Delon, Alain (1935- )

French film actor, director, and producer. He gained international recognition in such films as Réné Clément's Plein Soleil/Purple Noon (1960), Luchino Visconti's Rocco e i suoi fratelli/Rocco and His Brothers (1960) and Il gattopardo/The Leopard (1963), and Michelangelo Antonioni's L'eclisse/The Eclipse (1962). He quickly became known for his striking good looks and ability to play lovers and romantic heroes. In the late 1960s Delon's screen character took on tough, ruthless traits as he came to portray controlled, but deadly, hoodlums and criminals, first seen in Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï/The Samurai (1967).

His subsequent work includes the highly successful Borsalino (1969), in which he played a small-time gangster opposite Jean-Paul Belmondo, Scorpio (1972), Monsieur Klein (1976), Swann in Love (1984), and Nouvelle Vague/New Wave (1990), Le jour et la nuit/Day and Night (1997), and Les acteurs/The Actors (2000). Television appearances include the series Fabio Montale (2001) and Le Lion (2003).