R.I.P. Michael Lonsdale
Re: R.I.P. Michael Lonsdale
It's been a bad year for a number of actors from the Bond universe.
-
Big Magilla
- Site Admin
- Posts: 19338
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
- Location: Jersey Shore
Re: R.I.P. Michael Lonsdale
His birth name was Michael, not Michel. He was born in France, but his father was a British army officer. His mother was half French and half Irish.
He was alternately Michael and Michel from 1956-mid 1977 - whether in French, British or American films, after which he was exclusively Michael in everything.
He was alternately Michael and Michel from 1956-mid 1977 - whether in French, British or American films, after which he was exclusively Michael in everything.
-
Mister Tee
- Tenured Laureate
- Posts: 8648
- Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 2:57 pm
- Location: NYC
- Contact:
Re: R.I.P. Michael Lonsdale
Very solid actor.
The weirdest thing is how he used Michel/Michael interchangeably -- I always thought of him as Michel, and I see he was billed that way primarily in European films. (Honestly, I initially thought the title of this thread was a typo.) But he seems to have jumped to Michael for US movies.
The weirdest thing is how he used Michel/Michael interchangeably -- I always thought of him as Michel, and I see he was billed that way primarily in European films. (Honestly, I initially thought the title of this thread was a typo.) But he seems to have jumped to Michael for US movies.
R.I.P. Michael Lonsdale
Michael Lonsdale Dies: ‘Moonraker’, ‘The Day Of The Jackal’ & ‘Munich’ Actor Was 89
By Andreas Wiseman
(Deadline) 9/21/2020
Michael Lonsdale, the veteran British-French actor known for his roles in Bond movie Moonraker and thriller The Day of the Jackal, has died in Paris, his agent has confirmed to Deadline. He was 89.
Lonsdale appeared in more than 200 film and TV projects, working both in English and French.
Among his other most high-profile English-language films were drama The Remains of The Day, crime pic Ronin and historical-thriller Munich.
Born in Paris and raised on the island of Guernsey and then London, Lonsdale returned to Paris to study painting in 1947. He first appeared on stage at 24 and would go on to score roles in 1950s French genre movies.
In the 1970s, he worked with acclaimed directors including Louis Malle, Marcel Carné, Joseph Losey, Alain Resnais, Jacques Bral and Marguerite Duras. In the same decade, he was BAFTA-nominated for his supporting role in thriller The Day of the Jackal, about an attempted assassination of France’s President Charles de Gaulle.
The versatile and respected actor is probably best known for playing the villain opposite Roger Moore in 1979 Bond pic Moonraker. In the film, he played Hugo Drax, an industrialist planning to poison all humans on Earth then repopulate the planet from his space station.
Other great filmmakers he worked during his impressive career included Orson Welles, René Clément, François Truffaut, Jacques Rivette, Luis Bunuel and Costa-Gavras.
He would score acclaim in later years for Xavier Bauvois’ 2010 Cannes drama Of Gods And Men (Des Hommes Et Des Dieux), for which he won a Cesar Award for best supporting actor. He was nominated for Cesars on two other occasions.
Lonsdale was also the author of ten books.
By Andreas Wiseman
(Deadline) 9/21/2020
Michael Lonsdale, the veteran British-French actor known for his roles in Bond movie Moonraker and thriller The Day of the Jackal, has died in Paris, his agent has confirmed to Deadline. He was 89.
Lonsdale appeared in more than 200 film and TV projects, working both in English and French.
Among his other most high-profile English-language films were drama The Remains of The Day, crime pic Ronin and historical-thriller Munich.
Born in Paris and raised on the island of Guernsey and then London, Lonsdale returned to Paris to study painting in 1947. He first appeared on stage at 24 and would go on to score roles in 1950s French genre movies.
In the 1970s, he worked with acclaimed directors including Louis Malle, Marcel Carné, Joseph Losey, Alain Resnais, Jacques Bral and Marguerite Duras. In the same decade, he was BAFTA-nominated for his supporting role in thriller The Day of the Jackal, about an attempted assassination of France’s President Charles de Gaulle.
The versatile and respected actor is probably best known for playing the villain opposite Roger Moore in 1979 Bond pic Moonraker. In the film, he played Hugo Drax, an industrialist planning to poison all humans on Earth then repopulate the planet from his space station.
Other great filmmakers he worked during his impressive career included Orson Welles, René Clément, François Truffaut, Jacques Rivette, Luis Bunuel and Costa-Gavras.
He would score acclaim in later years for Xavier Bauvois’ 2010 Cannes drama Of Gods And Men (Des Hommes Et Des Dieux), for which he won a Cesar Award for best supporting actor. He was nominated for Cesars on two other occasions.
Lonsdale was also the author of ten books.