Michel Bouquet (1925-2022) was a French actor, a monumental figure in 20th and 21st-century theatre and cinema. A performer of extraordinary precision and with unmistakable diction, he was a key interpreter of the Theatre of the Absurd of Eugène Ionesco, delivering a landmark performance in *Exit the King*, as well as of the classics of Molière. On the big screen, he was an iconic face of the French New Wave and auteur cinema, collaborating extensively with Claude Chabrol, for whom he embodied complex bourgeois characters (*The Unfaithful Wife*, *Just Before Nightfall*), and with François Truffaut (*The Bride Wore Black*). His career was crowned with numerous awards, including two César Awards for Best Actor: in 2002 for *How I Killed My Father* and in 2006 for his acclaimed portrayal of François Mitterrand in *The Last Mitterrand*. He also received two Molière Awards for his stage performances, cementing his status as an undisputed master both on stage and on screen.