Actor Profile: Michel Serrault

Michel Serrault (1928-2007) was a celebrated French stage and film actor known for his remarkable versatility across comedy and drama, and internationally recognized for originating the role of Albin Mougeotte, the drag performer “Zaza,” in ‘La Cage aux Folles‘.

Early Life and Education

Born Michel Lucien Serrault on January 24, 1928, in Brunoy, a suburb of Paris, he came from a large and modest family. As a young man he briefly entered a seminary, hoping to combine his love of comedy with a religious vocation, but he left after falling in love with a young woman. He went on to study drama, attending the Centre du Spectacle and auditioning for the Conservatoire, though without formal success there. After military service in Dijon, he began his stage career in the late 1940s, touring Germany in a production of Moliere’s ‘Les Fourberies de Scapin’ before joining Robert Dhery’s comedy revue troupe, Les Branquignols, in 1948.

Career Highlights

Serrault made his film debut in 1954 in ‘Ah! Les Belles Bacchantes’ and appeared the following year in Henri-Georges Clouzot’s classic thriller ‘Les Diaboliques’. In 1952 he met fellow actor Jean Poiret, beginning a stage and screen partnership that would last decades. From 1973, Serrault played Albin opposite Poiret in the hit Paris stage production of ‘La Cage aux Folles,’ a role he performed for five years before reprising it in Edouard Molinaro’s 1978 film adaptation, which won him the Cesar Award for Best Actor and turned him into an international star. He went on to become the only actor to win the Cesar for Best Actor three times, adding wins for ‘Garde a Vue’ (1981) and ‘Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud’ (1995) to his original victory, across a film career that spanned more than 130 films and over fifty years.

Style and Influence

Serrault was celebrated for a chameleon-like range that let him move convincingly between antic farce and dark, psychologically demanding drama, often within the same decade of his career. His years performing live opposite Jean Poiret gave him a precise, theatrical command of comic timing that carried through to his film work, while his later dramatic roles, including a chilling turn as a real-life serial killer in ‘Docteur Petiot,’ revealed a capacity for going to unsettling depths in service of a character. His portrayal of Albin/Zaza in ‘La Cage aux Folles’ is particularly noted for its warmth and dignity, presenting a flamboyant gay character with genuine affection rather than mockery, which contributed significantly to the film’s crossover success with mainstream audiences.

Legacy

In 1999, Serrault was awarded the Legion d’Honneur in recognition of his contributions to French culture. He remains the only actor in the history of the Cesar Awards to win Best Actor on three separate occasions, a record that underscores the breadth of his career. He continued working steadily into his late seventies, averaging two to three films a year almost until his death from a cancer-related illness on July 29, 2007, at his home in Equemauville, Normandy. He was survived by his wife, Juanita, and his daughter Nathalie Serrault, who also became an actress. Serrault’s performance as Albin/Zaza is widely regarded as a landmark in mainstream cinema’s portrayal of queer characters, and he is remembered as one of the most versatile and respected French actors of his generation.