\u201cHe had been very tired for some time. He died peacefully,\u201d his lawyer, Michel Godest, said.<\/p>\n
Belmodo, who was known in France as B\u00e9bel, rose to international fame thanks to his role in Jean-Luc Godard\u2019s New Wave classic Breathless in 1960 before starring in Philippe de Broca\u2019s That Man From Rio in 1964.<\/p>\n
With his crooked nose, courtesy of a brief career in boxing, Belmodo\u2019s rugged appearance was a contrast to that of his contemporaries \u2013 and managed to captivate audiences in France and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\""Jean-Paul\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/GettyImages-505615985-e52c495.jpg?quality=90&resize=319%2C413"\" "\\"\"Jean-Paul\\"")
<\/div>Belmodo was the\u00a0son of \u201cpied-noir\u201d sculptor Paul Belmondo, and was born and grew up in the wealthy\u00a0Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine. He went to several private schools and pursued acting after contracting tuberculosis.<\/p>\n
Despite going onto star in over 80 films \u2013 many of which went on to become international blockbusters \u2013 Belmodo was told he wouldn\u2019t make it in the industry, with one of his teachers at the Paris Conservatory telling saying:\u00a0\u201cMr Belmondo will never succeed with his hooligan\u2019s face.\u201d<\/p>\n
He preferred to work on French films, and was usually cast in\u00a0gangsters and low-lifes roles. Belmodo expanded his collaboration with Breathless director Godard, appearing in 1961\u2019s A Woman Is A Woman.<\/p>\n
He also enjoyed an international career which included starring roles in Peter Brook\u2019s adaptation of Moderato Cantabile and Two Women, in which he starred alongside another icon of the time, Sophia Loren.<\/p>\n
Despite such prestigious credentials, Belmodo was criticised for moving from arthouse cinema to more commercial projects later in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen an actor is successful, people turn their back on him and say that he has taken the easy way out, that he doesn\u2019t want to make an effort or take any risks,\u201d he once said. \u201cBut if it was so easy to fill cinemas, then the film world would be in much better health than it is. I don\u2019t think I would have stayed in the limelight for so long if I was doing any old rubbish. People aren\u2019t that stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n