Michel Constantin

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French actor

title: "Michel Constantin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1924-births", "2003-deaths", "french-people-of-russian-descent", "french-people-of-polish-descent", "deaths-from-cancer-in-france", "male-actors-from-boulogne-billancourt", "french-male-film-actors", "french-male-television-actors", "french-men's-volleyball-players", "20th-century-french-sportsmen"] description: "French actor" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Constantin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary French actor ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameMichel Constantin
birth_nameConstantin Hokhloff
birth_date13 July 1924
birth_placeBillancourt, France
death_date
death_placeDraguignan, France
occupationActor, volleyball player
yearsactive1956–1991
module{{Infobox volleyball biography
embedyes
height1.85 m
positionSetter
years1944–1947
1947–1948
1948–1957
teamsCO Billancourt
Racing Club de France
CO Billancourt
spouseMaud Serres (1957–1996)
::

| name = Michel Constantin | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = Constantin Hokhloff | birth_date = 13 July 1924 | birth_place = Billancourt, France | death_date = | death_place = Draguignan, France | occupation = Actor, volleyball player | yearsactive = 1956–1991 | othername = | website = | module = {{Infobox volleyball biography |embed = yes | nickname = | height = 1.85 m | position = Setter | years = 1944–1947 1947–1948 1948–1957 | teams = CO Billancourt Racing Club de France
CO Billancourt | medaltemplates = | spouse = Maud Serres (1957–1996)

Michel Constantin (born Constantin Hokhloff; 13 July 1924 – 28 August 2003) was a French actor and professional volleyball player. He was the men's national volleyball champion from 1954 to 1956, before making his film debut as a convict in the 1960 prison thriller The Hole. Thanks to his stature and striking features, he became a popular character actor in crime films, often playing thugs and gangsters. He appeared in several films alongside his friend Charles Bronson during the 1970's.

Biography

Born Constantin Hokhloff in Billancourt (near Paris), he was the son of a White Russian emigre father and his Polish wife. Hokhloff's father was a former officer in the Russian Army, of Kalmyk descent. He had met Hokhloff's mother while he was stationed in Warsaw, Congress Poland. After the Russian Civil War, the coupled moved to Paris, along with many other White emigres. During World War II, he worked at the Renault factories in Boulogne-Billancourt, where his family lived.

Volleyball

Thanks to his height (1.85 meters) and athletic ability, Constantin was recruited by the volleyball team of Club olympique de Billancourt (CO Billancourt) in 1943. He switched teams to Racing Club de France for the 1947-48 season, but returned to CO Billancourt the following season. As setter, he led the team to French national championships in 1954, 1955 and 1956. It was during this period that he changed his name to Michel Constantin.

During this time, he was also a freelance reporter for the sports journal L'Équipe.

Acting

Constantin appeared as an extra in the 1956 film Plucking the Daisy, but made his first significant acting debut in the 1960 prison thriller The Hole. Director Jacques Becker and screenwriter José Giovanni sought to recruit a cast of non-professional actors to play the various convicts. Becker's son Jean knew Constantin from his volleyball days, and recommended him for the part. The film was a critical and commercial success, and enabled Constantin's transition into an acting career.

Partial filmography

References

References

  1. "matchID - Michel Constantin".
  2. Mvondo, Michael Markus. (2021-08-29). "Michel Constantin est mort : retour sur l'acteur de rôles de gangsters populaires".
  3. "Michel Constantin".
  4. (2016-03-18). "Michel Constantin, l'affranchi sachant smasher".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1924-births2003-deathsfrench-people-of-russian-descentfrench-people-of-polish-descentdeaths-from-cancer-in-francemale-actors-from-boulogne-billancourtfrench-male-film-actorsfrench-male-television-actorsfrench-men's-volleyball-players20th-century-french-sportsmen