Laurent
Lafitte

Laurent Lafitte left for the United Kingdom, to the Guildford School of Acting to perfect his singing and dancing skills having previously trained at the Classe libre of the Cours Florent and the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in classes taught by Muriel Mayette-Holtz and Philippe Adrien. In Guildford, he met Ben Duke who directed him in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in 1999, before suggesting that he took part in Davina’s Landed, a piece Duke created the following year at the Union Theatre in London. In 2003, Gildas Bourdet directed him in Molière’s Imaginary Invalid (Le Malade imaginaire) at the Théâtre de l’Ouest Parisien, while the same year Jean-Marie Besset and Gilbert Desveaux staged him in Michel del Castillo’s Le Jour du destin at the Théâtre Montparnasse. The following year, Gildas Bourdet directed him in How the Other Half Lives, a play by Alan Ayckbourn at the Théâtre Marigny. In 2007, Zabou Breitman directed him in Des gens, a play she adapted from Raymond Depardon’s documentaries and which won that year’s Molière Award for private theatre. In 2013, they reunited for a satirical show on France Inter Radio station entitled À votre écoute, coûte que coûte, which won the SACD (Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers) Award for Radio. In 2007, Laurent Lafitte directed his first play by Mohamed Kacimi entitled Qu'elle aille au diable Meryl Streep !. It is with his one-man show, Laurent Lafitte comme son nom l’indique, co-written with Cyrille Thouvenin, that he became a household name and won the Raimu Award and the SACD Award for best newcomer.

Laurent Lafitte has been pensionnaire of the Comédie-Française since the 8th of January 2012. His first role within the Company was that of Mamimine in Gogol’s Marriage under the direction of Lilo Baur, who also directed him in Marcel Aymé's La Tête des autres the following season. Emmanuel Daumas cast him in his adaptation of Voltaire’s Candide. Zabou Breitman entrusted him with the title role in Feydeau’s Le Système Ribadier in 2013. Muriel Mayette-Holtz cast him as Demetrius in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He would return to Shakespeare in 2015, when he played Benvolio in Éric Ruf’s staging of Romeo and Juliet. In 2017, he was in charge of André Jurieux’s part in The Rules of the Game (La Règle du jeu) after a screenplay by Renoir and directed by Christiane Jatahy, as well as Bastien in Feydeau’s The Free Exchange Hotel (L’Hôtel du Libre-Échange) as directed by Isabelle Nanty.

Laurent Lafitte has appeared in several television series but the bulk of his career has been in movie. He was featured in a number of films by Guillaume Canet, such as Whatever You Say (Mon idole) in 2002, Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne) in 2005, Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) in 2009, and Nous finirons ensemble in 2018. The following are among his notable appearances on the big screen: Mathieu Kassovitz’s The Crimson Rivers (Les Rivières pourpres) in 2000, David Charhon’s On the Other Side of the Tracks (De l’autre côté du périph) in 2011, Marion Vernoux’s Bright Days Ahead (Les Beaux Jours) in 2012, Martin Bourboulon’s Daddy or Mommy (Papa ou maman) in 2015 followed by its sequel the year after. In 2016, his portrayal of Patrick in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle earned him a nomination for the César Award for best supporting actor. The following year, he was nominated in the same category for playing in Albert Dupontel's See You Up There (Au revoir là-haut). In 2018, he was billed in Paul Sanchez is Back (Paul Sanchez est revenu) by Patricia Mazuy and in Un peuple et son roi by Pierre Schoeller.

Laurent Lafitte is Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier de l'Ordre national des Arts et des Lettres).

During the 2018/2019 season, he can be seen in Marivaux’s L’Heureux stratagème directed by Emmanuel Daumas, as well as in Le Voyage de G. Mastorna adapted from Federico Fellini and staged by Marie Rémond.