The Great Acting Blog: “The Piccoli Strategy”

“the only thing that is important is to work with directors of talent” – Michel Piccoli

 

Michel Piccoli is one of the greatest actors of all time.

His body of work is remarkable.  It starts in 1949 and continues until today, and includes over 200 films.

He has worked with Claude Chabrol, Jacques Demy, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, Jean Renoir, Claude Sautet, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Agnes Varda, Leos Carax, Jacques Doillon, Luis Bunuel (six films), Alfred Hitchcock, and….I could go on, but you get the idea. In addition, he counted Robert Bresson as a friend, and only failed to work with him because Bresson preferred to use people who had never stepped in front of a camera before (although Piccoli had suggested they make The Invisible Man, with Piccoli himself in the title role).

In a 2002 interview, Piccoli put his achievements down to the fact that he chose projects based on the talent and passion of the director, not on their commercial viability – and it is for this reason also, he works without an agent. He works only with directors he believes in.

 

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