Alain Delon How did the butcher, sailor and self-taught actor become a legend of twentieth-century French cinema?
Today, the French actor of Corsican descent and the kidnapper of more than a generation of women's hearts is 87 years old. The actor, whose name has become synonymous with beautiful men, was born on November 8, 1935 in the suburbs of Paris. The parents of Alain Delon (full name - Alain Fabian Maurice Marcel Delon) divorced when he was 3 years old. His mother soon married, and the boy was raised by his stepfather, a butcher, who taught him the technique of sharpening various knives.
With the future movie star's research, things didn't go forward: He was expelled from six schools for misconduct. Then his parents decided that traditional education was not for him, and perhaps inheriting his stepfather's profession might have been a wrong choice. Alain didn't mind doing the job and quickly mastered the art of cutting meat. So, in his youth, he worked in a butcher shop and a sausage shop.
At the age of 17, the future actor had a dream of becoming a test pilot. However, the enrollment of flight schools that year had stopped, but the French army needed recruits. The future actor was flattered by earning 200,000 francs, so he went to serve in the paratrooper units of the Marine Corps and fought in the war in Indochina.
Much later, DeLong, who was already a famous actor, admitted in an interview: "This is the happiest of my life." It made me who I was and who I am now.
After demobilization, the former senior sailor Delon quickly spent all the money earned from military service in Paris. To make ends meet, he got a job as a waitress in a bar, and friends in Paris persuaded Alain to try his luck in acting, so he enthusiastically conquered Mount Olympus.
However, French producers and directors are in no hurry to offer him a role, and they give a common reason - you are too beautiful and you will not have a successful career. However, the up-and-coming actor decided to go all out to the top. In this way, together with the famous French actor Jean-Claude Briarily, who also began his film career, he traveled to Cannes during the International Film Festival in the hope of attracting attention.
The plan worked. At this time, the American film industry was looking for a replacement for the recently deceased James Dean and sent scouts everywhere, and he was named one of the "25 Greatest Screen Legends in the Century" by the American Film Institute (ranked 18th). So, attention was paid to the handsome young man and offered him a contract to work in Hollywood, but only with conditions - perfect mastery of English in three months. Needless to say, Alain paid a lot for such a goal.
In the American film, Alain Delon was supposed to replace the late Hollywood rebel James Dean, however, Alain Delon's film debut was released in France, so, the film did not become a huge success, but the novice actor gained his first professional experience. Alain Delon had no acting education in his life, but he developed the experience of becoming a celebrity – fencing, stage speeches and facial expressions.
The film that made Alain Delon a young international star was an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, where he played the main role. Critics and viewers gladly accepted the photo. In the world of cinema about DeLong, he is said to have a unique combination of "the soul of the devil" and "the face of an angel".
The actor's career went uphill, and film studios from France, Italy and the United States were willing to pay him handsomely. Since then, it has been out of control.
Alain Delon announced the end of his acting career in 2017. Six months ago, he impressed the public by announcing his desire to die through euthanasia. Now that the actor is alive and relatively healthy, this cannot but delight his many fans around the world.
