French cinema titan Jean-Louis Trintignant dead at 91

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Jean-Louis Trintignant, the French star of many celebrated European films shown on the silver screen over the past half a century, passed away on Friday at his home at 91.

Trintignant had announced his retirement in 2018, citing medical issues he was facing, namely prostate cancer.

He left behind a renowned portfolio and an acting career that many have celebrated, such as his performance in Claude Lelouch's "A Man and a Woman," Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Confromist," and Eric Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's".

Trintignant's specialty has been pinpointed as portraying the flawed ordinary person who uncovered the complexities of his character slowly, with many critics describing him as one of the greatest stealth actors in the industry.

The French actor's career took off with an acclaimed breakthrough with his performance in Roger Vadim's 1956 "And God Created Woman" against Brigitte Bardot, and he capstoned it with another critically acclaimed performance in Michael Haneke's 2012 "Amour", for which he won the 2013 César Award for Best Actor. That was one of his five nominations to receive the César.

With great, early-on success, he received his first major acting award for Alain Robbe-Grillet's "The Man Who Lies", winning the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 1968 Berlin International Film Festival. 

The actor's success carried on to the following year, winning Best Actor at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Costa-Gavras's timeless political thriller "Z".

Following several César nominations for his performances in Régis Wargnier's "The Woman of My Life"; Krzysztof Kieślowsk's "Three Colors: Red"; Pierre Boutron's "Fiesta"; and Patrice Chéreau's "Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train", he was finally able to win the award for his 2012 performance in "Amour".

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Trintignant's first leading role in the millennium when he took the reins in Haneke's 2012 success was praised by many. He played the role of a frail old man caring for his dying wife, and he had millions sympathizing with his character due to his brilliant performance. His co-start was Emmanuelle Riva, with the two described by The Times as "two titans of French Cinema".

Riva broke records due to her performance in the movie, becoming the oldest person to win a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role at 85 years of age.

The movie went on to be named the 42nd best film of the 21st century in 2016 in a poll of 177 film critics after securing numerous nominations and awards, such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress from the Academy, the Palme d'Or, and Best Film from the César, among many others.