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00:00I've lasted 62 years, and now I know that what's difficult is leaving, because I will
00:10be leaving."
00:11Alain Delon moved to tears at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where he received the Palme
00:17d'honneur for his entire career, 90 films that have drawn 135 million viewers.
00:24But his career began almost by chance.
00:27Discovered in 1956 in his twenties, on his return from war in French Indochina, his good
00:32looks and star quality were quick to turn heads, including that of actress Romy Schneider.
00:39Their engagement in 1959 cemented for some time at least their reputation as one of Europe's
00:43most glamorous couples.
00:45Their love story played out on and off screen, a common feat for most of Delon's relationships.
00:51We can find a lot of people from your professional life in your personal life.
00:55That doesn't shock you?
00:56No, it doesn't shock me.
00:58I think it's perfectly natural.
00:59If people see pictures, I can't stop reporters from doing their job.
01:03In 1961, Delon even made his stage debut alongside his fiancée.
01:08Delon's affair with a German actress torpedoed the relationship in 1963, but their screen
01:13appearances would continue, notably in the 1969 love triangle film The Swimming Pool,
01:18which would become one of the standout hits of Delon's career, and this scene a classic.
01:26But before that, Delon's international breakthrough came with Lucino Visconti's The Leopard in
01:301963, playing alongside Claudia Cardinal and Burt Lancaster.
01:39The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and made Delon France's most bankable film star.
01:46In the late 60s, he met actress Mireille D'Arc.
01:49They then spent 15 years of their lives together.
01:53Delon never made the full crossover into the world of non-French cinema, but kept turning
01:57out films at an impressive pace right into the 1980s, when came his first commercial
02:02flops like The Return of Casanova.
02:04But in 1995, Delon was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Berlin Film Festival.
02:14In the early 2000s, Delon moved to Switzerland and took a break from his career, but soon
02:18returned to crossover to the small screen with the popular French TV series Fabio Montale,
02:23and even returned to the silver screen with a role in 2008's Asterix at the Olympics.
02:29In recent years, Delon made headlines for homophobic and misogynistic statements, and
02:33for his support of France's far-right National Front party.
02:36He also suffered a number of health issues, and leaves behind three children, who became
02:40deeply divided over how best to take care of him.
02:43But it's his phenomenal career that will live on in memory, as an icon of French cinema.