Renowned actor of French New Wave

JEAN-PAUL Belmondo was the star of the iconic French New Wave film Breathless, whose crooked boxer’s nose and rakish grin went on to make him one of the country’s most recognisable leading men.

In a career spanning 50 years, Belmondo, pictured, embodied in the 1960s a new type of male star characterised by pure virility rather than their classic good looks. He went on to appear in more than 80 films and worked with a variety of major French directors, from Francois Truffaut to Claude Lelouch.

His career choices were equally varied, from acclaimed art house films to critically lukewarm action and comedy films later on in his career.

His unconventional looks flattened nose, full lips and muscular frame - allowed him to play roles from thug to police officer, thief to priest, Cyrano de Bergerac to an unshakable secret agent. Belmondo was also a gifted athlete who often did his own stunts.

Belmondo was given his first important role by director Claude Sautet in Classe tous risques (Consider All Risks) in which he starred alongside Lino Ventura in 1960. The same year, he appearedin Breathless, which became one of the breakthrough films of the French New Wave.

The movement, which included Truffaut, grouped filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s who abandoned traditional narrative techniques and were known for their mood of youthful iconoclasm.

Following the huge success of Breathless, Belmondo showed the vast array of his talent and his versatility in dramas (Leon Morin, pretre), arthouse movies (Moderato Cantabile) and blockbusters (Cartouche).

In Truffaut’s 1969 Mississippi Mermaid, Belmondo played a tobacco farmer and starred opposite Catherine Deneuve.

Belmondo and Danish-born Anna Karina played a couple on the run in Godard’s 1965 Pierrot le Fou. Belmondo also won a Cesar - the French equivalent of an Oscar - for his role in Lelouch’s 1988 film Itinerary of a Spoiled Child, his final big success.

In the 1980s Belmondo returned to the stage, his first love, and won back the doubting critics.

His comeback role was in a 1987 Paris production of Kean, about an actor famous for his uncontrollable temper and genius.

Peter Shilton, who is 72 today, holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps, and holds the all-time record for the most competitive appearances in world football. At Nottingham Forest, Shilton won many honours, including the First Division championship, two European Cups, a UEFA Super Cup, and the Football League Cup. He represented England in the World Cup in 1982, 1986 and 1990