Jean Pierre Léaud the face and actor of the Nouvelle Vague had a childhood close to the one he portrays in Les 400 coup. Rebellious and always up for some “connerie” he once stated that if he hadn’t met Truffaut he can’t imagine what would have become of him. Unlike his character in the film Léaud was the son of an actress and an assistant scriptwriter and acting was not a faraway profession. But the casting material of the film shows how he already had the charms and the talent he would later be famous for. On the extras of the film another boy is to be found. Richard Kanayan. He played the unforgettable silent scene in the classroom where he tries to catch up with the teachers writing and ends up tearing out page after page of his notebook. In the audition he wears a well-cut suit, sings and talks about a day in his life, of how his Armenian family accompanied his niece to the hospital because she stepped into a needle and how he bought new shoes for the audition.
I found out that despite the fact that he studied acting, he later didn’t become an actor. He was told that due to his size (1,58m) it would be hard for him to get certain roles. Truffaut gave him small parts in three of his films. In one he was even playing the younger brother of Charles Aznavour who’s singing he imitates in the casting.
After further acting attempts failed the needle and the suit would become his destiny, he stepped into his family’s footsteps and became a tailor. He still keeps a postcard that Truffaut once send him from New York.
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