MICHAEL GAMBON

Julien’s father, Levade, is played by the accomplished actor MICHAEL GAMBON. Born in Ireland, Gambon made his first stage appearance in 1962 in a Dublin production of Othello. He then moved to London to perform at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and the National Theatre, where he studied under Laurence Olivier. From 1978-80 Gambon played Roderigo in an acclaimed National Theatre production of Othello.

Throughout his stage career, Gambon has worked extensively with playwright Alan Ayckbourn, performing in The Norman Conquests, Just Between Ourselves, A Chorus of Disapproval, A Small Family Business and Man of the Moment. He won critical accolades for his portrayal of Eddie in the 1987 revival of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge and co-starred with Jack Lemmon in the 1989 world premiere of Donald Freed’s Veteran’s Day in London’s West End. In 1995, Gambon turned in an award-winning performance in Ben Jonson’s Volpone.

In television, Gambon is well known for his roles in Maigret and The Singing Detective. His first major screen role came in 1974 with The Beast Must Die, but he truly began to make a name for himself in film in the 1980s, with performances in David Hare’s Paris By Night, opposite Marlon Brando in A Dry White Season, with Robin Williams in Toys and in Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.