Michel Constantin (born Constantin Hokhloff; 13 July 1924 – 28 August 2003) was a French actor and professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player. He was the men’s national volleyball champion from 1954 to 1956, before making his film debut as a convict in the 1960 prison thriller '' The Hole''. Thanks to his stature and striking features, he became a popular

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

crime films Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but al ...

, often playing thugs and gangsters. He appeared in several films alongside his friend

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...

during the 1970's.

Biography

Born Constantin Hokhloff in Billancourt (near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

), he was the son of a White Russian emigre father and his Polish wife. Hokhloff's father was a former officer in the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

, of Kalmyk descent. He had met Hokhloff's mother while he was stationed in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

. After the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, the coupled moved to Paris, along with many other White emigres. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked at the Renault factories in Boulogne-Billancourt, where his family lived.

Volleyball

Thanks to his height (1.85 meters) and athletic ability, Constantin was recruited by the

team of Club olympique de Billancourt (CO Billancourt) in 1943. He switched teams to

Racing Club de France Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French multi-sport club that was founded on 20 April 1882 under the name Racing Club. Racing Club changed its name to Racing Club de France (RCF) on 21 November 1885. The club is located at the Bois ...

for the 1947-48 season, but returned to CO Billancourt the following season. As setter, he led the team to French national championships in 1954, 1955 and 1956. It was during this period that he changed his name to Michel Constantin. During this time, he was also a freelance reporter for the sports journal ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

''.

Acting

Constantin appeared as an extra in the 1956 film '' Plucking the Daisy'', but made his first significant acting debut in the 1960 prison thriller ''The Hole''. Director

Jacques Becker Jacques Becker (; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter. His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led th ...

and screenwriter

José Giovanni José Giovanni (22 June 1923, Paris, France – 24 April 2004, Lausanne, Switzerland) was the pseudonym of Joseph Damiani, a French writer and film-maker of Corsican origin who became a naturalized Swiss citizen in 1986. A former collaborationi ...

sought to recruit a cast of non-professional actors to play the various convicts. Becker's son

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

knew Constantin from his volleyball days, and recommended him for the part. The film was a critical and commercial success, and enabled Constantin's transition into an acting career.

Partial filmography

* '' Plucking the Daisy'' (1956) - Un spectateur du strip-tease (uncredited) * '' The Hole'' ''(Le Trou)'' (1960) - Jo Cassine * '' A Man Named Rocca'' (1961) - Le chef des racketteurs américains * '' The Law of Men'' (1962) - Paulo * '' Maigret Sees Red'' (1963) - Cicero * '' The Gorillas'' (1964) - Otto, le légionnaire (uncredited) * '' The Wise Guys'' ''(Les Grandes Gueules)'' (1965) - Skida * '' Ne nous fâchons pas'' (1966) - Jeff * '' Le deuxième souffle'' (1966) - Alban * '' Dirty Heroes'' ''(Dalle Ardenne all'inferno)'' (1967) - Sgt Rudolph Petrowsky * ' (1967) - Stan * ''Jerk à Istambul'' (1967) - Vincent * ' (1967) - Georges * '' The Southern Star'' (1969) - Jose * ' (1969) - Chamoun * '' A Very Curious Girl'' ''(La Fiancée du pirate)'' (1969) - André * ''L'ardoise'' (1970) - Théo Gilani * '' Last Known Address'' ''(Dernier domicile connu)'' (1970) - Greg * '' Children of Mata Hari'' ''(La Peau de Torpedo)'' (1970) - Coster * ' (1970) - René * '' Violent City'' (1970) - Killain * '' The Cop'' ''(Un condé)'' (1970) - Viletti * '' Cold Sweat'' (1970) - Whitey * ' (1971) - Michel * '' The Lion's Share'' (1971) - Inspecteur Michel Grazzi * ' (1972) - Commissaire Campana * ' (1972) - Weiss * '' La Scoumoune'' (1972) - Xavier Saratov * '' The Outside Man'' ''(Un homme est mort)'' (1972) - Antoine * ' (1973) - Marius Fantoni 'Fanto' * '' Le mataf'' (1973) - Bernard Solville * '' Special Killers'' (1973) - Inspector Palma * ' (1973) - Capt. Augier * ' (1974) - Mario (uncredited) * ''

Un linceul n'a pas de poches ''Un linceul n'a pas de poches'' (English: ''No Pockets in a Shroud'') is a French film directed by Jean-Pierre Mocky in 1974. Plot A journalist, Michel Dolannes, decides to use his newspaper to denounce the corruption of the established system. O ...

'' (1974) - Culi * '' The Beast'' ''(Il bestione)'' (1974) - Sandro Colautti * '' La guerre du pétrole n'aura pas lieu'' (1975, writer) * '' The Track'' (1975) - Capitaine Nimier * ' (1975) - Guilloux * ''

Sahara Cross ''Sahara Cross'' is a 1977 Italian action film directed by Tonino Valerii. It is the first Italian film to use steadicam.David Ballerini, ''Steadicam. Una rivoluzione nel modo di fare cinema'', Falsopiano, Alessandria 1999, p. 70. Plot Cast ...

'' (1977) * ''

The Inglorious Bastards ''The Inglorious Bastards'' () is a 1978 Italian Euro War film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Jackie Basehart, and Ian Bannen. The film, which concerns a group of prisoners who are dra ...

'' ''(Quel maledetto treno blindato)'' (1978) - Veronique * ''Ça fait tilt'' (1978) - Raymond Legris * ''Plein les poches pour pas un rond...'' (1978) - Steff, le taxi * ''Signé Furax'' (1981) - Grougnache * ''Cappotto di legno'' (1981) - Don Vincenzo Talascio * ' (1982) - Alexandre Gagnon * '' Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ'' (1982) - Le secutor * ''Ronde de nuit'' (1984) - L'instructeur de stand de tir (voice) * '' Les Morfalous'' (1984) - Adjudant Édouard Mahuzard * '' Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!!'' (1985) - Le directeur du cinéma * ''La baston'' (1985) - Raoul * ''La loi sauvage'' (1988) - Victor * ''Ville à vendre'' (1992) - Docteur Bernier

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantin, Michel 1924 births 2003 deaths French people of Russian descent French people of Polish descent Deaths from cancer in France Male actors from Boulogne-Billancourt French male film actors French male television actors French men's volleyball players 20th-century French sportsmen