Movies with Jean-Pierre Léaud

Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Face of a Generation Mention the name Jean-Pierre Léaud to any cinephile, and they'll instantly recognize the cherubic features and soulful gaze of one of French cinema's most iconic actors. Léaud's acting career stretches back to his childhood, when he delivered a career-defining performance as the rebellious Antoine Doinel in François Truffaut's The 400 Blows. That breakthrough role would go on to define Léaud's legacy, as he reprised the character in a series of films that chronicled Doinel's coming-of-age with nuance and emotional honesty. But Léaud's talent extends far beyond the Doinel chronicles. He's collaborated with a veritable who's-who of French New Wave directors, from Jean-Luc Godard's freewheeling experimentalism to Agnès Varda's poetic realism. Léaud's chameleonic abilities allow him to disappear into each role, whether playing a brooding intellectual in Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris or a world-weary detective in Jerzy Skolimowski's The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Yet no matter the character, Léaud's innate sensitivity and vulnerability shine through, making him a singular presence on the screen. As the French New Wave's enduring icon, Léaud's name is forever etched in the pantheon of cinema's most captivating performers.