Micheline Lanctôt
About
Biography
Biography
A prolific French-Canadian actress, Micheline Lanctôt has also made her mark as a director and screenwriter. She jumped right into a notable acting career during her mid-twenties with her film debut in Gilles Carle's dark comedy "The True Nature of Bernadette" (1972), a starring role that led to accolades and considerable attention in her homeland. It wasn't long before Lanctôt appeared in her first Hollywood movie, "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" (1974), but she opted to stay in the Quebec film and TV industry. In 1980, she made her feature directorial debut with the self-penned drama "L'homme à tout faire," which received significant critical acclaim. Preferring to work behind the camera, she only returned to acting 1996. In 2003, Lanctôt appeared in the bittersweet Oscar-winning comedy "The Barbarian Invasions" and remained active on the big and small screens, clearly comfortable as a revered figure in Montreal-based productions.
Born in Quebec, Lanctôt gravitated towards artistic pursuits in her youth, performing as a musician before working as an animator. During the early 1970s, director Gilles Carle recruited her to play the title character in his black comedy "The True Nature of Bernadette," resulting in an Canadian Etrog Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actress. Two years later, Lanctôt was featured with Richard Dreyfuss and Randy Quaid in "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," also becoming involved with the movie's director, Ted Kotcheff, for a few years.
Rather than find other Hollywood roles, however, she opted to stick with French-language projects, even unveiling her own film "L'homme à tout faire" in 1980. Her follow-up, "Sonatine" (1984), gained further attention, including two awards at the Venice Film Festival, and she continued to work as a filmmaker and screenwriter, not revisiting screen acting until 1996, when she turned up on various TV series. At home in her French-Canadian comfort zone, she was little seen outside of Quebec until she appeared in a minor role in the Academy Award-winning dramedy "The Barbarian Invasions." Continuing to write, direct and act, Lanctôt excelled at performances in thoughtful dramas in her later years, including her own religious-themed movie "Pour l'amour de Dieu" (2011) and the sports-centric coming-of-age film "Sarah Prefers to Run" (2013).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Title Design (Feature Film)
Life Events
1972
Made her screen debut with "The True Nature of Bernadette"
1974
Featured in "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz"
1980
Unveiled her debut directorial feature, "L'homme à tout faire"
1984
Won acclaim for her second movie, "Sonatine"
1996
Returned to screen acting
2003
Appeared in "The Barbarian Invasions"
2011
Wrote, directed and starred in "Pour l'amour de Dieu"
