Michael Lonsdale

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

205

Gender

Male

Birthday

1931-05-24

Day of death

2020-09-21 (89 years old)

Place of Birth

Paris, France

Michael Lonsdale

Biography

Michael Edward Lonsdale Crouch (24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020), commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes as Michel Lonsdale, was a French-British actor and author who appeared in over 180 films and television shows. He is often known in the English-speaking world for his roles as the villain Hugo Drax in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker, deputy police commissioner Claude Lebel in The Day of the Jackal (1973), The Abbot in The Name of the Rose (1986) and Dupont d'Ivry in The Remains of the Day (1993). Lonsdale was born in Paris, the natural son of British Army officer Edward Lonsdale Crouch and Simone Calderon (née Béraud). He was brought up initially on the island of Jersey, then in London from 1935, and later, during the Second World War, in Casablanca, Morocco. He returned to Paris to study painting in 1947, but was drawn into the world of acting instead, first appearing on stage at the age of 24. Lonsdale was bilingual, and appeared in both English-language and French-language productions. He appeared in a starring role with Roger Moore in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker. and with Sean Connery, in the 1986 film The Name of the Rose. He would later appear in Munich (2005), a film that also starred another Bond, Daniel Craig. In February 2011, he won a César Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Of Gods and Men. Lonsdale was also the author of ten books. A practising Roman Catholic, he was close to the Emmanuel Community. In his 2016 memoir Le Dictionnaire de Ma Vie, Lonsdale revealed he had fallen for Delphine Seyrig, having met her as a student in Tania Balachova's acting classes at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in 1947. He wrote that "it was her or nothing", which was why he never married. Lonsdale died in Paris on 21 September 2020, aged 89. Description above from the Wikipedia article Michael Lonsdale, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

    Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

  • Le Grand Échiquier

    Le Grand Échiquier

  • Samedi soir

    Samedi soir

  • The Day of the Jackal

    The Day of the Jackal

  • The Remains of the Day

    The Remains of the Day

  • Goya's Ghosts

    Goya's Ghosts

  • There Once Was a Cop

    There Once Was a Cop

  • Maigret

    Maigret

  • Murmur of the Heart

    Murmur of the Heart

  • Hitler in Hollywood

    Hitler in Hollywood

  • Moonraker

    Moonraker

  • Let There Be Light!

    Let There Be Light!

  • Scrambled Eggs

    Scrambled Eggs

  • Enigma

    Enigma

  • Delphine Seyrig, portrait d'une comète

    Delphine Seyrig, portrait d'une comète

  • Un troisième

    Un troisième

  • A Dirty Story

    A Dirty Story

  • The Phantom of Liberty

    The Phantom of Liberty

  • The Truth About the Imaginary Passion of an Unknown

    The Truth About the Imaginary Passion of an Unknown

  • The Name of the Rose

    The Name of the Rose

  • Munich

    Munich

  • The Buddies

    The Buddies

  • Good King Dagobert

    Good King Dagobert

  • Earthen Man

    Earthen Man

  • Chut !

    Chut !

  • The Door Slams

    The Door Slams

  • Hibernatus

    Hibernatus

  • Seul face au crime

    Seul face au crime

  • Stolen Kisses

    Stolen Kisses

  • Ronin

    Ronin

  • The Holcroft Covenant

    The Holcroft Covenant

  • The Suspects

    The Suspects

  • Hail! Mafia

    Hail! Mafia

  • To Each His Own Cinema

    To Each His Own Cinema

  • Heartbeat Detector

    Heartbeat Detector

  • Maestro

    Maestro

  • Erendira

    Erendira

  • Is Paris Burning?

    Is Paris Burning?

  • Galileo

    Galileo

  • Invisible

    Invisible

  • Les Mains d'Andréa

    Les Mains d'Andréa

  • Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud

    Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud

  • Jean Eustache's Wasted Breath

    Jean Eustache's Wasted Breath

  • The Visit

    The Visit

  • Smiley's People

    Smiley's People

  • Le Renard jaune

    Le Renard jaune

  • The Trial

    The Trial

  • The Judge

    The Judge

  • The Romantic Englishwoman

    The Romantic Englishwoman

  • Adorable Liar

    Adorable Liar

  • Le Furet

    Le Furet

  • Stavisky...

    Stavisky...

  • Of Gods and Men

    Of Gods and Men

  • Crime Does Not Pay

    Crime Does Not Pay

  • Mr. Klein

    Mr. Klein

  • Jefferson in Paris

    Jefferson in Paris

  • Bye Bye Blackbird

    Bye Bye Blackbird

  • Agora

    Agora

  • Une jeunesse

    Une jeunesse

  • Aloïse

    Aloïse

  • Snobs!

    Snobs!

  • You'll Miss Me

    You'll Miss Me

  • The Accuser

    The Accuser

  • The Left-Handed Woman

    The Left-Handed Woman

  • Is Dead - Portrait incomplet de Gertrude Stein

    Is Dead - Portrait incomplet de Gertrude Stein

  • The Passage

    The Passage

  • Special Section

    Special Section

  • Out 1

    Out 1

  • Papa, the Lil' Boats

    Papa, the Lil' Boats

  • La Plante Humaine

    La Plante Humaine

  • Sculpt

    Sculpt

  • Souvenir

    Souvenir

  • Caravan to Vaccarès

    Caravan to Vaccarès

  • The First, the Last

    The First, the Last

  • Titeuf

    Titeuf

  • The Big Wash

    The Big Wash

  • Judoka-Secret Agent

    Judoka-Secret Agent

  • Serious as Pleasure

    Serious as Pleasure

  • Gebo and the Shadow

    Gebo and the Shadow

  • Kaena: The Prophecy

    Kaena: The Prophecy

  • The Bride Wore Black

    The Bride Wore Black

  • My Life Is Hell

    My Life Is Hell

  • The Last Mistress

    The Last Mistress

  • The Life of Mirrors

    The Life of Mirrors

  • The Cardboard Village

    The Cardboard Village

  • The Pink Telephone

    The Pink Telephone

  • Inside 'Moonraker'

    Inside 'Moonraker'

  • Adieu

    Adieu

  • Out 1

    Out 1

  • No Pockets in a Shroud

    No Pockets in a Shroud

  • Five Times Two

    Five Times Two

  • Don Juan

    Don Juan

  • Behold a Pale Horse

    Behold a Pale Horse

  • The Tribulations of Balthazar Kober

    The Tribulations of Balthazar Kober

  • The Bunker

    The Bunker

  • Speaking of Buñuel

    Speaking of Buñuel

  • A Monkey's Tale

    A Monkey's Tale

  • Actors

    Actors

  • It Happened in Aden

    It Happened in Aden

  • Jaloux comme un tigre

    Jaloux comme un tigre

  • Mad Enough to Kill

    Mad Enough to Kill

  • The Itchy Palm

    The Itchy Palm

  • Le Tiroir secret

    Le Tiroir secret

  • A Whale That Had a Toothache

    A Whale That Had a Toothache

  • A Bullet in the Gun Barrel

    A Bullet in the Gun Barrel

  • Le rose et le blanc

    Le rose et le blanc

  • Under a False Name

    Under a False Name

  • Free Men

    Free Men

  • Au siècle de Maupassant, contes et nouvelles du XIXe

    Au siècle de Maupassant, contes et nouvelles du XIXe

  • Le Silence de l'épervier

    Le Silence de l'épervier

  • The Track

    The Track

  • The Ghostly Rental

    The Ghostly Rental

  • Mauvais Genre

    Mauvais Genre

  • Your Money or Your Life

    Your Money or Your Life

  • India Song

    India Song

  • Go West: A Lucky Luke Adventure

    Go West: A Lucky Luke Adventure

  • La Confession d'un enfant du siècle

    La Confession d'un enfant du siècle

  • Out 1: Spectre

    Out 1: Spectre

  • Alone

    Alone

  • Successive Slidings of Pleasure

    Successive Slidings of Pleasure

  • The Games of Countess Dolingen

    The Games of Countess Dolingen

  • Order of the Daisy

    Order of the Daisy

  • Le Génie du faux

    Le Génie du faux

  • Jeanne, à petits pas

    Jeanne, à petits pas

  • The Man in the Buick

    The Man in the Buick

  • Billy Ze Kick

    Billy Ze Kick

  • The Stud

    The Stud

  • Woyzeck

    Woyzeck

  • Jaune, Le Soleil

    Jaune, Le Soleil

  • The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose'

    The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose'

  • Noise of Love and War

    Noise of Love and War

  • La Fenêtre

    La Fenêtre

  • The Boulugres

    The Boulugres

  • Rendez-vous manqués

    Rendez-vous manqués

  • The Old Maid

    The Old Maid

  • The Outsider

    The Outsider

  • Le Fantôme de Laurent Terzieff

    Le Fantôme de Laurent Terzieff

  • The Mystery of the Yellow Room

    The Mystery of the Yellow Room

  • Jean-Sans-Terre

    Jean-Sans-Terre

  • Le revolver et la rose

    Le revolver et la rose

  • Sweet Inquest on Violence

    Sweet Inquest on Violence

  • Spring

    Spring

  • Those Facing Us

    Those Facing Us

  • Gentille

    Gentille

  • Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert

    Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert

  • Law Breakers

    Law Breakers

  • L'air d'aimer

    L'air d'aimer

  • The Immoral Moment

    The Immoral Moment

  • Le bureau des mariages

    Le bureau des mariages

  • The Authentic Trial of Carl Emmanuel Jung

    The Authentic Trial of Carl Emmanuel Jung

  • The Perfume of the Lady in Black

    The Perfume of the Lady in Black

  • N: The Madness Of Reason

    N: The Madness Of Reason

  • Autumn

    Autumn

  • Destroy, She Said

    Destroy, She Said

  • Aurais dû faire gaffe... le choc est terrible

    Aurais dû faire gaffe... le choc est terrible

  • The Girl with the Cello

    The Girl with the Cello

  • Salvador Dalí: Génie tragi-comique

    Salvador Dalí: Génie tragi-comique

  • J.R.R. Tolkien: Designer of Worlds

    J.R.R. Tolkien: Designer of Worlds

  • Chronopolis

    Chronopolis

  • The Devil in the Box

    The Devil in the Box

  • Né

  • The Insomniac on the Bridge

    The Insomniac on the Bridge

  • Right  to the city

    Right to the city

  • Les amants cinéma

    Les amants cinéma

  • Rosenn

    Rosenn

  • Les Écrans déchirés

    Les Écrans déchirés

  • The Separation

    The Separation

  • The Mysteries of Paris: Jacques Rivette's Out 1 Revisited

    The Mysteries of Paris: Jacques Rivette's Out 1 Revisited

  • La grande Paulette

    La grande Paulette

  • Bartleby

    Bartleby

  • Concerto for an Exile

    Concerto for an Exile

  • Le petit Nicolas

    Le petit Nicolas

  • Jean-Marie Serreau, découvreur de théâtres

    Jean-Marie Serreau, découvreur de théâtres

  • Les Filles au Moyen-Âge

    Les Filles au Moyen-Âge

  • Dieu sait quoi

    Dieu sait quoi

  • Ève avait l'éclat métallique de l'été

    Ève avait l'éclat métallique de l'été

  • Les Trois Sœurs

    Les Trois Sœurs

  • Cela s'appelle l'amour

    Cela s'appelle l'amour

  • The Little Misses

    The Little Misses

  • The Risk of Living

    The Risk of Living

  • Winter

    Winter

  • Vroum-vroum

    Vroum-vroum

  • L'ordre du jour

    L'ordre du jour

  • The Colour of Words

    The Colour of Words

  • Trompe-l'oeil

    Trompe-l'oeil

  • Film sur Hans Bellmer

    Film sur Hans Bellmer

  • Film sur Georges Perec

    Film sur Georges Perec

  • Les grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons

    Les grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons

  • Mersonne ne m'aime

    Mersonne ne m'aime

  • Les années Lumière

    Les années Lumière

  • The Nail Clippers

    The Nail Clippers

  • Comédie

    Comédie

  • African Glory

    African Glory

  • Der Madonna-Mann

    Der Madonna-Mann

  • Cygne II

    Cygne II

  • Emile Reynaud

    Emile Reynaud

  • The Memory of the Eye E.J. Marey

    The Memory of the Eye E.J. Marey

  • La nuit du beau marin peut-être?

    La nuit du beau marin peut-être?

  • Degas and I

    Degas and I

  • Un paquebot dans la tête

    Un paquebot dans la tête

  • Le Mythe Cathare

    Le Mythe Cathare

  • Zoo Story

    Zoo Story

  • La Rényon lontan

    La Rényon lontan

  • Bazin's Film

    Bazin's Film

  • Veilleurs dans la nuit - Une journée monastique à l'Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux

    Veilleurs dans la nuit - Une journée monastique à l'Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux