**Jean Martin** (1922-2009) was a French actor, best known for his intense portrayal of Colonel Mathieu in Gillo Pontecorvo's neorealist masterpiece *The Battle of Algiers* (1966). In this iconic role, Martin embodied the figure of the French colonial officer with a blend of authoritarianism, strategic intelligence, and subtle moral ambiguity, imbuing his performance with an austere and incisive quality.

His filmography often includes authoritative, military, or enigmatic characters. Among his other significant cinematic appearances are those in politically charged films such as Costa-Gavras's *Z* (1969), where he played a general. Martin distinguished himself with his magnetic screen presence and his ability to imbue figures of power or command with depth, contributing to define archetypes of principled yet complex men in auteur cinema.