLes BichesPaul ThomasClaude Chabrol The Man Who Lies Jan Robin / Boris VarissaAlain Robbe-GrilletThe Great SilenceGordon ("Silence")Sergio CorbucciThe LibertineCarlo De Marchi Pasquale Festa Campanile1969ZChristos SartzetakisCosta-GavrasMetti, una sera a cenaMicheleGiuseppe Patroni GriffiMy Night at Maud'sJean-Louis Éric Rohmer BrunoMarcel BozzuffiSo Sweet... So PerverseJean ReynaudUmberto Lenzi1970The ConformistMarcello Clerici Bernardo BertolucciLe VoyouSimon Duroc Claude Lelouch1971Ramparts of Claythe entrepreneurJean-Louis BertucelliL'Opium et le BâtonChaudierAhmed RachediWithout Apparent Motive Stéphane Carella Philippe Labro1972...and Hope to DieAntoine CardotRené ClémentThe AssassinationFrançois DarienYves BoissetThe Outside ManLucien BellonJacques Deray1973The TrainJulien Maroyeur Pierre Granier-DeferreA Full Day's Workdirected1974Violins at the BallMichel Michel DrachSuccessive Slidings of Pleasurethe police officerAlain Robbe-GrilletLe Mouton enragéNicolas Mallet Michel Deville The SecretDavid Daguerre Robert Enrico1975L'AgressionPaul VarlinGérard PirèsFlic StoryÉmile BuissonJacques DerayIl pleut sur SantiagoSenatorHelvio SotoPlaying with Firele bel homme / l'homme de mainAlain Robbe-GrilletThe Sunday WomanMassimo CampiLuigi Comencini1976The Desert of the TartarsRovinValerio Zurlini Le Voyage de noces Paul Carter Nadine TrintignantFred MalonGérard Pirès1977The PassengersAlex MoineauSerge LeroyRepéragesVictorMichel Soutter1978L'Argent des autresHenri Rainier Christian de Chalonge 1980The Lady BankerHorace VannisterFrancis Girod La terrazzaEnrico D'OrsiEttore ScolaJe vous aime Julien Claude Berri 1981RavicPassion of Lovethe doctorEttore ScolaMalevilFulbertChristian de ChalongeEaux profondesVic AllenMichel Deville1982Commissaire DuchéAlexandre ArcadyDaniel SalmonBlow to the HeartDarioGianni AmelioThe Night at VarennesMonsieur SauceEttore Scola1983Confidentially YoursJulien Vercel François TruffautChristian LacassagnePhilippe LabroUnder FireMarcel JazyRoger Spottiswoode 1984Viva la vie!François GaucherClaude Lelouch1985Next SummerPaulNadine TrintignantPartir, revenirRoland RivièreClaude LelouchRendez-vousScrutzlerAndré TéchinéMayenePierre Granier-Deferre1986A Man and a Woman: 20 Years LaterJean-Louis Duroc Claude LelouchLa Femme de ma viePierreRégis Wargnier1987The Ghost ValleyPaulAlain Tanner1989Bunker Palace HôtelHolmEnki Bilal1991Merci la vieSS officierBertrand Blier 1994Three Colours: RedJoseph Kern Krzysztof Kieślowski1995The City of Lost Children Uncle IrvinJean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc CaroVoice only Colonel Masagual Pierre Boutron1996A Self Made HeroAlbert Dehousse (the matured one) Jacques Audiard 1998Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train Lucien Emmerich / Jean-Baptiste EmmerichPatrice Chéreau 2003 Monsieur CannonSamuel Benchetrit 2012 Amour Georges Michael Haneke 2017 Happy End Georges Laurent Michael Haneke 2019 The Best Years of a Life Jean-Louis Duroc Claude Lelouch Final film released during Trintignant's lifetime 2024 The Most Precious of Cargoes Narrator (voice) Michel Hazanavicius Posthumous release; final film role
Awards and honours Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1968Berlin International Film FestivalSilver Bear for Best ActorThe Man Who Lies 1969Cannes Film FestivalBest ActorZ 1986César Award Best Supporting ActorLa Femme de ma vie1994Best ActorThree Colors: Red1995Best Actor 1998Best Supporting ActorThose Who Love Me Can Take the Train 2012Best Actor AmourEuropean Film Award Best Actor Lumière Awards Best Actor Globes de Cristal Award Best Actor International Cinephile Society Award Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor of the Year
References
External links
Jean-Louis Trintignant biography on newwavefilm.com
Jean-Louis Trintignant at New Wave Film