Jean-Paul Belmondo: The Athletic Antihero

Jean-Paul Belmondo burst onto the scene at the very end of the 1950s, but his impact would define the next decade. Born in 1933 in a suburb of Paris to a sculptor father, Belmondo studied at the Conservatoire before making his film debut. His unconventional looks—broken nose, full lips, athletic build—initially limited his opportunities, but would ultimately make him one of French cinema's most distinctive stars.

Belmondo's breakthrough in Godard's "Breathless" (1960) technically belongs to the next era, but his roots were in the 1950s studio system. What he brought was a new kind of masculine energy—playful, physical, irreverent. Unlike the gravitas of Gabin or the beauty of Delon, Belmondo offered accessibility and humor. He could do his own stunts, deliver rapid-fire dialogue, and switch from comedy to drama within a single scene.