International screen icon Jean-Paul Belmondo has died at the age of 88. The French star was one of the major influences in terms of popularizing anti-heroes on screen. His somewhat shaggy, rough-hewn look was at odds with traditional screen leading men. Belmondo was not handsome in the traditional sense, nor did he specialize in playing erudite, sophisticated characters. He excelled in playing the common man who was often caught up in extraordinary situations. Belmondo had flirted with being a boxer in his youth before gravitating to acting at the precise time French cinema's "New Wave" was taking the world by storm, led by directors and actors who would revolutionize world cinema. After appearing in numerous French films in the late 1950s, he became a sensation with his leading role in director Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 crime classic "Breathless". There would be no looking back. In the decades to come, Belmondo would be honored with countless film awards and saw his popularity extend to English-language cinema. He was well-versed in convincingly playing dramatic roles as well as light comedy. Belmondo was a real-life daredevil who insisted on performing many of his own stunts, perhaps most elaborately demonstrated in his 1960s spy spoof "That Man From Rio" in which he displayed a jaw-dropping ability to play dangerous scenes himself in the interest of making the film more realistic. Belmondo's reputation as a ladies man cost him his first marriage, which dissolved after he began an affair with Ursula Andress, with whom he starred in another French spy spoof "Up to His Ears" (1965) (aka "Chinese Adventures in China"). Andress would divorce her husband John Derek for Belmondo and their relationship lasted for years. In 2001, Belmondo suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed but the affliction did not stop him from continuing to appear on screen.