[1][2] During his long career as a film and theatre actor, he created many pieces, using the human body as the primary means of expression.
Enrolled at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in 1923, as a student of Charles Dullin, Decroux began to envision a newly defined vision of mime and later developed an original, personal style of movement.
[citation needed] The art form Decroux created along these years differs completely from what had previously been known as traditional pantomime.
He argued that ordinary speech should be banned from the theatre for a limited period (30 years) or until the actor had "taken charge in his own house"; that is, was able to fully use his/her expressive physical abilities.
All vocal noises were prohibited for 20 years, after which the voice (and eventually intelligible speech) would gradually reappear – controlled by the actor and used only when it was necessary and not because of laziness or lack of invention.