European leading man Michel Lonsdale is the son of a British military officer. Lonsdale has spent most of his life as a resident of Paris, where he studied acting under Raymond Rouleau. He was primarily a stage actor during the 1950s, but since 1960 has concentrated on film. His best-known movie role was as the pursuer of professional assassin in Day of the Jackal (1973). He has also worked with such powerhouse directorial talents as Francois Truffaut (The Bride Wore Black), Orson Welles (The Trial) and Joseph Losey (Galileo). Other Michel Lonsdale film performances of note include the megalomaniac Drax in the James Bond entry Moonraker (1979), the Abbott in The Name of the Rose (1986) and King Louis XVI in Merchant-Ivory's Jefferson in Paris (1995).