The son of a hotelier-restauranteur, he decided on acting after graduating from high school and, thanks to his handsome features, was able to find occasional work on commercials in France and England, after supporting himself as a waiter, parking-lot attendant, and tour guide in Switzerland. Moving on to Italy, he was appearing as an extra in films when he caught the eye of director Luchino Visconti, who took charge of Berger's career and gave it a considerable boost with a leading role in The Damned (1969) as Martin, the neurotic heir to a steel fortune. Berger went on to play leads in many other Italian films and European co-productions, gaining prominence as an extremely good-looking leading man with considerable acting talent.