Jean-Pierre Léaud
Biography
Jean‑Pierre Léaud (born 28 May 1944 in Paris, France) is a French male actor whose career is closely associated with the French New Wave. He first gained prominence when director François Truffaut cast him as Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows (1959), a role he reprised in several subsequent Truffaut films, extending the story of the rebellious youth across decades. Léaud has appeared in eight films directed by Jean‑Luc Godard and seven by Truffaut, underscoring his status as a key figure of that movement. His collaborations also include work with directors Aki Kaurismäki, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jacques Rivette and Tsai Ming‑liang. According to TMDB, he is credited with 129 acting roles and is also listed under the alternate spelling Jean Pierre Leaud.
Career overview
Jean-Pierre Léaud was born on 28 May 1944 in Paris, France. He is the son of screenwriter Pierre Léaud and actress Jacqueline Pierreux. At the age of fourteen he was discovered by François Truffaut, who cast him in the role that would define his early career. Léaud’s most celebrated performance is that of Antoine Doinel, a character introduced in Truffaut’s 1959 film The 400 Blows. The actor continued to portray Doinel in subsequent Truffaut pictures, including the Czech‑titled films Ukradené polibky and Rodinný krb, extending the story of the wayward youth across several decades.
Beyond his work with Truffaut, Léaud became a central figure of the French New Wave, appearing in eight films directed by Jean‑Luc Godard and seven by Truffaut. His collaborations also span a range of international auteurs, having worked with Aki Kaurismäki, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jacques Rivette and Tsai Ming‑liang. In addition to these landmark projects, his filmography includes titles such as Nikdo mne nemá rád, Americká noc and Antoine et Colette. Over a career that encompasses more than a hundred credited performances, Léaud remains recognized for his enduring association with the youthful, rebellious spirit embodied by Antoine Doinel and for his extensive contributions to avant‑garde cinema.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full Filmography
134 titles- Léaud et les Bas (2026) as Self (Footage)
- Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema (2024) as Self - Actor (archive footage)
- Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema (2024) Thanks
- Godard Cinema (2023) as Self (archive footage)
- Quando a Coisa Vira Outra (2022) as Self (archive footage)
- Morceaux de Cannes (2021)
- Les secrets de François Truffaut (2020) as Self
- I shot Antoine Doinel (2019) as Self
- Introducing My Father, François Truffaut (2019) as Self (Archive Footage)
- André Malraux: Writer, Politician, Adventurer (2019) as Self - Actor (archive footage)
- C'è tempo (2019) as Self
- Alien Crystal Palace (2018) as Horus
- The Lion Sleeps Tonight (2018) as Jean
- M (2017) as Le père de Lila
- The Death of Louis XIV (2016) as Louis XIV
- El Brujo (2016)
- François Truffaut l'insoumis (2014) as Self (archive footage)
- Camille Rewinds (2012) as Monsieur Dupont - l'horloger
- Le Havre (2011) as The Whistleblower
- Visage (2009) as Antoine / King Herode
- The Chalk Circle Man (2009) as Le Nermord
- On the Trail of the New Wave (2009) as Self (archive footage)
- Flowers in the Mirror, Moon in the Water (2009) as Self / Antoine / King Herode
- I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed (2005) as Georges Franju
- A Wonderful Spell (2004) as Fernand
- Cinema, Sex, Politics: Bertolucci Makes ‘The Dreamers’ (2004) as Self (uncredited)
- Léaud de Hurle-dents (2004) as Self
- The Dreamers (2003) as Jean-Pierre Léaud
- In the Darkness of Time (2002) as (archive footage) (uncredited)
- The War in Paris (2002) as Haut Placé
- The Pornographer (2001) as Jacques Laurent
- Léaud l'unique (2001) as Self - actor
- What Time Is It There? (2001) as Man at Cemetery
- 1968 - Without Losing Tenderness (2001) as Self
- The Marcorelle Affair (2000) as François Marcorelle
- A Matter of Taste (2000) as Investigating judge
- Innocent (1999) as Le poète
- Elizabeth (1998) as (uncredited)
- Just for Laughs (1997) as Nicolas Gardinier
- Jean Eustache's Wasted Breath (1997) as Self
- Irma Vep (1996) as René Vidal
- My Man (1996) as Client
- Diary of a Seducer (1996) as Hugo
- One Hundred and One Nights (1995) as The Second Jean-Pierre (uncredited)
- Nobody Loves Me (1994) as Lucien
- François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits (1993) as Self (archive footage)
- The Birth of Love (1993) as Marcus
- La Vie de Bohème (1992) as Blancheron
- Paris Awakens (1991) as Clément
- C'est la vie (1991)
- Out 1 (1990) as Colin
- I Hired a Contract Killer (1990) as Henri
- Bunker Palace Hotel (1989) as Solal
- The Ministries of Art (1989) as Self
- Paperback Woman (1989) as Marc
- 36 Fillette (1988) as Boris Golovine
- Jane B. by Agnès V. (1988) as The Angry Lover
- The Color of the Wind (1988) as Decourt
- Boran -Time to Aim (1987) as Assistant
- Lady Cops (1987) as Commissaire Bouvreuil
- Ossegg oder Die Wahrheit über Hänsel und Gretel (1987) as Georg Ossegg
- With All Hands (1986) as Marcel
- Treasure Island (1986) as Midas
- Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company (1986) as Gaspard Bazin
- Detective (1985) as Inspector Neveu
- Vivement Truffaut (1985) as Self / Doinel (archive footage)
- L'Herbe rouge (1985) as Lazuli
- Just a Movie (1985) as Péter - a rendezõ
- Série noire (1984) as Gaspard Bazin
- La cassure (1984) as Police Commissioner Rauffast
- Rebelote (1984) as Rémi Chauveau
- Paris Seen By... 20 Years After (1984) as René (segment 3)
- Mersonne ne m'aime (1982) as Daniel Flipo-Risq
- Pour Bonnie (1982) as Charles Blaine
- Véra (1982)
- Parano (1981) as Ignazio
- Help Me Dream (1981) as Mario
- Le petit Pommier (1981) as Le vendeur de La Belle Aubaine
- Love on the Run (1979) as Antoine Doinel
- Ciné regards (1978) as Self
- Hugs and Other Things (1976) as Tom
- Lola's Lolos (1976) as Bernard Dubois
- Spécial cinéma (1974) as Self
- De quoi s'agit-il? (1974) Director
- Day for Night (1973) as Alphonse
- The Mother and the Whore (1973) as Alexandre
- L'Éducation sentimentale (1973) as Frédéric Moreau
- Out 1: Spectre (1973) as Colin
- Last Tango in Paris (1972) as Tom
- Out 1 (1971) as Colin
- Two English Girls (1971) as Claude Roc
- The Lion Has Seven Heads (1971) as Preacher
- A Girl Is a Gun (1971) as Billy le Kid
- Bed and Board (1970) as Antoine Doinel
- The Wild Child (1970) Thanks
- The Heirs (1970) as Danton
- Paul (1969) as Paul
- Pigsty (1969) as Julian Klotz
- Joy of Learning (1969) as Émile Rousseau (uncredited)
- Bad Company (1969) as Daniel (archive footage)
- Stolen Kisses (1968) as Antoine Doinel
- Françoise et Udo... (1968) as Self
- Concentration (1968)
- Dialogue 20-40-60 (1968) as Adamík (segment "The Twenty-Year-Olds")
- The Twenty-Year-Olds (1968) as Adamik
- Weekend (1967) as Saint-Just / Le Jeune Minet du 16ème (uncredited)
- La Chinoise (1967) as Guillaume
- Made in U.S.A (1967) as Donald Siegel
- Made in U.S.A (1967) Assistant Director
- The Oldest Profession (1967) as The Bellhop (segment "Anticipation") (uncredited)
- The Departure (1967) as Marc
- Anticipation, or Love in the Year 2000 (1967) as The Bellboy
- Masculin Féminin (1966) as Paul
- Santa Claus Has Blue Eyes (1966) as Daniel
- Pierrot le Fou (1965) as Young Man in Cinema (uncredited)
- Pierrot le Fou (1965) Assistant Director
- Alphaville (1965) as Breakfast Waiter (uncredited)
- Alphaville (1965) Assistant Director
- Love at Sea (1965) as The Boy at the Exit of the Cinema
- Filmmakers of Our Time: François Truffaut or the Critical Spirit (1965) as Self
- Pour le plaisir (1964) as Self
- The Soft Skin (1964) Assistant Director Trainee
- The Married Woman (1964) Assistant Director
- Nadja in Paris (1964) as Self
- Mata Hari, Agent H21 (1964) as Absalon
- Mata Hari, Agent H21 (1964) Assistant Director
- Antoine and Colette (1962) as Antoine Doinel
- Love at Twenty (1962) as Antoine Doinel (segment "Antoine et Colette")
- Boulevard (1960) as Georges Castagnier, dit "Jojo"
- Testament of Orpheus (1960) as Dargelos, l'écolier
- The 400 Blows (1959) as Antoine Doinel
- King on Horseback (1958) as Pierrot
- Cinépanorama (1956) as Self
- Reflets de Cannes (1954) as Self
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies or TV shows is Jean-Pierre Léaud best known for?
Jean-Pierre Léaud is widely recognized for notable roles and projects including Le Havre (2011), The Dreamers (2003), Your Summer, My Storm (2026), Wind Flower (2005).
When and where was Jean-Pierre Léaud born?
Jean-Pierre Léaud was born on May 28, 1944 in Paris, France.
How many credits does Jean-Pierre Léaud have?
Jean-Pierre Léaud has accumulated over 134 film and television credits across a career spanning from 1954 to 2026.
What is Jean-Pierre Léaud's background in cinema and television?
Jean‑Pierre Léaud (born 28 May 1944 in Paris, France) is a French male actor whose career is closely associated with the French New Wave. He first gained prominence when director François Truffaut cast him as Antoine Doinel in The 400 Blows (1959), a role he reprised in several subsequent Truffaut films, extending the ...
Jean-Pierre Léaud by the numbers
Age in their best-rated roles
- Spécial cinéma (1974) as Self — aged about 30
- Cinépanorama (1956) as Self — aged about 12
- The 400 Blows (1959) as Antoine Doinel — aged about 15
- Day for Night (1973) as Alphonse — aged about 29
- Testament of Orpheus (1960) as Dargelos, l'écolier — aged about 16
- The Mother and the Whore (1973) as Alexandre — aged about 29
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