Monday, February 9, 2009

Bernard Blier


Bernard Blier was a French character actor. His rotund features and premature baldness allowed him to often play cuckolded husbands in his early career. He proved to be one of France's most versatile and sought-after character actors, performing interchangeably in comedies and dramas. He often worked in Italian films, particularly in the last decade of his life.

He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his father, a researcher at the Institut Pasteur, was posted at the time. He is the father of director Bertrand Blier, and appeared in a number of his son's films, most notably Buffet froid (1989). He was awarded an Honorary César (the French Oscar) in 1989, a month before he died.