Jean-Paul Belmondo
What?! That Jean-Paul Belmondo?! Oh yes, that Jean-Paul Belmondo. For before he became the Brando of the Nouvelle Vague, J-P was a stunt performer with few equals. Although a graduate of Paris’ Conservatoire Des Arts Dramaturgies, Belmondo was always more interested in playing action heroes than serious roles. However, the charismatic Frenchman wasn’t interested in simply acting tough; between his screen debut in 1956 and 1985’s Hold-Up, he performed all his own on-screen falls, crashes and fights. Such devotion to his craft left Belmondo with a face less lived in as vandalised. Still, it didn’t impede his success with the ladies. As the man himself once said, “Everybody knows an ugly guy with a good line gets the chicks.”
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