Philippe Noiret (October 1, 1930 - November 23, 2006) was a French film actor.
Noiret was born in Lille, northern France.
He failed several times to pass his baccalauréat exams, so he decided to study theater. He trained at the Centre Dramatique de l'Ouest and toured with the Théâtre National Populaire for seven years. There, he met his wife Monique Chaumette, whom he married in 1962. At the same time, he developed a career as a nightclub comedian in a duo act with Jean-Pierre Darras.
Noiret debuted on the screen in 1949 in an uncredited role in Gigi. In 1956 he appeared in La Pointe Courte directed by Agnès Varda. He was not cast again until 1960 in Zazie dans le métro. After his role in Thérèse Desqueyroux in 1962, he became a regular on the French screen, without being cast in major roles until La Vie de château directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau in 1966. He became a star in France with Alexandre le Bienheureux in 1967. At this point, he started to devote himself entirely to the screen.
Noiret could not play romantic leads, so he was cast primarily as the Everyman character, although he did not hesitate to accept controversial roles, such as in La Grande Bouffe, a film about suicide by overeating, which caused a scandal at Cannes in 1973.
Noiret won his first César Award for Vieux Fusil in 1976. His second César came in 1990 for La Vie et rien d'autre.
Noiret is best known internationally for his role as Alfredo in Cinema Paradiso and the role of Pablo Neruda in Il Postino.
Noiret died in Paris in 2006, aged 76, from cancer.
