Michael Edward Lonsdale-Crouch 24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020, commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes billed as Michel Lonsdale, was a British-French actor who appeared in over 180 films and television shows. He is best known in the English-speaking world for his roles as the villain Hugo Drax in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker, the detective Claude Lebel in The Day of the Jackal, and M. Dupont d’Ivry in The Remains of the Day.
Early life and education
Lonsdale was born in Paris, the son of British Army officer Edward Lonsdale-Crouch and his half-French, half-Irish wife Simone Béraud. He was brought up initially on the island of Guernsey, then in London from 1935, and later, during the Second World War, in Casablanca, Morocco.
Career
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 Moonraker.
On 25 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.
Death
Lonsdale died in Paris on 21 September 2020, aged 89.
Filmography
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Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | It Happened in Aden | Sinclair | ||
| 1960 | La main chaude | Nobert | ||
| Les portes claquent | Georges Hortegrenave | |||
| 1962 | Adorable Liar | Albert | ||
| Le Crime ne paie pas | L’employé de la morgue | (segment “L’homme de l’avenue”), Uncredited | ||
| La dénonciation | Mercier | |||
| Snobs! | Charles Dufaut | |||
| The Trial | Priest | |||
| 1964 | Behold a Pale Horse | Reporter | ||
| Jaloux comme un tigre | L’automobiliste qui grimace | |||
| 1965 | Les copains | Lamenbin | ||
| Je vous salue, mafia! | Hyman | |||
| 1966 | Your Money or Your Life | Le conférencier au club des timides | ||
| Is Paris Burning? | Debu-Bridel | Uncredited | ||
| Judoka-Secret Agent | Thomas Perkins | |||
| Le fer à repasser | ||||
| 1967 | Les compagnons de la marguerite | Lastac / Lataque, expert en écritures / La voix du juge d’instruction | ||
| L’authentique procès de Carl-Emmanuel Jung | Un avocat | |||
| 1968 | L’homme à la Buick | L’inspecteur / The inspector | ||
| The Bride Wore Black | René Morane | |||
| Stolen Kisses | Georges Tabard | |||
| La grande lessive! | Delaroche | |||
| 1969 | Hibernatus | Professor Edouard Lauriebat | ||
| Détruire, dit-elle | Stein | |||
| L’hiver | Julien & Marc | |||
| 1970 | L’étalon | Both | ||
| Le revolver et la rose | Philippe de la Tour / Dimitri Korkesky | |||
| 1971 | Le printemps | L’homme qui fuit | ||
| Le Souffle au cœur | Father Henri | |||
| Les assassins de l’ordre | Inspector Bertrand | |||
| Out 1 | Thomas | |||
| Papa les petits bateaux… | Hippolyte | |||
| Jaune le soleil | Un juif | |||
| 1972 | The Old Maid | Monod | ||
| Il était une fois un flic… | Le commissaire Lucas | |||
| Chut! | Sergel | |||
| L’automne | Julien, le réalisateur | |||
| Out 1: Spectre | Thomas | |||
| 1973 | The Day of the Jackal | Deputy Commissioner Claude Lebel | ||
| La fille au violoncelle | Philippe Lariel | |||
| Les grands sentiments font les bons gueuletons | Stéphane | |||
| 1974 | Successive Slidings of Pleasure | The Judge | ||
| La grande Paulette | Paul | |||
| Stavisky | Docteur Mézy | By Alain Resnais | ||
| La vérité sur l’imaginaire passion d’un inconnu | Le reporter TV / Ponce Pilate | |||
| Une baleine qui avait mal aux dents | Le peintre | |||
| Caravan to Vaccares | Duc de Croyter | |||
| The Phantom of Liberty | Le chapelier / Hatter | |||
| Un linceul n’a pas de poches | Raymond | |||
| The Suspects | Le juge Souftries | |||
| 1975 | Serious as Pleasure | L’inspecteur Fournier / Inspector Fournier | ||
| Galileo | Cardinal Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII | |||
| Aloïse | The second doctor | |||
| Section spéciale | Le ministre de l’intérieur Pierre Pucheu | |||
| La traque | David Sutter | |||
| The Romantic Englishwoman | Swan | |||
| India Song | Le vice-consul de Lahore | |||
| Folle à tuer | Stéphane Mostri | |||
| Le téléphone rose | Morrison | |||
| Ne | ||||
| 1976 | Scrambled Eggs | Le Président de la République | ||
| Mr. Klein | Pierre | |||
| Son nom de Venise dans Calcutta désert | Récitant | Voice | ||
| Bartleby | L’huissier | |||
| L’Eden Palace | Raoul | |||
| 1977 | Le diable dans la boîte | Georges Aubert | ||
| L’adieu nu | Boris / The visitor | |||
| The Accuser | Abéraud | |||
| The Left-Handed Woman | Kellner | |||
| Aurais dû faire gaffe… le choc est terrible | ||||
| Une sale histoire | Documentray | |||
| Jacques Prévert | Himself | |||
| 1979 | The Passage | Alain Renoudot | ||
| Moonraker | Hugo Drax | |||
| Ève avait l’éclat métallique de l’été | ||||
| 1980 | Seuls | Le peintre | ||
| Ella, une vraie famille | Le comédien studio d’enregistrement | |||
| 1981 | The Bunker | Martin Bormann | TV movie | |
| Chariots of Fire | ||||
| Les jeux de la Comtesse Dolingen de Gratz | Bertrand Haines-Pearson | |||
| Seuls | Ludovic | |||
| 1982 | Le rose et le blanc | Léon | ||
| Sweet Inquest on Violence | Ash, le financier | |||
| Chronopolis | Narrator | Voice | ||
| Mora | As writer | |||
| Enigma | Bodley | |||
| 1983 | Eréndira | Senator Onésimo Sanchez | ||
| Une jeunesse | Bejardy | |||
| 1984 | The Judge | Le Docteur | ||
| Le Bon Roi Dagobert | Saint Eloi | |||
| Les Boulugres | Le Roi | Voice | ||
| 1985 | The Holcroft Covenant | Ernst Manfredi | ||
| L’éveillé du Pont de l’Alma | Antoine | |||
| Billy Ze Kick | Commissaire Bellanger | |||
| 1986 | Canevas la ville | Voice | ||
| The Name of the Rose | The Abbot | |||
| 1987 | Der Madonna-Mann | Tanzmann | ||
| L’enfant et le président | Le président | |||
| 1988 | Niezwykla podróz Baltazara Kobera | Le maître | ||
| 1989 | Souvenir | Xavier Lorion | ||
| L’homme de terre | Narrator | Voice | ||
| Cela s’appelle l’amour | Himself | |||
| 1991 | My Life Is Hell | Gabriel | By Josiane Balasko | |
| 1993 | Woyzeck | Le capitaine | ||
| L’ordre du jour | Stark | |||
| The Remains of the Day | Dupont D’Ivry | |||
| 1995 | Jefferson in Paris | Louis XVI | ||
| Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud | Dolabella | |||
| 1996 | The Human Plant (La Plante humaine) | Michel | ||
| 1997 | Mauvais genre | Honoré de Balzac | ||
| 1998 | Don Juan | Don Luis | ||
| Let There Be Light / Que la lumière soit | Monseigneur Loublié | By Arthur Joffé | ||
| Ronin | Jean-Pierre | |||
| 1999 | A Monkey’s Tale | Master Martin | Voice | |
| 2000 | Les Acteurs | Man in the street | By Bertrand Blier | |
| Ceux d’en face | Mikaël | |||
| 2003 | The Mystery of the Yellow Room | Stangerson | ||
| Kaena: The Prophecy | Opaz | Voice, French version | ||
| Adieu | Serge | |||
| Le Furet | Don Salvadore | |||
| 2004 | L’empreinte | Romain Dessouches | ||
| Strange Crime | David | |||
| 5×2 | Bernard | By François Ozon | ||
| 2005 | Les invisibles | Le gardien | ||
| Bye Bye Blackbird | Robert | |||
| The Perfume of the Lady in Black | Le professeur Stangerson | |||
| Good Girl | Jean | |||
| Selon Rachel | ||||
| Munich | Papa | |||
| 2006 | Il sera une fois… | Le vieux monsieur | ||
| Goya’s Ghosts | Father Gregorio | |||
| 2007 | Heartbeat Detector (La Question Humaine) |
Mathias Jüst | ||
| To Each His Own Cinema | The old blind man | (segment “Le Don”) | ||
| The Last Mistress | Le vicomte de Prony | |||
| Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure | Bartleby | Voice | ||
| 2009 | Agora | Theon | ||
| Je vais te manquer | Max | |||
| Park Benches | The Client doormat | |||
| 2010 | Of Gods and Men | Luc | César Award for Best Supporting Actor Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actor |
|
| Hitler à Hollywood | Himself | |||
| 2011 | Titeuf | Le psy | Voice | |
| Les hommes libres | Le recteur Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit | |||
| The Cardboard Village | Il vecchio prete | |||
| 2012 | Gebo et l’Ombre | Gebo | By Manoel de Oliveira | |
| 2013 | Le renard jaune | Jean Virno | ||
| 2014 | Rosenn | Voice | ||
| Maestro | Cédric Rovère | |||
| 2015 | Les filles au Moyen Âge | Daniel | ||
| 2016 | The First, the Last | Jean-Berchmans | ||
| Sculpt | (final film role) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Smiley’s People | Anton Grigoriev | TV miniseries | |
| 1986 | Le Tiroir secret | TV miniseries | ||
| 1991 | Maigret et la Grande Perche | Monsieur Serre | TV series | |
| 2001 | Maigret et la Croqueuse de Diamants | Sir Lampson | TV series | |
| 2013 | Marguerite Yourcenar, alchimie du paysage | The Narrator | TV documentary | |
| Le tourbillon de Jeanne | L’homme | TV series |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon | Henri Crousteau | Voice-over | |
| 2012 | 007 Legends | Hugo Drax | Voice-over |