Distinguished French leading actor, in films from 1915. Gained a solid reputation on stage as a member of the Comedie Francaise for eleven years. Trained at the Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique in Paris. Co-founded (with his wife, the actress
Yvonne Printemps) the Theatre de la Michodiere in Paris in 1937, and starred in most of its plays. On screen, first came to the fore in
Marcel Pagnol's Marseilles trilogy. Also seen in British films, notably Hitchcock's
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). His most acclaimed performance was as an aristocratic officer in
Jean Renoir's unparalleled masterpiece
The Grand Illusion (1937).