French screen legend Michel Piccoli dead at 94

FILE --- French actor Michel Piccoli during a press conference at the Cinematheque Suisse in Lausanne, Switzerland, October 27, 2008. Piccoli, aged 94, died May 12, 2020, according to AFP. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

Michel Piccoli, the French screen star known for roles in Luis Bunuel's Belle de jour and Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt, has died. He was 94.

The actor's family confirmed his death last week to AFP and Le Figaro on Monday. Piccoli's vast filmography, which spanned more than 200 films from 1949 to as recently as 2015, included a number of Bunuel's films, including Belle de jour, The Milky Way and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

He also garnered acclaim for Godard's Contempt (also known as Le Mepris), Jacques Rivette's La Belle Noiseuse, Louis Malle's Milou in May, Richard Dembo's Dangerous Moves and Peter Del Monte's Traveling Companion.

Most recently, Piccoli starred in Leos Carax's Holy Motors (2012) and Nanni Moretti's We Have a Pope (2011), for which he won the David di Donatello prize for Best Actor.

He also provided the narration for Bertrand Mandico's short film Our Lady of Hormones in 2015.

Piccoli picked up a Best Actor prize in Cannes in 1980 for Marco Bellochio's A Leap in the Dark. He also won the 1982 Silver Bear prize for Best Actor in Berlin for Pierre Granier-Deferre's Strange Affair.

Outside of film, Piccoli also starred in a number of plays and directed three films, including short Train de Nuit, and features Alors voila, The Black Beach and C'est pas tout a fait la vie dont j'avais reve.

The actor was married three times, most recently to actor Ludivine Clerc. – By Manori Ravindran/Reuters