|
This tall, handsome and glowering %22French%22 star was actually born in New York and raised in Switzerland. After being expelled from the Paris Conservatoire, Lambert made his screen debut in 1980 in the small French production %22The Telephone Bar%22, following up with %22Legitimate Violence%22 the same year. Lambert landed his first English-language role, in 1984, the lead in %22Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes%22. Though the film suffered from post-production tinkering, Lambert excelled in the physically challenging part, suggesting that he could be a viable Hollywood commodity, as a sex symbol, if nothing else. Opting to return to France, Lambert starred in Luc Besson's atmospheric %22Subway%22 (1985), which bolstered his international star status and won him a French Cesar for Best Actor, but did little to build his American audience. Lambert went on to co-star with Sean Connery in the supernatural adventure %22Highlander%22 (1986), proving himself an action star. Unfortunately, the US version suffered from severe editing; with 17 minutes of footage removed, the film was perceived as muddled and stalled Lambert's career stateside. Lambert also starred in the sequels, %22Highlander 2: The Quickening%22 (1991) and %22Highlander: The Final Dimension%22 (1994). Lambert has continued to work regularly, sometimes with interesting directors, including Agnieszka Holland (%22To Kill a Priest%22, 1988), Michael Cimino (%22The Sicilian%22, 1987), and horror auteur Stuart Gordon (%22Fortress%22, 1993). Like the majority of his films, the latter performed well abroad, but languished in the States despite excellent reviews. He made his debut as a producer with %22Knight Moves%22 (1992), in which he also acted, and went on to produce several films in which he did not appear: the 1994 comedy %22Neuf mois%22 and its 1995 American remake, %22Nine Months%22 ; %22Dead Beat%22 (1995); and %22When Saturday Comes%22 (1996). Lambert also produced and co-starred in the adventure %22Northstar%22 (1996). An enormous star in Europe and Asia, his films like %22Gunmen%22 (1994) and %22Mortal Kombat%22 (1995) have drawn huge crowds overseas, if not in the US. Lambert was married to actress Diane Lane from 1988-94.
|
|
|
