Christopher Lambert

Christophe Guy Denis Lambert (; ; born March 29, 1957), often credited as Christopher Lambert, is an American actor and film producer. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Tarzan in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. For his performance in the film Subway (1985), he received the César Award for Best Actor. He is known for his role as Connor MacLeod in the adventure-fantasy film Highlander (1986) and the subsequent television and film franchise of the same title, Raiden in Mortal Kombat (1995), Methodius in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), and Arne Seslum in Hail, Caesar! (2016). He also served as executive producer for Nine Months (1995).

Early life Christophe Guy Denis Lambert was born in Great Neck, New York, on March 29, 1957, the son of Yolande Agnès Henriette and Georges Lambert-Lamond, a French diplomat at the United Nations. His father was Jewish. Due to his father's work, Lambert moved with his parents to Switzerland at the age of two, and the Institut Florimont until his teenage years, Lambert's debut in acting was in a school play age 12. Lambert got the role beating out Viggo Mortensen partly thanks to his myopia, because when he took off his glasses it seemed he was always looking into the distance. Released in 1984, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, was nominated for many awards.

In 1986, Lambert appeared in Highlander the role for which he would be best known. In the film, Lambert starred as Connor MacLeod, an immortal warrior who could be killed only by decapitation. In 1987, Lambert played the leading role of Salvatore Giuliano in The Sicilian, directed by Michael Cimino. In 1988, he starred in Agnieszka Holland's To Kill a Priest, in which he played a character based on Jerzy Popiełuszko and his murder under the Polish communist regime.

In 1991, Highlander II: The Quickening premiered, reuniting Lambert with director Russell Mulcahy and fellow actor Sean Connery. Shot in Argentina (which was going through a financial crisis) to reduce production costs, much of the script was not filmed and the final result was a patchwork. It was said, Lambert threatened to walk out of the project when it was nearing fruition. However, due to contractual obligations, he reconsidered.

In 1993, Carl Schenkel's suspense thriller Knight Moves premiered, in which Lambert was both an executive producer and the lead. Later that year, Stuart Gordon's science fiction film Fortress premiered, with Lambert playing the lead. The story takes place in a dystopian future where a man and his wife are sent to a maximum-security prison because they are expecting a second child, which is against the strict one-child policy.

1994 saw the release of two collaborations with actor Mario Van Peebles.

In 1995, he played the role of the thunder god Raiden in the Paul W. S. Anderson's movie adaptation of the popular video game series Mortal Kombat. The plot of the film follows the warrior monk Liu Kang, the actor Johnny Cage, and the soldier Sonya Blade, all three guided by the god Raiden, and produced Xavier Beauvois's Don't Forget You're Going to Die, which won the Special Jury Award at the Gijón International Film Festival, won the Prix Jean Vigo, won the Jury Prize and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Lambert was also an executive producer on Chris Columbus' Nine Months, The same year, he also co-lead with Ice-T in the action film Mean Guns, The film stars Isabelle Huppert as a struggling French coffee producer in an unnamed French speaking African country, who decides to stay at her coffee plantation in spite of an erupting civil war. That year, he also acted in Cartagena, with Sophie Marceau starring as a beautiful, free-spirited woman who becomes bedridden following a terrible accident. Against her better judgement, she hires a drunk middle-aged former boxer (Lambert) to cook and care for her. Although unqualified for the position, he is desperate for work, and slowly he wins the trust of the woman, who teaches him how to read. The film also won several awards in France.

In 2011, Lambert starred as the villainous head monk Methodius in the Ghost Rider sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, starring Nicolas Cage, in 2011. He underwent sword training for three months and shaved his head. The film made $132.6 million worldwide. Shortly afterwards, he got the role of Marcel Janvier (alias "The Chameleon"), a recurring villain in award-winning hit police crime TV drama NCIS: Los Angeles. His character was in six episodes from 2012 to 2013 – the two highest-rated seasons of the show.

In 2014, he played in the biographical crime drama film Electric Slide, about the Los Angeles-based bank robber Eddie Dodson. In 2015, he co-starred in Claude Lelouch's Un plus une, a French romantic comedy film. He also co-starred in the biographical film 10 Days in a Madhouse, about the experiences of undercover journalist Nellie Bly. In 2016 he co-starred in Hail, Caesar!, a comedy film written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It is a fictional story that follows the real-life "fixer" Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) working in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, trying to discover what happened to a cast member who vanished during the filming of a biblical epic. That year, he cameoed as a French Army Captain in La folle histoire de Max et Léon, a French World War II comedy film. He also had a recurring role in the Russian-Portuguese biographical television show Mata Hari. That year, he also played the lead villain in the martial arts film Kickboxer: Retaliation.

Lambert plays the role of SS officer Karl Frenzel in the Russian film Sobibor by director Konstantin Khabensky, which was released in 2018. The film is a World War II drama about the only successful uprising in a Nazi death camp. It was selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. Lambert received high praise for "an outstanding and nuanced performance; he is unrecognisable as Frenzel, a demonic, fractured character".

Lambert was part of the ensemble cast of Bel Canto from director Paul Weitz, an adaptation of the 2002 novel of the same name, by Ann Patchett. Lambert played the role of a French ambassador who was part of the Japanese embassy hostage crisis (also called the Lima Crisis) of 1996–1997 in Lima, Peru. Lambert received praise, along with the rest of the cast, for "performances [that] are uniformly excellent".

Other ventures Lambert has written two novels: La fille porte-bonheur in 2011 and Le juge in 2015.

Along with owning a mineral water business and food processing plant, Lambert produces Côtes du Rhône wines with his business partner Eric Beaumard at a vineyard in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes. The label, Les Garrigues de Beaumard-Lambert, tops out at 4,000 cases and is sold mostly in Europe. Beaumard has primary creative control of the winery, but Lambert conducts barrel tests and monitors the various stages of the wine's evolution.

Personal life Lambert was married to American actress Diane Lane from 1988 until their divorce in 1994. Their daughter was born in 1993.

Lambert has severe myopia and cannot see without his glasses. He cannot wear contact lenses and often has to perform while virtually blind, which has led to injuries while performing his own stunts.

Filmography

Year Title Role Language Notes 1979 Ciao, les mecs Thug at the dance party French Credited as Christophe Lambert 1980 Paul "Bébé" Franchi as Christophe Lambert 1981 Douchka TV film Asphalte Un médecin à l'hôpital / The doctor as Christophe Lambert Une sale affaire Mullard Putain d'histoire d'amour Inspecteur de police 1982 Légitime violence Jockey Cinéma 16: La Dame de cœur Marcel TV series episode 1984 Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes John Clayton / Tarzan English 1985 Paroles et Musique Jeremy French as Christophe Lambert Subway Fred César Award for Best Actor as Christophe Lambert 1986 Highlander Connor MacLeod English I Love You Michel French as Christophe Lambert 1987 Salvatore Giuliano English 1988 Priceless Beauty ( Love Dream) Menrou To Kill a Priest Father Alek 1990 Why Me? Gus Cardinale 1991 Highlander II: The Quickening Connor MacLeod 1992 Knight Moves Peter Sanderson Highlander: The Series Connor MacLeod TV (one episode) Max et Jérémie Jeremie Kolachowsky French as Christophe Lambert Fortress John Henry Brennick English 1993 Loaded Weapon 1 Man with Car Phone Deleted scene, uncredited1994 Gunmen Dani Servigo Roadflower Jack Highlander III: The Sorcerer Connor MacLeod / Russell Nash 1995 Paul Racine Nine Months — Executive producer Mortal Kombat Raiden 1996 North Star Hudson Saanteek as Christophe Lambert Adrenalin: Fear the Rush Lemieux Hercule et Sherlock Vincent French as Christophe Lambert 1997 Nirvana Jimi Dini Italian Arlette Frank Martin French as Christophe Lambert Mean Guns Lou English 1999 Operation Splitsville Max, P.E. Teacher Resurrection John Prudhomme also writer Beowulf Beowulf Gideon Gideon Oliver Dobbs 2000 Fortress 2: Re-Entry John Henry Brennick Highlander: Endgame Connor MacLeod 2001 Aparté Short film Druids Vercingetorix English as Christophe Lambert Mazinkaiser Additional Voices Video game Tony Eckhardt English 2002 King of Bandit Jing Additional Voices TV miniseries, credited as Chris Lambert Alex Laney English 2003 Absolon Detective Norman Scot Janis and John Léon French 2004 À ton image Thomas 2005 Dalida Richard Chanfray, Comte de Saint-Germain TV miniseries 2006 Day of Wrath Ruy de Mendoza English Southland Tales Walter Mung Tom Vatanen French as Christophe Lambert 2007 Metamorphosis Constantine Thurzo English Trivial Jacques French as Christophe Lambert 2008 (Kierowca) Devereaux Polish 2009 White Material Andre Vial French as Christophe Lambert EnglishFilm Mata Hari Gustav Kramer RussianTV miniseries Everyone's Life Antoine de Vidas French Call My Agent! Himself TV series (1 episode)2018 Kickboxer: Retaliation Thomas Moore English Sobibor Karl Frenzel Russian Russian Holocaust film Bel Canto Simon Thibault English 2019 The Blacklist Bastien Moreau / The Corsican TV seriesDottoressa GiòSergio MontiItalian 2020 Capitaine Marleau Thierry Bégodeau French 2024 Falla Girare 2: Offline Italian 2025 The Creeps English

Video games Year Title Role Language Notes 2020 Mortal Kombat 11 Raiden ("Earthrealm") English Voice and model based on his past performance as the character in the 1995 live action film