Michel Blanc

French actor and director noted for playing losers and hypochondriacs (for example, in Les Bronzés), but also more serious roles like the lead in Monsieur Hire. He belonged to the "Le Splendid" troupe. In 2015, he appeared in Les Souvenirs, directed by Jean-Paul Rouve.

He was sometimes dubbed a "sad clown" in the press, but he said this missed the mark. He told the French media and culture Télérama, "I’m not a sad clown at all, I’m a worried clown".

Blanc is one of a few people to have won awards at the Cannes Film Festival in both a creative and performing role, winning the Male Acting Prize in 1986 for Antoine in Tenue de Soirée, and the Best Screenplay Prize for Grosse Fatigue in 1994.

Michel Blanc died after an anaphylactic shock, on 3 October 2024 at 11 PM, aged 72, at Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris.