Michel Piccoli, Jean Seberg's Co-Star in "L'attentat" ("French Conspiracy") Dies

French actor Michel Piccoli renowned for performances for directors  Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Bunuel, Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Malle, has died at age 94. 

Piccoli began acting in the 1940s, and starred in films until as late as 2014, among them Jean Renoir’s French Cancan (1955), as Brigitte Bardot's husband in Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963), Luis Buñuel's  Belle de Jour (1967), Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz (1969) and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972).

 

Piccoli starred in director Yves Boisset's political thriller L'attentat (also known as Assassination, French Conspiracy-1972) with Jean Seberg and Roy Scheider.

 

Piccoli won the Best Actor Award at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival for A Leap in the Dark. In 1982, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival for his role in Strange Affair. In 2001 he was the recipient of the Europe Theatre Prize.

The award-winning documentary Jean Seberg: Actress, Activist, Icon tells the true story of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl who beat out 18,000 actresses to play Saint Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." Produced by Emmy-nominated and award-winning filmmakers Garry McGee (McMarr Ltd.), and Kelly Rundle and Tammy Rundle (Fourth Wall Films).

Visit JeanSebergMovie for updates on the documentary, glimpses behind-the-scenes, and all things Jean Seberg.