Jean Marais

(photo kidnapped from centre-iris.fr)

I've seen so few of Jean Marais' films, but those that I have left me astonished. I first saw him in Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty and adored the scene when he tosses his slipper from the balcony to the gravel path below where Liv Tyler was passing. It was such a simple, sweet moment, but it stayed with me for years. While my favourite film of Monsieur Marais' is without question La Belle et la Bête, I feel his best performance was in Orpheus. The subtle curl of his smile or raise of an eyebrow made each expression more endearing and memorable than the last.