The son of a sausage-maker, Michel Simon was conscripted into the Swiss Army at the start of World War I, but was thrown out through a combination of tuberculosis and general insubordination. He was variously a boxer, photographer, general handyman and right-wing anarchist, finally becoming a stage actor in Geneva in 1920. His reputation soon grew, and he moved to Paris in 1923, appearing in his first film in 1925 (the same year he played Boudu for the first time on stage). With the coming of sound, Simon became firmly established as one of France's outstanding character actors, doing unforgettable work for Jean Renoir (La chienne (1931), Boudu sauvé des eaux (1932)), Jean Vigo (L'Atalante (1934)) and Marcel Carné (Le quai des brumes (1938), Drôle de drame (1937)). In the 1950s he worked less frequently, partly thanks to an accident involving makeup dye that paralyzed part of his body and face. Despite this, he still managed to appear in films right up to his death in 1975.

Charlie Chaplin said he was ‘the greatest actor in the world’.

安托南·阿尔托（Antonin Artaud），全名安托南·马里·约瑟夫·保罗·阿尔托(Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud)，1896年9月4日生于马赛，1948年3月4日卒于塞纳河畔伊夫里，是法国诗人、演员和戏剧理论家。

安托南·阿尔托出生于一个富裕的资产阶级家庭。他的父亲，国王安托万是商船船长，他的母亲Euphrasia Nalpas出生在伊兹密尔（土耳其）。他在马赛度过了幸福的童年，享受了柔情和温暖，然而却被神经疾病困扰，这种病是天生的。二十多年来他被迫用砷、铋和汞来治疗。他只能和母亲、祖母呆在家中。肉体上的痛苦一直伴随他，尽管他经常住疗养院，用鸦片酊来镇静自己。 8岁的时候，他失去了一个八个月大的妹妹。这第一次接触死亡是其深受影响。 10岁的时候，他有一次几乎被淹死。他终生留下了恐惧水的毛病。他接受了宗教教育，侵染了强烈的天主教神学的知识，这影响了他作品的美学特色。他显示了对希腊文，拉丁文和古代历史的兴趣。十四岁时，他就已阅读了夏尔·波德莱尔的诗歌。

阿尔托在其理论著作《戏剧及其重影》提出了残酷戏剧的概念，试图改变文学、戏剧和电影的基本元素。通过诗歌、药物、朝圣、绘画和广播剧，他一直将这些活动作为逃避现实的工具。他通过不断注射药物来摆脱几十年来一直困扰他的慢性头痛。这种无处不在的疼痛会影响其创作。他曾在精神病院待了近九年，频繁使用电击治疗。