Handsome, contemplative lead who catapulted to stardom opposite Brigitte Bardot in "And God Created Woman" (1956), fell out of the spotlight after being drafted into the Algerian War and regained his prominence with "A Man and a Woman" (1966). Experienced on stage, Trintignant has been most effective in romances and political films, from the classic "Ma Nuit Chez Maud/My Night at Maud's" (1969), portraying an almost desperately ethical Catholic engineer given to debating the nature of carnality and diversion, to Costa-Gavras' political thriller "Z", (also 1969), for which he earned a Best
