French cinema legend Jean-Louis Trintignant has died at home early Friday in the Gard region of southern France at the age of 91. In 160 roles over a glittering 60-year career, the actor’s subtle, powerful performances and distinctive voice left an indelible mark on French and European cinema.
Like his co-stars Yves Montand, Alain Delon and Gérard Dépardieu, Trintignant forged an impressive career punctuated by now-classic roles and rose to fame beyond his native France: From his breakthrough performance in "And God created Woman” (1956) with Brigitte Bardot, to Claude Lelouch’s Palme d’Or winner “A Man and a Woman” (1966) opposite Anouk Aimée – who won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and earned an Oscar nod for her role – to “Amour” (2012), the global coup de coeur for which Trintignant won France’s César for Best Actor at the age of 82. Austrian director Michael Haneke’s end-of-life drama recalled Trintignant and co-star Emmanuelle Riva to longtime foreign admirers and won the pair new fans with five Oscar nods and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film.
