In deciding on our subsequent WTF superstar to cowl, we handed round a number of names however ultimately all of us determined that: There may very well be solely One! Despite being principally blind, Christopher Lambert made a reputation for himself because the king of Sci-Fi motion movies. One may say he single-handedly stored Blockbuster Video in enterprise as most of his output within the 90’s debuted on the underside cabinets of the video rental chain. But few performers have made their mark on the worldwide stage like Christopher Lambert, alternating between North American schlock and extra prestigious French fare. Despite most of us understanding Lambert primarily for 2 iconic roles, there’s way more to learn about this American-born French actor; it’s time we discover out simply WTF Happened to Christopher Lambert.
But as all the time, we should start originally, and the start started for famend French actor Christopher Lambert on March 29, 1957 in.. Great Neck, New York?! That is as a result of Lambert’s father was a French diplomat stationed in New York on the United Nations earlier than transferring to Switzerland when he was two years outdated and at last returning to Paris, France in his teen years. Lambert would get a style for the humanities at a younger age by appearing in a play at 12 years outdated and would attend college in Paris to hone his craft earlier than leaping onto the display screen with small roles in a collection of French movies with credited roles as “Thug at the Dance Party” and “jockey” underneath his authentic title Christophe Lambert. But it will be the yr 1984 that may introduce Lambert to American audiences when director Hugh Hudson was seeking to forged an unknown actor in his up to date tackle a basic story: Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Hudson says the casting got here down to 2 folks, Lambert and one other unknown actor named Viggo Mortensen, however that Lambert received the half for a reasonably particular purpose: Lambert is Myopic, which means that he’s near-sighted and almost blind. Hudson beloved that when Lambert took off his glasses, his gaze felt like he was trying via you. The movie would obtain a number of Academy Award nominations and grow to be the fifteenth most profitable movie on the field workplace that yr.
With his star on the rise, Lambert would return to France to make two extra movies: Paroles et Musique and Luc Besson’s Subway for which he would win the César Award for Best Actor in 1986. That similar yr Lambert would cement his legacy to American Audiences by showing as The Only One: Connor MacLeod in Highlander. With how effectively that movie is regarded in right this moment’s cinematic tradition you’d assume Highlander was an enormous success when it was launched. You could be incorrect in that evaluation, because the movie had a $19 million price range however solely recouped $12.8 million of that in theatres. That may very well be as a result of when it was launched, critics known as it “entertaining, but a total mess.” Luckily, the movie discovered its viewers when it hit VHS… you see, children, VHS was a format earlier than DVD… by no means thoughts! With the eventual success of Highlander, Lambert would totally launch his North American profession; the one downside is that none of his English language movies actually appeared to make an impression. His subsequent 4 movies, The Sicilian, Priceless Beauty, To Kill a Priest and Why Me, mixed for a worldwide gross of lower than $10 million. Luckily, there was some constructive to return from these movies as Lambert would meet Diane Lane on Priceless Beauty, and the 2 would marry in 1988, welcoming a daughter in 1993.
By 1991, Lambert would return to the function of Connor McLeod for Highlander II: The Quickening, which really introduced the legacy of Highlander down a peg as this movie, which might see certainly one of Lambert’s fingers be partially chopped off throughout a sword battle gone unsuitable, has gone on to be acknowledged as one of many worst movies ever made, which could be attributed to the studio chopping the movie individually from the director’s imaginative and prescient and rearranging scenes and presenting a stripped down 91-minute model of the movie. Years later, a “renegade cut” of the movie was launched, restoring some particular results and the director’s authentic imaginative and prescient. At the identical time, followers nonetheless preserve that the movie isn’t that good, and so they unanimously say it’s higher than the theatrical lower, which solely made $15.6 million on the field workplace.
After showing within the 1992 movie Knight Moves reverse his soon-to-be ex-wife Diane Lane, Lambert declined to star in a Highlander TV collection, opting to seem in simply the present pilot episode to assist launch the brand new story. Lambert would ask for an affordable charge of simply $50,000 for his work within the episode however a French investor balked at that request and had him written out of the present, this infuriated different traders who felt you wanted that connective tissue to launch the present and had Connor MacLeod written again into the collection, however by this time Lambert was irritated with how he was handled and ultimately filmed his function within the present for $500,000! He would end 1992 by starring in one other sci-fi motion movie, Fortress (a Best Movie You Never Saw favourite), which came about within the distant way forward for… 2017! Fortress was a MAJOR hit in Europe – as large as the primary Highlander, which is why they tried to interrupt him via in North America.
The yr 1994 would see Lambert star in one other low-grossing motion movie known as Gunmen whereas additionally moving into the direct-to-video enterprise with the movie Roadflower. He would end 1994 by stepping again into Connor McLeod’s sneakers for Highlander: The Final Dimension; the movie would ignore the occasions of the poorly acquired Highlander II, which has a uncommon 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, however even by making an attempt to proper that unsuitable, Highlander III would solely enhance on the second movie by 5% as that’s its present score on Rotten Tomatoes! For as effectively thought to be the Highlander franchise appears to be, it seems nobody appreciated the movies, with some calling this third instalment “borderline unwatchable.”
But, as many people of a sure age know, it isn’t the Highlander movies that made us love Christopher Lambert. Nope, a sure movie that got here out in 1995 made all teenage boys cease and take discover. After showing in one other field workplace bomb with The Hunted and government producing the Hugh Grant romantic comedy Nine Months, which was a remake of a French movie that Lambert produced, he would step into the long-lasting sneakers of Lord Raiden for the extremely anticipated large display screen adaptation of Mortal Kombat.
The producers initially supplied the function to Sean Connery. Still, when he turned it down, they went to Lambert, who gladly accepted, turning the long-lasting online game character into an iconic movie character. Although not everybody was happy together with his casting, in right this moment’s world, the place we should criticize every thing, some folks have taken problem with Lambert’s casting within the movie, saying that an Asian actor ought to have portrayed the character. As I’m not a lot of a gamer, I can’t converse to the character’s roots, however I can say that Lambert’s efficiency in Mortal Kombat is why the film works. He is the via line to the story and the characters; he recruits them and maintains order all through the movie… he’s to Mortal Kombat what Yoda was to Star Wars! It paid off because it stays his highest-grossing movie on the home field workplace, with simply over $70 million and a $122.1 million worldwide take off a $20 million price range. Unsurprisingly, they shortly greenlit a sequel; in fact, once you went and noticed the sequel, you could have seen a special actor taking part in Lord Raiden, as Oppenheimer’s James Remar took over the function after Lambert reportedly thought the script was not superb. He was completely proper as a result of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation is an abomination! That wouldn’t be the final time we might see… effectively, hear, Lambert as Lord Rayden as he would return to voice the character within the 2020 online game Mortal Kombat 11 and there have been even talks of him returning for the latest reboot of the franchise that sadly by no means materialized.
Lambert’s movies by no means appeared to be vital darlings, however the combination of science fiction and motion was the place he garnered his followers. After the monetary success of Mortal Kombat you’d count on Lambert to see an ascension in his profession. Still, over the subsequent few years, the one place you possibly can catch him was at residence as his movies tended to be schlocky direct to video sci-fi motion movies that I’m positive netted him a giant payday however supplied no actual substance (with out naming them, you’ll be able to simply lower to footage of the posters right here: North Star, Adrenalin: Fear The Rush, Mean Guns, Resurrection, Beowulf, Gideon). By the yr 2000, Lambert determined to step
again into some acquainted territory by reprising two of his largest roles: John Henry Brennick in Fortress 2: Re-Entry and Connor MacLeod in Highlander: Endgame which mixed the movie collection and the TV collection. Both movies didn’t make an impression and have been shortly forgotten about.
Throughout his profession, Christopher Lambert has alternated between English-language movies and French ones. In America, audiences acknowledged him as a B film legend, whereas in France, he was in a position to tackle various kinds of roles. After showing in a number of movies in each nations that didn’t transfer the needle on his profession, together with a task within the infamous Richard Kelly flop Southland Tales (2006) and two movies together with his girlfriend on the time, Sophie Marceau, Lambert would earn a number of the greatest opinions of his profession when he starred within the French Drama White Material reverse Isabelle Huppert a few lady who stays together with her espresso crop when civil conflict breaks out in Africa. Critics appeared virtually shocked at Lambert’s efficiency within the movie, saying that he gave a “surprisingly fragile performance.” The movie has gone on to be hailed by many publications as top-of-the-line movies of the twenty first Century. With that sort of reward lastly being placed on Lambert’s title, a number of years later, he would garner the field workplace to go along with it as in 2011, he would seem in his highest-grossing movie on the worldwide field workplace: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance! Despite not topping Mortal Kombat on the home field workplace with simply $51.8 million, this Nicolas Cage-starring sequel was successful abroad and completed its worldwide run with round $135 million.
From right here, it appears Lambert had a realization that being a supporting participant in additional respectable tasks is a decent profession path! He would seem in 6 episodes of the hit TV collection NCIS: Los Angeles and would obtain a nomination from the Monte Carlo TV Festival for Outstanding Actor for the Mini Series La Source earlier than showing within the Coen Brothers’ under-rated movie Hail, Caesar! In France he would seem in critically acclaimed movies resembling Un Plus Une and La Folle Historic de Max et Léon, which he additionally produced whereas showing as himself within the French TV collection Call My Agent! Of course, he hadn’t utterly gotten out of the direct-to-video recreation, taking the villain function within the Jean Claude Van Damme sequel Kickboxer: Retaliation in 2018, the identical yr he appeared within the critically heralded Russian language holocaust movie Sobibor and reverse Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe in Bel Canto. The following yr, followers of The Blacklist may see Lambert because the political murderer Bastien Moreau in 4 episodes of the hit present’s sixth season.
Although his output isn’t as frequent as within the 90s, Lambert has stored himself busy, showing within the critically acclaimed Italian movie It’s Not Over in 2022 and starring within the 2023 movie Dark Room. He has written two French language novels, La Fille Porte-Bonheur and Le Juge, and is a profitable businessman within the meals and beverage business. Lambert says that in his early 30s, he had a lot ambition, sufficient for 2 lifetimes, so he determined to pursue different issues in between movies as he knew appearing alone couldn’t maintain him. He has invested in a number of ventures through the years, resembling a Mineral Water firm, a meals packaging firm, a wine firm, property improvement and the recycling business. He says that he adores appearing however knew early on that he didn’t need to put all of his eggs in a single basket.
So, because the query asks: WTF Happened to Christopher Lambert? He turned a legend in nerd popular culture from two characters and made a dwelling showing in motion pictures you’d say, “Sure, I’ll rent this” within the mid-90s. But he’s like an iceberg, if you’ll permit the metaphor. An iceberg is one thing you solely see a small portion of… however beneath, the half unseen is the place all of the work is getting completed. That is Christopher Lambert; the components you see are solely a small portion of who the person is. His enterprise acumen is that of a very smart one that knew that his chosen occupation may go away immediately. But the factor he didn’t rely on was folks like Christopher Lambert!
And that’s the reason he has these iconic characters which have withstood the take a look at of time; he even has some enjoyable with them, as his official Instagram web page says, “This is my official Instagram account because there can be only one!” Lambert is a drive to reckon with not simply in North America however worldwide. He even has 8 movies at present in varied levels of manufacturing. Christopher Lambert is doing simply tremendous!