“I met him during the filming of Germinal. I had never met an actor like him”, This eulogy to Jean-Roger Milo was written by the actress Cécile Bois who had played with him in Germinal by Claude Berri in 1993. The French actor, recognizable face and voice of all French cinema, died on October 12 at the age of 66.
Supporting role with a strong presence, Jean-Roger Milo was nominated for a César in 1994 for his remarkable composition in Germinal, an adaptation of the novel by Émile Zola. Before that, the actor had added his name to the credits of films directed by a host of filmmakers as renowned as Yves Boisset (La femme cop, Canicule), Gérard Oury (L’As des as), Jean-Jacques Beineix (La Lune in the gutter) and Bertrand Tavernier (A Sunday in the Country). Ready to take on any role, he agreed to play the blacksmith from the Gallic village of Goscinny and Uderzo in the comedy Astérix et Obélix contre César by Claude Zidi, filmed in 1998.
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The tribute on Instagram from the actress Cécile Bois, who played in the theatrical performance of Angélique, Marquise des Anges directed by Robert Hossein in 1995, says everything about the talent and strong personality of Jean-Roger Milo: “ He is Jean Roger. Jean Roger Milo… I kept my distance as his strength of play pulverized everything I had seen or experienced. Claude Berri, like Tavernier or Charef, was not mistaken. To talk only about them. After Germinal, I discovered the man. I had never met a man like him. Did you know that he wrote in Alexandrian on table ends without knowing how to write any other way? It was through this door that I discovered his soul, a door that he left ajar. It was a privilege, which I certainly did not abuse enough. His life path knew no rules. He left yesterday and more than usual, I tell myself that if this soul works to watch over the world, then we will be saved. Be at peace, you who did not rest. A thought for your son and daughter. And to those who loved you. I will never meet a man like you again. Forever, as you liked to say at the end of our calls.”
Jean-Roger Milo was born on June 5, 1957 near Paris. He discovered the art of trestles under the aegis of the great actor Sacha Pitoëff. He took his first steps in cinema, very early at the age of 21, under the direction of Luc Béraud in La Tortue sur le dos in 1978. Then he worked for Yves Boisset (La clef sur la porte, La Femme flic) and Jean-Claude Missaien (Grouped Fire). He met Jean-Paul Belmondo twice on the sets, in 1982 and 1984, in L’As des as by Gérard Oury and Le Marginal by Jacques Deray.
In the 1990s, director Claude Berri chose him to play two strong roles in Germinal, which earned him a César nomination, then in Lucie Aubrac. In 2004, he made his last appearance on the big screen in San Antonio, inspired by the work of Frédéric Dard, by Frédéric Auburtin.
