Jean-Louis Barrault (1910 - 1994) was a French actor, director, and mime artist. He starred in Marcel Carne's film Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise, 1945).
[Barrault] is a friendly, and ultimately comforting person to talk to. Age has not worn out his enthusiasm, or his energy. His first concern when we met was to make sure I was at ease, so he asked me to lead him to the part of the theater where I would feel happy conducting the interview.
"I gradually realized that one eventually encounters destiny. And I believe destiny is something that is exterior to oneself."
"There is only one religion for me, and that's love of humanity. So I believe that one has to sow the seeds of a celebration, and of mutual friendship, and within that atmosphere, in the theater, one can say things to people."
"There are two kinds of works: There are plays that fall like fruit from the tree, which don't really belong to the poet. And then there are works that poets create which they never complete. And these works stay within them for the rest of their lives. The umbilical cord is never cut."
Read the full excerpt from Through Parisian Eyes [PDF]
