Didier
Sandre

Didier Sandre has been pensionnaire of the Comédie-Française since the 1st of November 2013 and had made his debut in Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit (La Visite de la vieille dame) under the direction of Christophe Lidon. As part of the company, he has interpreted Orgon in Molière’s Tartuffe staged by Galin Stoev and Capulet in Éric Ruf’s staging of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In July 2016, Didier Sandre performed Baron von Essenbeck in Ivo van Hove’s adaptation of Visconti The Damned. For Denis Podalydès, he played Guiche in Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac and Géronte in Molière’s Les Fourberies de Scapin. Anne Kessler entrusted him with Gustaf’s part in August Strindberg’s The Creditors.

As a child, Didier Sandre dreamed of becoming a dancer or a musician, and ultimately chose the theatre. The Russian Tania Balachova taught him the Stanislavski method before he became an intern with directors Jerzy Grotowski and Eugenio Barba. In 1968, Catherine Dasté hired him for La Pomme Verte, her theatre company for the young audience. Didier Sandre’s career took off thanks to a demanding repertoire directed by renowned directors. There, he performed in the following plays among others: Molière’s Dom Juan, Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Jakob Lenz’s Der Hofmeister (Le Précepteur) all staged by Bernard Sobel; in the four plays by Molière first shown in Avignon and subsequently in Paris directed by Antoine Vitez; and Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, Genet’s Les Paravents and Marivaux’s La Fausse suivante directed by Patrice Chéreau. Giorgio Strehler directed him in Corneille’s L’Illusion comique, while Claudia Stavisky directed him in Georges Feydeau’s Monsieur Chasse and Roland Schimmelpfennig’s Die Frau von früher (La Femme d’avant). Luc Bondy cast him for two plays by Arthur Schnitzler: Das weite Land (Terre étrangère) and Der einsame Weg (Chemin solitaire). Hans Peter Cloos directed him in August Strindberg’s The Dance of Death (Danse de mort) in which he starred beside Charlotte Rampling. In 1987, the National Critics Association (Syndicat national de la critique) rewarded him for his roles in Mishima’s Madame de Sade, Beaumarchais’s Le Mariage de Figaro and Claudel’s Le Soulier de Satin. Not only has Didier Sandre made a great contribution to hours of entertainment in subsidized theatres, but he has also made an impression in the realm of private theatre. His interpretation of Lord Goring in Oscar Wilde’s The Ideal Husband, as directed by Adrian Birnem, earned him a Molière Award in 1996. In 2013 he received the Brigadier Award for playing Stefan Zweig in Roland Harwood’s Collaboration beside Michel Aumont and Christiane Cohendy.

Didier Sandre is also a movie actor. He has been directed by Romain Goupil in La Java des ombres; Pascale Ferran in Petits arrangements avec les morts; Eric Rohmer in Conte d’automne; Lucas Belvaux in 38 Témoins and Pas son genre; Agnès Jaoui in Au bout du conte and Catherine Corsini in Un amour impossible. He has acted in multiple television features films, such as L’Allée du Roi and À la recherche du temps perdu both directed by Nina Companeez. He regularly collaborates with musicians on programs including music, literature and poetry.

Didier Sandre is Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters and Chevalier of the National Order of Merit.