Thierry Lhermitte (born 24 November 1952 in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French actor, director, writer and producer.
One of the founders of the Parisian comedy/satire theatre troupe Le Splendid' in The '70s along with Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot and Michel Blanc (all four were high school friends), later joined by Josiane Balasko and Bruno Moynot, he is a regular face in French comedy films since The '80s.
The biggest successes he's been part of include Santa Claus Is a Stinker, the French Fried Vacation trilogy, Little Indian, Big City and The Dinner Game, all of them being comedies, though he's not above playing a serious role every now and then.
Selected filmography:
- French Fried Vacation film series as Robert Lespinasse aka "Popeye"
- French Fried Vacation (1978)
- French Fried Vacation 2 (1979)
- French Fried Vacation 3 (2006)
- Santa Claus Is a Stinker (1982) as Pierre Mortez
- Gramps Is in the Resistance (1983) as the SS Colonel
- Little Indian, Big City (1994) as Stéphane Marchadot
- Marquise (1997) as Louis XIV
- The Dinner Game (1998) as Pierre Brochant
- Quasimodo d'El Paris (1999) as the radio announcer (voice cameo)
- The Prince of the Pacific (2000) as Captain Alfred de Morsac
- The Closet (2001) as Guillaume
- Strange Gardens (2003) as Thierry Plaisance
- The Mark of the Angels - Miserere (2013) as Vernoux
- The French Minister (2013) as Alexandre Taillard de Worms
- Benoit Brisefer: The Red Taxis (2014) as Arsène Duval
Tropes & Trivia about his works:
- Foreign Remake: A number of the films he's appeared in got American remakes, such as La Totale (True Lies), Little Indian, Big City (Jungle 2 Jungle) and The Dinner Game (Dinner for Schmucks).
- Playing Against Type: While he's mostly known for his comedic roles, he's pulled off a few dramatic ones, such as in The Mark of the Angels - Miserere.
- Production Posse: Outside of the obvious in the late 70s and early 80s with the films he made with his comrades of the Splendid' theatre troupe, he's made several films with directors Claude Zidi and Francis Veber.
- Those Two Actors: Outside of the Splendid' productions, he's been paired with Patrick Timsit quite frequently.
