Jean-Louis Barrault


Jean-Louis Barrault was a French actor, director and mime artist. Over his career, he acted in nearly 50 movies including Les beaux jours, Jenny, L'Or dans la Montagne and Under Western Eyes, Jean-Gaspard Deburau in Marcel Carné's film Les Enfants du Paradis and part of an international cast in The Longest Day. He died from a heart attack in Paris at the age of 83.

Career

At Charles Dullin's L'Atelier

Jean-Louis Barrault studied and acted at Charles Dullin's L'Atelier, from 1931-1935.:32 It was here he first met and studied under Étienne Decroux.:41
His first performance as a small role in Ben Jonson's Volpone. At the time, Barrault was unable to afford rent, and Dullin allowed him to sleep in the theatre on Volpone's bed.:16

At the Comédie-Française

From 1942 to 1946 Barrault was a member of the Comédie-Française, performing lead roles in Shakespeare's Hamlet and Corneille's Le Cid.:32

Reflections on the Theatre

Jean-Louis Barrault, Reflections on the Theatre:
Barrault from Melinda Camber Porter's Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture: "When I wake up in the morning I want to feel hungry for life. Desire is what drives me. When I go to sleep, I feel I have experienced a small death, so that I can wake up in the morning renewed and reborn."

Family

In 1940, he married the actress Madeleine Renaud. They founded a number of theatres together and toured extensively, including in South America. They are buried together in the Passy Cemetery in Paris.
He was the uncle of actress Marie-Christine Barrault and sometime sponsor of Peter Brook.

Filmography