Philippe Noiret qualifies as the ultimate European Renaissance actor. A burly, unconventionally handsome figure with a distinct countenance, Noiret established himself as a force on stage and screen, effortlessly straddled countless genres, and graced the casts of French, Italian, British, and occasional American films up through the end of his life.

Born in Lille, France, on October 1, 1930, Noiret trained as a thespian at the Comedie de l'Ouest and subsequently joined Jean Vilar's TNP stage ensemble. He segued into film at the behest of Agnès Varda — then a photographer assigned to snap pictures of the TNP — in her 1955 directorial debut, La Pointe Courte. In that picture, Noiret and Sylvia Montfort play a Parisian couple who migrate to a rural village and attempt to sort out their relationship while the town organizes a workers' union.

In 1959, 27-year-old Louis Malle — the youngest recipient of the Golden Palm in movie history and a cause célèbre for his scandalous 1958 picture Les Amants — sought an actor to play Gabriel, the transvestite uncle of the foul-mouthed 11-year-old prankster Zazie, in his surrealistic adaptation of Raymond Queneau's absurdist novel Zazie dans le Metro (1960). By its very nature, …  » Read more