Philippe Noiret

Where to watch Philippe Noiret

• Cinema ParadisoMovie · 1988

Biography

Philippe Noiret (1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and attended several prestigious Paris schools, including the Lycée Janson de Sailly. He failed several times to pass his baccalauréat exams, so he decided to study theater. He trained at the Centre Dramatique de l'Ouest and toured with the Théâtre National Populaire for seven years, where he met Monique Chaumette, whom he married in 1962. During that time he developed a career as a nightclub comedian in a duo act with Jean-Pierre Darras, in which he played Louis XIV in an extravagant wig opposite Darras as the dramatist Jean Racine. In these roles they satirized the politics of Charles de Gaulle, Michel Debré and André Malraux. Noiret's screen debut (1949) was an uncredited role in Gigi. In 1955 he appeared in La Pointe Courte directed by Agnès Varda. She said later, "I discovered in him a breadth of talent rare in a young actor." Sporting a pudding-basin haircut, Noiret played a lovelorn youth in the southern fishing port of Sète. He later admitted: "I was scared stiff, and fumbled my way through the part—I am totally absent in the film." He was not cast again until 1960 in Zazie dans le Métro. After playing second leads in Georges Franju's Thérèse Desqueyroux in 1962, and in Le Capitaine Fracasse, from Théophile Gautier's romantic adventure, he became a regular on the French screen, without being cast in major roles until A Matter of Resistance directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau in 1966. He became a star in France with Yves Robert's Alexandre le Bienheureux. "When I began to have success in the movies," Noiret told film critic Joe Leydon at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989, "it was a big surprise for me. For actors of my generation—all the men of 50 or 60 now in French movies—all of us were thinking of being stage actors. Even people like Jean-Paul Belmondo, all of us, we never thought we'd become movie stars. So, at the beginning, I was just doing it for the money, and because they asked me to do it. But after two or three years of working on movies, I started to enjoy it, and to be very interested in it. And I'm still very interested in it, because I've never really understood how it works. I mean, what is acting for the movies? I've never really understood." Noiret was cast primarily as the Everyman character, although he did not hesitate to accept controversial roles, such as in La Grande Bouffe, a film about suicide by overeating, which caused a scandal at Cannes in 1973, and in 1991 André Téchiné cast Noiret in J'embrasse pas (I Don't Kiss), as a melancholy old homosexual obsessed with young male flesh. And in 1987, in The Gold Rimmed Glasses based on Giorgio Bassani's novel about the cramped social life of post-war Ferrara in Italy, he played an elderly and respectable doctor who is gradually suspected of being a covert homosexual with a passion for a beautiful young man (Rupert Everett). Noiret won his first César Award for his role in Vieux Fusil in 1976. His second César came in 1990 for his role in Life and Nothing But. ... Source: Article "Philippe Noiret" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Filmography

1. 2008The Beaches of Agnèsas Self (archive footage)
2. 2003My New Partner IIIas René Boirond
3. 1997On Guardas Duke Philippe d'Orléans
4. 1996Ghost with Driveras Philippe Bruneau-Teissier
5. 1996The Grand Dukesas Victor Vialat
6. 1994The Postmanas Pablo Neruda
7. 1994D'Artagnan's Daughteras D'Artagnan
8. 1994Dead Tiredas Philippe Noiret
9. 1992Max & Jeremieas Robert 'Max' Maxendre
10. 1991I Don't Kissas Romain
11. 1990Uranusas Watrin
12. 1990My New Partner IIas René Boirond
13. 1989Life and Nothing Butas Commander Delaplane
14. 1989The Return of the Musketeersas Cardinal Mazarin
15. 1988Cinema Paradisoas Alfredo
16. 1988Chouans !as Savinien de Kerfadec
17. 1987The Familyas Jean-Luc
18. 1987The Man Who Planted Treesas Narrator (voice)
19. 1987Masksas Christian Legagneur
20. 1986Twist Again in Moscowas Igor Tataïev
21. 1986'Round Midnightas Redon
22. 1986Let's Hope It's a Girlas Leonardo
23. 1985Les Rois du gagas In person at the César Awards ceremony (uncredited)
24. 1984My New Partneras René Boirond
25. 1984Fort Saganneas Dubreuilh
26. 1983Le Grand Carnavalas Étienne Labrouche
27. 1983The Africanas Victor
28. 1982My Friends Act IIas Giorgio Perozzi
29. 1982The North Staras Edouard Binet
30. 1981Coup de Torchonas Lucien Cordier
31. 1981Three Brothersas Raffaele Giuranna
32. 1980Heads or Tailsas Inspecteur Louis Baroni
33. 1980Jupiter's Thighas Antoine Lemercier
34. 1978Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?as Jean-Claude Moulineau
35. 1978Dear Inspectoras Antoine Lemercier
36. 1976The Desert of the Tartarsas General
37. 1976The Judge and the Assassinas Juge Rousseau
38. 1975My Friendsas Il Perozzi
39. 1975The Old Gunas Julien Dandieu
40. 1975Let Joy Reign Supremeas Philip of Orléans
41. 1975Playing with Fireas Georges de Saxe
42. 1974The Secretas Thomas Berthelot
43. 1974The Down-in-the-Hole Gangas Gaspard de Montfermeil
44. 1974Don't Touch the White Woman!as Gen. Terry
45. 1974The Watchmaker of St. Paulas Michel Descombes
46. 1973La Grande Bouffeas Philippe
47. 1973The Serpentas Lucien Berthon
48. 1972The Assassinationas Pierre Garcin
49. 1972The Old Maidas Gabriel Marcassus
50. 1971Murphy's Waras Brezan
51. 1969Topazas Henri Jarre
52. 1969The Assassination Bureauas Monsieur Lucoville
53. 1968Very Happy Alexanderas Alexandre Gartempe
54. 1967Woman Times Sevenas Victor
55. 1967The Night of the Generalsas Inspector Morand
56. 1966Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?as Jean-Jacques Georges, le journaliste
57. 1966A Matter of Resistanceas Jérôme
58. 1960Zazie dans le Métroas Oncle Gabriel
59. 1956La Pointe Courteas Him
60. 1951Oliviaas Béatrice's Lover (uncredited)