Michael Lonsdale
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975
Series
Le Grand Échiquier
Self
1972
Samedi soir
Self
1971
Series
Maigret
Guillaume Serre
1991
Series
Maigret
Sir Lampson
1991
Series
Ciné regards
Self
1978
Series
Smiley's People
Anton Grigoriev
1982
Film
The Name of the Rose
The Abbot
1986
Film
Munich
Papa
2005
Film
Moonraker
Hugo Drax
1979
Film
The Remains of the Day
Dupont D'Ivry
1993
Film
Ronin
Jean-Pierre
1998
Film
Stolen Kisses
Georges Tabard
1968
Film
The Day of the Jackal
Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel
1973
Series
Les Cent Livres des Hommes
Socrates
1970
Film
Agora
Theon
2009
Film
Murmur of the Heart
Father Henri
1971
Film
Is Paris Burning?
Debu-Bridel (uncredited)
1966
Series
Out 1
Thomas
1971
Film
Goya's Ghosts
Inquisitor General
2006
Film
The Phantom of Liberty
Hatter
1974
Film
The Bride Wore Black
Morane
1968
Film
Of Gods and Men
Luc
2010
Film
The Trial
Priest
1962
Film
Hibernatus
Edouard Loriebat
1969
Series
Au siècle de Maupassant, contes et nouvelles du XIXe
Le Grand Loustalot
2009
Film
The Last Mistress
le vicomte Prony
2007
Film
Mr. Klein
Pierre
1976
Series
Malaventure
Georges Mortier
1974
Film
Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud
Dollabella
1995
Film
The Passage
Renoudot
1979
Film
To Each His Own Cinema
The old blind man (segment "Le Don")
2007
Series
La Confession d'un enfant du siècle
Smith
1974
Film
Kaena: The Prophecy
Opaz (voice)
2003
Film
The Bunker
Martin Bormann
1981
Film
A Monkey's Tale
Maître Flavius (Voice)
1999
Film
Behold a Pale Horse
Reporter
1964
Film
Jefferson in Paris
Louis XVI
1995
Film
The Holcroft Covenant
Ernst Manfredi
1985
Series
Le Tiroir secret
Philippe Jolivet
1986
Film
The Man from London
Kocsmáros (voice)
2008
Film
Five Times Two
Bernard
2004
Film
The Romantic Englishwoman
Swan
1975
Film
An Oral History of: The Name of the Rose
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
Enigma
Bodley
1982
Film
Successive Slidings of Pleasure
The Judge
1974
Film
Don Juan
Don Luis
1998
Film
There Once Was a Cop
Commissioner Lucas
1972
Film
Good King Dagobert
Saint Eloi
1984
Un cane sciolto
Procuratore
1990
Series
Le Silence de l'épervier
Antoine Carsac
2008
Film
Actors
Man walking down the street
2000
Film
Stavisky...
Docteur Mézy
1974
Film
J.R.R. Tolkien: Designer of Worlds
(voice)
2014
Film
Titeuf
Le psy (voice)
2011
Film
The Old Maid
Monod
1972
Film
Bye Bye Blackbird
Robert
2005
Film
Cygne II
Narrator (voice)
1976
Film
Le Furet
Don Salvadore
2003
Film
The First, the Last
Jean-Berchmans
2016
Film
Film sur Georges Perec
Self
1990
Film
Spring
L'homme qui fuit
1971
Film
Go West: A Lucky Luke Adventure
Bartleby (voice)
2007
Film
India Song
Le Vice-Consul de Lahore
1975
Film
The Man in the Buick
L'inspecteur Farjon de la P.J.
1968
Film
Under a False Name
David
2004
Film
Your Money or Your Life
Speaker at the Shy People's Club
1966
Film
Crime Does Not Pay
Acteur
1962
Film
Né
Self
1975
Film
The Boulugres
Le roi (voice)
1983
Film
Gebo and the Shadow
Gebo
2012
Film
The Perfume of the Lady in Black
Professor Stangerson
2005
Film
Let There Be Light!
Monseigneur Loublié
1998
The Colour of Words
Self
1984
Film
Adieu
Serge
2004
Film
Free Men
Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit
2011
Series
Le Génie du faux
Constantin Escher
1985
Film
The Mystery of the Yellow Room
Stangerson
2003
Film
The Games of Countess Dolingen
Bertrand Haines-Pearson
1981
Film
Serious as Pleasure
Inspecteur Fournier
1975
Film
Winter
Julien & Marc
1969
Film
Hitler in Hollywood
Michael Lonsdale
2011
The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose'
Self
1986
Film
Bartleby
L'Huissier
1976
Film
Emile Reynaud
Narrator
1986
Film
The Stud
Commissioner Donald Both
1970
Film
Papa, the Lil' Boats
Hippolyte the brother of Marylène
1971
Film
Law Breakers
Inspector Bertrand
1971
Film
Autumn
Julien, le réalisateur
1972
Film
Alone
Ludovic
1981
Film
Speaking of Buñuel
Self
2000
Film
The Little Misses
L'elève
1964
Film
Out 1
Thomas
1990
Film
Inside 'Moonraker'
Self
2000
Film
Hail! Mafia
Hyman
1965
Film
The Life of Mirrors
2025
Film
Mad Enough to Kill
Stephane Mostri
1975
Film
Chronopolis
Narrator (voice)
1983
Film
The Insomniac on the Bridge
Antonie
1985
Film
Caravan to Vaccarès
Duc de Croyter
1974
Film
Woyzeck
Le capitaine
1993
Film
The Track
David Sutter
1975
Film
My Life Is Hell
Gabriel
1991
Film
Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert
The Vice Consul of Lahore
1976
Zoo Story
Peter
1968
Film
A Bullet in the Gun Barrel
1958
Film
The Separation
Paul Doumer
2005
Film
No Pockets in a Shroud
Raymond
1974
Film
Sculpt
2016
Film
The Cardboard Village
Old Priest
2011
Film
Special Section
Pierre Pucheu - le ministre de l'intérieur
1975
Film
Les grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons
Stéphane
1973
Film
Dieu sait quoi
Narrator
1994
Film
Un paquebot dans la tête
Roland Gougean-Roland
1981
Film
A Dirty Story
The voyeur
1977
Film
Delphine Seyrig, portrait d'une comète
Self
2000
Film
Right to the city
Narrator
1974
Film
Gentille
Jean
2005
Film
The Pink Telephone
M. Morrison, président de la Fielding
1975
Film
Those Facing Us
Mikaël
2001
Film
The Ghostly Rental
Kernan
1965
Film
Order of the Daisy
Lastac / Lataque, expert en écritures / Le juge (voice)
1967
Film
Jaloux comme un tigre
The grimacing motorist
1964
Vroum-vroum
1995
Film
The Nail Clippers
Le mari
1969
Film
Erendira
Senator Onésimo Sanchez
1983
Film
Mersonne ne m'aime
Commissioner Bancau
1982
Film
The Tribulations of Balthazar Kober
Cammerschulze
1988
Film
Mauvais Genre
Honoré de Balzac
1997
Film
Les Filles au Moyen-Âge
Daniel
2016
Film
Noise of Love and War
The director
1997
Film
Le rose et le blanc
Léon
1982
Film
The Mysteries of Paris: Jacques Rivette's Out 1 Revisited
Self
2016
Film
It Happened in Aden
Sinclair
1956
Film
The Risk of Living
narrator
1978
Film
Heartbeat Detector
Mathias Jüst
2007
Film
The Left-Handed Woman
The Waiter
1978
Film
Degas and I
Edgar Degas
2019
Film
Out 1: Spectre
Thomas
1973
Film
Aurais dû faire gaffe... le choc est terrible
1977
Le bureau des mariages
1962
Film
The Girl with the Cello
Philippe Lariel
1973
Film
A Whale That Had a Toothache
Le peintre
1975
Film
Maestro
Cedric Rovère
2014
Film
Judoka-Secret Agent
Thomas Perkins
1967
Film
You'll Miss Me
Max
2009
Film
The Suspects
Judge Souftries
1974
Film
Jean Eustache's Wasted Breath
(voice)
1997
Film
L'air d'aimer
Raymond
1986
Film
Le revolver et la rose
Philippe de la Tour / Dimitri Korkesky
1970
Cela s'appelle l'amour
Self
1989
Film
Jean-Marie Serreau, découvreur de théâtres
Self
2016
Film
Film sur Hans Bellmer
Narrator
1974
Film
Sweet Inquest on Violence
Ash, the financier
1982
Film
Galileo
Cardinal Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII)
1975
Is Dead - Portrait incomplet de Gertrude Stein
Narrator (voice)
2000
Film
The Buddies
Lamendin
1965
Film
Der Madonna-Mann
Tanzmann
1987
Film
The Accuser
Abéraud
1977
Film
Les Trois Sœurs
Andreï Prodarov
1960
Film
Invisible
Le gardien
2005
Film
Le Fantôme de Laurent Terzieff
Self
2020
Film
The Itchy Palm
Nobert
1960
Film
Rosenn
(voice)
2014
Film
Chut !
Sergel
1972
Les amants cinéma
Self
2008
Film
The Memory of the Eye E.J. Marey
Narrator
1986
Les Mains d'Andréa
2006
Film
The Devil in the Box
Georges Aubert
1977
Film
Le Petit Nicolas
The father
1964
Rendez-vous manqués
Moralès
1986
Film
Earthen Man
(voice)
1989
Film
Snobs!
Charles Dufaut
1962
Film
Jeanne, à petits pas
Louis
2006
Film
L'ordre du jour
Stark
1993
Jean-Sans-Terre
Jean Papeuil
1980
Film
The Outsider
Narrator (Voice)
2023
Film
Salvador Dalí: Génie tragi-comique
Narrator
2019
Film
N: The Madness Of Reason
Narrator
2014
Film
Billy Ze Kick
Commissaire Bellanger
1985
La nuit du beau marin peut-être?
Boris
1976
Film
Souvenir
Xavier Lorion
1989
Film
Jaune, Le Soleil
Un juif
1971
Film
La Grande Paulette
Paul
1974
Film
The Big Wash
Delaroche
1968
Film
The Judge
Le docteur
1984
Film
Aloïse
le médecin
1975
Les Écrans déchirés
Michael
1976
Film
The Door Slams
Georges
1960
Film
La Fenêtre
Bracquemont
1970
Film
Adorable Liar
Albert
1962
Ève avait l'éclat métallique de l'été
1979
Film
Concerto for an Exile
Un acteur au théâtre
1968
Film
The Authentic Trial of Carl Emmanuel Jung
L'Avocat de la Défense
1967
Film
Scrambled Eggs
The President of the Republic
1976
Film
The Truth About the Imaginary Passion of an Unknown
Le reporter TV / Ponce Pilate
1974
Film
Destroy, She Said
Stein
1969
Film
The Immoral Moment
Mercier
1962
Film
La Rényon lontan
Narrator (voice)
1983
Film
Les Années Lumière
Narrator (voice)
1972
Film
Le Renard jaune
Jean Virno
2013
Film
Trompe-l'oeil
Self (voice)
1982
Film
Bazin's Film
Narrator
2017
Film
Une jeunesse
Béjardy
1983
Film
The Visit
Self
2015
Film
Comédie
L'homme (M)
1966
Film
Un troisième
Le réalisateur
1970
Film
La Plante Humaine
Michel
1996
Film
African Glory
Christopher Columbus
2024
Film
Veilleurs dans la nuit - Une journée monastique à l'Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux
Narrateur
2011
Film
So Long Michael
Himself
2021
Film
Le Mythe Cathare
Narrator
2002