Lambert Wilson (born August 3, 1958 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a French stage and screen actor of French and Anglo-Irish descent.
The son of actor and stage director Georges Wilson, he decided he would become an actor the day he watched a screening of The Three Musketeers in 1973. While he had initially little regard for French theatre, he ended up honing his skills on stage first and hasn't stopped performing on stage since. His big film acting break happened in The '80s, with his role in André Téchiné's Rendez-vous.
He is known for alternating French productions of all kinds and English-speaking roles (such as the Merovingian in the Matrix films, probably the role he's best known for internationally).
Works he has appeared in include:
- Julia (1977) as Walter Franz
- Le Gendarme et les extra-terrestres (1979) as the blond alien
- Lady Oscar (1979 film) as the cocky soldier
- Jefferson in Paris (1995) as the Marquis de La Fayette
- Same Old Song (1997) as Marc Duveyrier
- Don Quixote (2000 Hallmark miniseries) as Duke
- The Matrix as the Merovingian
- Enter the Matrix (2003)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
- Catwoman (2004) as George Hedare
- Sahara (2005) as Yves Massarde
- Flawless (2007) as Finch
- Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure (2007) as Lucky Luke (voice)
- Babylon A.D. (2008) as Dr. Arthur Darquandier
- Dante 01 (2008) as Saint Georges
- Des hommes et des dieux (2010) as Christian
- Ernest et Célestine (2012) as Ernest (voice)
- HOUBA! On the Trail of the Marsupilami (2012) as General Pochero
- Suite Française (2015) as the Vicomte de Montmort
- The Jungle Book (2016) as Baloo (French dub)
- The Odyssey (2016) as Jacques-Yves Cousteau
- The Translators (2019) as publisher Éric Angstrom
- De Gaulle (2020) as Charles de Gaulle
- Benedetta (2021) as the Nuncio
- Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) as Marquis de Chassagne
- Star Wars: Visions - The Spy Dancer (2023) as Jon
- Wish (2023) as King Magnifico (French dub)
Tropes about his works:
- Playing Against Type: He is mostly known for his serious/dramatic roles. In HOUBA! On the Trail of the Marsupilami, as General Pochero he gets to dress in drag and sing a Céline Dion song
along with Spontaneous Choreography. An interview shows he was delighted to be offered the role. - Those Two Actors: He's appeared in three productions alongside Marie Trintignant. He is a personal friend of the Trintignant family.
- What Could Have Been: He screen-tested for the role of James Bond in 1986 once Pierce Brosnan became unavailable due to Remington Steele. The role went to Timothy Dalton eventually.
