Jean-Louis Barrault

Jean-Louis Barrault

Jean-Louis Barrault (8 September 1910, Le Vésinet, Yvelines – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist, training that served him well when he portrayed the 19th-century mime Jean-Gaspard Deburau (Baptiste Debureau) in Marcel Carné's 1945 film Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise). Jean-Louis Barrault studied with Charles Dullin in whose troupe he acted from 1933 to 1935. At 25 years of age, he met and studied with the mime Étienne Decroux. From 1940 to 1946 he was a member of the Comédie-Française, where he directed productions of Paul Claudel's Le Soulier de satin and Jean Racine's Phèdre, two plays that made his reputation. Over his career, he acted in nearly 50 movies including Les beaux jours, Jenny, L'Or dans la Montagne and Sous les Yeux d'occident. In 1940, he married the actress Madeleine Renaud. They founded a number of theatres together and toured extensively, including in South America. He was the uncle of actress Marie-Christine Barrault and sometime sponsor of Peter Brook. He died from a heart attack in Paris at the age of 83. Jean-Louis Barrault is buried with his wife Madeleine Renaud in the Passy Cemetery in Paris. Jean-Louis Barrault, Reflections on the Theatre:     "In fact it is the simplest things that are the most tricky to do well. To read, for example. To be able to read exactly what is written without omitting anything that is written and at the same time without adding anything of one's own. To be able to capture the exact context of the words one is reading. To be able to read!" 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." Description above from the Wikipedia article Jean-Louis Barrault, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​
    Known for
    Acting
    Place of birth
    Le Vésinet, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France
    Birthday
    September 1910
Children of Paradise
Children of Paradise
8.1
The Doctor's Horrible Experiment
The Doctor's Horrible Experiment
6.6
The Longest Day
The Longest Day
7.587
Chappaqua
Chappaqua
6.9
The Puritan
The Puritan
5.8
The Night of Varennes
The Night of Varennes
6.8
Venom and Eternity
Venom and Eternity
6.7
Royal Affairs in Versailles
Royal Affairs in Versailles
6.8
The Pearls of the Crown
The Pearls of the Crown
6.1
La Symphonie fantastique
La Symphonie fantastique
5.7
Jenny
Jenny
5.8
Angel of the Night
Angel of the Night
0
Blood on His Sword
Blood on His Sword
5.7
Bizarre, Bizarre
Bizarre, Bizarre
6.8
Street of Shadows
Street of Shadows
7
The Big Scare
The Big Scare
6
Mlle. Desiree
Mlle. Desiree
5.5
Under Western Eyes
Under Western Eyes
6.2
La Ronde
La Ronde
7.5
Orage
Orage
6.5
The Life and Loves of Beethoven
The Life and Loves of Beethoven
6.8
Man to Men
Man to Men
4.2
The Birth of Children of Paradise
0
Montmartre on the Seine
Montmartre on the Seine
7
Mirages
Mirages
7
Happy Days
Happy Days
0
Hélène
Hélène
1
Youth in Revolt
Youth in Revolt
6
Musée Grévin
0
The Southern Trail
The Southern Trail
5
La Rose et le réséda
0
Blind Desire
Blind Desire
5
Le Fantôme de Laurent Terzieff
Le Fantôme de Laurent Terzieff
6
L'Or dans la montagne
L'Or dans la montagne
0
À nous deux, madame la vie
À nous deux, madame la vie
9
Social Police
Social Police
0
I Accuse
I Accuse
6.1
Parade in 7 Nights
Parade in 7 Nights
4.5
Vagabonds imaginaires
Vagabonds imaginaires
0
With André Gide
With André Gide
1
To Be Hamlet
To Be Hamlet
0
The Dialogue of the Carmelites
The Dialogue of the Carmelites
6.2