1949 to 1950. "I stopped when the face I saw in the mirror began to change", he later said. He did his National Service in French North Africa where he hit himself with a rifle butt to end his military service. Belmondo was interested in acting. His late teenage years were spent at a private drama school, and he began performing comedy sketches in the provinces. He studied under Raymond Giraud and then attended the Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts when he was twenty. He studied there for three years. He would probably have won the prize for best actor, but participated in a sketch mocking the school, which offended the jury; this resulted in his only getting an honourable mention, "which nearly set off a riot among his incensed fellow students" in August 1956, according to one report. The incident made front-page news. Career 1950s Belmondo's acting career properly began in 1953, with two performances at the Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris in Jean Anouilh's Médée and Georges Neveux's Zamore. Belmondo began touring the provinces with friends including Annie Girardot and Guy Bedos. Belmondo first appeared in the short Moliere (1956). His first film role was a scene with Jean-Pierre Cassel in On Foot, on Horse, and on Wheels (1957), which was cut from the final film; however he had a bigger part in the follow up A Dog, a Mouse, and a Sputnik (1958). Belmondo had a small role in the comedy Be Beautiful But Shut Up (1958), appearing with Alain Delon, followed by a role as a gangster in Young Sinners (1958), directed by Marcel Carné. Belmondo supported Bourvil and Arletty in Sunday Encounter (1958). Jean-Luc Godard directed him in a short, Charlotte and Her Boyfriend (1958), where Belmondo's voice was dubbed by Godard after Belmondo was conscripted into the army. As part of his compulsory military service, he served in Algeria as a private for six months. Belmondo's first lead role was in Les Copains du dimanche (1958). He later had a supporting part in An Angel on Wheels (1959) with Romy Schneider then appeared in Web of Passion (1959) for Claude Chabrol. He played D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1959) for French television. 1960s Belmondo starred in Consider All Risks (1960), a gangster story with Lino Ventura. He then played the lead role in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (À Bout de Souffle, 1960), which made him a