Charles Denner

A stage-experienced French performer who emigrated from Poland at the age of four, Denner worked with many of the major filmmakers of post-war France. After making his film debut in 1955 , he appeared in Louis Malle's "Ascenseur pour l'echafaud/Elevator to the Gallows" (1957). Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Denner worked with Claude Chabrol a total of five times, notably playing a murderous womanizer in "Landru" (1962), and a Jewish taxi driver in "Robert et Robert" (1978). Claude Berri chose Denner to portray a character based on the director's father in "Le Vieil Homme et l'Enfant" (1966), which dealt with a Jewish child hidden during the Nazi occupation of France. He was featured in Costa-Gavras' award-winning "Z" (1969). Denner teamed with Francois Truffaut for three appearances: "The Bride Wore Black" (1968); "Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me" (1972); and most memorably as the unlikely title character in "The Man Who Loved Women" (1977). His last film appearance was in the musical comedy "Golden Eighties" in 1986.