Born on March 29, 1957 in Great Neck, New York, Christophe Lambert grew up in Switzerland. His father, who was 50 years old when his son was born, was a diplomat at the UN. A shy and solitary child, he discovered the theater while performing a play by Marivaux during a summer vacation with his sisters and cousins in Charente-Maritime; his vocation was born! At the age of 15, his father suggested that he do an internship in a bank in Geneva to get a taste of working life. The experience was not very convincing for the teenager who could not imagine his future like that. Faced with his father’s ultimatum – who gave him two years to break into the film industry – Christophe Lambert became a salesman in a clothing store on Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris. At the same time, he took acting lessons and enrolled in the Cours Florent with a friend. His talent was quickly noticed by one of his teachers who encouraged him to take the entrance exam for the Paris Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. His second year teacher, Michel Bouquet, communicated his passion for acting to him.
It was in Claude Barrois’ film, Le bar du téléphone (1980), that Christophe Lambert made his film debut alongside Richard Anconina, a young actor like himself. At 27, he gets his first leading role in Greystoke. After six months of intensive training to gain 26 kg, he takes on the role of Tarzan. The worldwide success of the film brings him immediate fame and gives him an international star status. He then took on a series of leading roles (Words and Music, Subway, Highlander) and won the César for Best Actor for his performance in Luc Besson’s Subway (1985) in which he played Fred, a burglar who takes refuge in the bowels of the Parisian subway. In 1987, he shot The Sicilian by Michael Cimino, whose admissions exceeded one million spectators but which was poorly received by critics. His image changes in 1990 with Highlander II by Russell Mulcahy, which earned him the first criticism from his audience.
In the 90s, the actor divides his career between France and the United States and alternates registers; the drama (Max and Jeremiah, 1992), science fiction (Fortress, 1993), the adventure film (Great North, 1995) or the adaptation of the video game Mortal Kombat by Paul W.S Anderson in 1995. After a gap, the actor is back in 2001 in a big European production, Vercingetorix, the legend of the Druid king of Jacques Dorfmann, but the film, very poorly received by critics, is a commercial failure.
Always very eclectic in his choices, the actor tries to regain his audience and returns in 2003 with the comedy of Samuel Benchetrit, Janis and John. In 2006, he is in the credits of the Hare of Vatanen Marc Riviere and then turns under the direction of Sophie Marceau, The missing Deauville (2007) to which he gives the line in The bedside man in 2009. In 2012, he plays a diabolical character in two episodes of season 3 of NCIS: Los Angeles, the second most watched series in the United States. The same year, he also starred in Anne Fassio’s My Good Star. He also returned to the small screen with the TV movie La Source by Xavier Durringer in 2013.
Alongside his acting career, Christophe Lambert has successfully launched a business venture (restaurants, vineyards, a website for exchanging objects…) A great collector of modern and contemporary art, he is passionate about street art. In February 2011, he published a novel, La fille porte-bonheur, with Plon.
In his private life, Christophe Lambert was married to the actress Diane Lane (1988-1994) whom he met on the set of the film Face à Face. Together they have a daughter, Eleanor, born in September 1993. After a long romance with Sophie Desmarais (2002-2006) he met actress Sophie Marceau on the set of The Missing of Deauville in 2007. Unfortunately, in July 2014, the agent of the actress announced the separation of the couple. In October 2016, during the MIPCOM held in Cannes, the actor is displayed on the arm of his new companion, Karima Zerkani-Raynal. In October 2018, Christophe Lambert poses on the arm of the Italian actress Camilla Ferranti on the red carpet of the Lumiere Festival in Lyon.
Interviewed by Ici Paris this Wednesday September 16, 2020, Christophe Lambert spoke about his former addiction to alcohol and the importance of his daughter in
Keep In Touch
