**Pierre Brasseur** (1905-1972) was a French actor with powerful charisma and a distinctive screen presence.

He is best remembered for his iconic role as Frédérick Lemaître, the histrionic and exuberant actor, in Marcel Carné's masterpiece *Les Enfants du Paradis* (1945).

His cinematic career, which began in the 1930s, saw him starring in numerous important films. Notable among these are Marcel Carné's *Quai des Brumes* (1938), where he played an ambiguous protector, and Henri-Georges Clouzot's *Le Corbeau* (1943), in which he was a doctor under accusation.

Brasseur excelled at portraying complex characters, often cynical, grandiose, or figures on the fringes of society. His acting style was characterized by an almost theatrical vitality and a profound psychological intensity, making him one of the most recognizable and versatile figures of classic French cinema.