Lambert Wilson
Born: August 3 1958
Born: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
The singer and actor is best remembered as the suavely sinister French gourmand Merovingian in The Matrix series.
He has been nominated five times for a Cesar (French Oscar), most recently for best supporting actor in Fabian Onteneniente's comedy Jetset.
He made his big screen debut in 1977 alongside Jane Fonda in wartime drama Julia but his first starring role was opposite Sean Connery in Five Days One Summer.
In 1987 he appeared in Peter Greenaway's The Belly of An Architect and went on to star in Carlos Saura's El Dorado.
A stalwart of French cinema, other appearances include Claude Chabrol's The Blood of Others with Jodie Foster and Rendez-Vous with Juliette Binoche.
In 1995, he starred in James Ivory's Jefferson in Paris and for Vera Belmont for both Red Kiss and Marquise.
On stage, he has performed in both French and English, including appearances in A Little Night Music with Judi Dench at The National Theatre.
As a singer, he recorded an album of songs - Musicals - from the great American musicals and also peformed the same favour for French cinema.
In 2003, he appeared in the sci-fi box office smash The Matrix Reloaded and subsequently Matrix Revolutions as well as the disappointing Timeline.
The following year he played villainous cosmetics boss George Hedare alongside Halle Berry and Sharon Stone in Catwoman.
