Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert (born March 29, 1957) is an American-born French actor. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name. He is also known for his role as the thunder god Raiden in the first movie adaption of the popular video game Mortal Kombat. He is credited in French-speaking countries as Christophe Lambert.
Early life
Lambert was born in Great Neck, New York. His father was a French diplomat in the United Nations. Lambert grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, where his family moved when he was two, before returning to Paris when he was 16. He first caught the acting bug after participating in a school play at the age of twelve. His parents however wanted him to have a job with security and saw acting as unsafe, so to please his parents he took a job with the London Stock Exchange, but after about six months he left the L.S.E. to help a friend run a shop in Paris. He also served in the French military at his father's insistence.
Career
Director Hugh Hudson cast him in the title role of Greystoke - The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). With Highlander (1986), starring as Connor MacLeod, Lambert received public attention. It is by far his most famous role. He appeared in all three sequels that were released in theaters — although he was not in the 2007 movie made for the Sci-Fi Channel — and had a cameo appearance in the pilot of the television series. Lambert got a César for Best Actor in 1986 for his role in Subway, directed by Luc Besson.1 In 1995, he won the role of the thunder god Raiden in a movie adaptation of the popular video game series Mortal Kombat. Lambert was interested in reprising his character in the sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, but he was committed to his role in Beowulf, thus the role was given to James Remar. As of early 2007, it was rumored he will again play Raiden in the reboot, Mortal Kombat: Devastation. The only confirmed castings for this movie are former castmates Linden Ashby (Johnny Cage), and Chris Casamassa (Scorpion).234 In September 2009 he got the lead role in Tales of an Ancient Empire, which is directed by Albert Pyun; he plays alongside Cynthia Curnan, Kevin Sorbo, Melissa Ordway and Steven Seagal.5
Personal life
Lambert was married to Diane Lane from 1988 to 1994. Their daughter, Eleanor Jasmine, was born on September 5, 1993. After dating Alba Parietti in 1996, he married Jaimyse Haft in February 1999. He is presently dating Sophie Marceau with whom he appeared in La Disparue de Deauville.
Lambert has myopia and has great difficulty seeing without his glasses. Because he cannot wear contact lenses, he is often forced to act while virtually blind. This has led to injuries while performing his own stunts without glasses.6
Lambert is a close friend of Mario Van Peebles and Sean Connery. He has appeared in multiple films with both of them.
Lambert was director John Glen's first choice for the role of James Bond for The Living Daylights. But his french accent prevented him from getting the role.
Winery
Along with owning a mineral water business and food processing plant, Lambert produces CĂ´tes-du-RhĂ´ne wines with partner Eric Beaumard. The vineyard is located in Sainte-CĂ©cile-les-Vignes, France. 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 evolution.7 Novus Vinum gave his vintage 1998 Les Garrigues a score of 13/20.
Filmography
References
External links
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