Jean-Paul Belmondo: what he really thought of his falling out with Alain Delon

In his book A thousand lives are better than one, Jean-Paul Belmondo returned to his quarrel with Alain Delon. The two actors, close in the 1960s, had, in fact, moved away a little after the filming of the film Borsalino.

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, two of the most iconic actors in French cinema, enjoyed a long-standing friendship, but it was marred by persistent rumors of a falling out. The two actors had a similar rise in the world of French cinema. The film Be beautiful and stop talking by Marc Allégret in 1958, marked the beginning of a joint collaboration, but also of a legendary friendship. The duo quickly became synonymous with success and the two actors continued their collaborations in the years that followed. They worked together on several successful films, including Borsalino, available on Paramount+, in 1970. However, this film will drive a wedge between the two artists. In his book, A thousand lives are better than one, Jean-Paul Belmondo returned to a disagreement which took on too great proportions compared to what it really was. The story dates back to after the filming of the feature film. “If I was happy with the enthusiasm generated by the film, I was on the other hand angry that Alain Delon did not respect our pact of equality on the poster”wrote Paul Belmondo’s father.

Borsalino : the friendship of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon put to the test

And the actor who died in September 2021 then clarified what really happened: “We agreed that his name would only appear once, as an actor, next to mine and that of his company Adel Production”he indicated, before exonerating his sidekick somewhat by speaking of clumsiness: “But he made the mistake of making his name appear twice, as a producer and as an actor, ‘Alain Delon presents a film with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo’.” And the actor concludes with this story: “From there, was born this little quarrel that the media have blown out of proportion.”

An easy reconciliation between Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon

But Jean-Paul Belmondo took care in his book to confirm that this quarrel did not last and that the two actors quickly mended their ways. “We were not angry for long and we were delighted 27 years later that Patrice Leconte brought us together around youth”wrote the one who found his friend in the film 1 chance in 2 in 1998 with Vanessa Paradis in particular.

Article written with the collaboration of 6Medias