Laurent Stocker ・ Comédie-Française

Having passed through the Ateliers Gérard Philipe, Laurent Stocker trained at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique between 1993 and 1996, in classes taught by Madeleine Marion, Daniel Mesguich and Philippe Adrien. He made his debut at the Comédie-Française in 2001, in Molière’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme directed by Jean-Louis Benoit and The Imaginary Invalid (Le Malade imaginaire) by Claude Stratz.

Directors have cast him for a wide range of roles proving his ability to play all the authors, be they classical or contemporary. Matthias Langhoff directed him in Lenz, Léonce et Léna after Büchner, Dan Jemmett in Les Précieuses ridicules by Molière, Robert Wilson in Fables by La Fontaine, Jacques Lassalle in Platonov by Chekhov, Marcel Bozonnet in Tartuffe by Molière, Alain Françon in The Three Sisters by Chekhov, The Villegiatura Trilogy by Goldoni and then The Sea by Edward Bond.

Laurent Stocker upheld the title role in Voltaire’s Candide by Emmanuel Daumas, Vanya after Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya by Julie Deliquet and Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturio Ui by Katharina Thalbach. Among his other notable roles, the following stand out: Figaro in Beaumarchais’ The Marriage of Figaro (Le Mariage de Figaro) by Christophe Rauck; Piotr in Ostrovsky’s The Forest by Piotr Fomenko; Rédillon in Feydeau’s Le Dindon by Lukas Hemleb; the Commander in Lope de Vega's Pedro and the Commander by Omar Porras; Jerry in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal by Frédéric Bélier Garcia; Thommereux in Feydeau’s Le Système Ribadier by Zabou Breitman; Léo Ferré in Trois hommes dans un salon, Brel ‒ Brassens ‒ Ferré, after an interview conducted by François René Cristiani and directed by Anne Kessler; and Nero in Racine’s Britannicus by Stéphane Braunschweig.

In 2008, Michel Raskine entrusted him with playing Antoine in Juste la fin du monde by Lagarce. He was nominated for a Moliere Award for Best Supporting Actor for his interpretation. In June 2006, he directed Serge Valletti’s Mary's à Minuit at the Studio-Théâtre.

Outside the Company, he played in numerous shows including four staged by Georges Lavaudant at the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe between 1995 and 1998. In 1999, Jean Louis Benoit directed him in Shakespeare’s Henri V at the Cour d’Honneur of the Palais des papes in Avignon. In 2001, Jean Boillot cast him in Genet’s Le Balcon at the Cloître des Carmes in Avignon. In 2013, Peter Stein staged in Le Prix Martin by Labiche and, in 2015, Alain Françon cast him in Peter Handke’s Toujours la tempête staged at the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe.
Laurent Stocker has also had a prolific career in cinema and television. Having played in over 40 pictures, he could be seen in Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c’est tout) by Claude Berri, for which he won the 2008 César for Most Promising Actor; Change of Plans (Le Code a changé) by Danièle Thomson with whom he reunited for Cézanne and I (Cézanne et moi); The Art of Love (L’art d’aimer) and Caprice by Emmanuel Mouret; The Minister (L’exercice de l’État) by Pierre Schoeller; Miss and the Doctors (Tirez la langue, Mademoiselle) by Axelle Ropert; 1001 Grams (1001 grammes) by the Norwegian Bent Hamer; and Chic! by Jérôme Cornuau. Laurent Stocker first worked with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi on her television film The Three Sisters based on Chekhov, and subsequently on Les Estivants. In 2017, he appeared in Arte Television’s Jeux d’influence, a political drama series directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade.

He is Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters (officier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres).

During the 2018/2019 season, he will be playing in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Or What You Will by Thomas Ostermeier, in Goldoni’s La Locandiera by Alain Françon and in Bergman’s Fanny et Alexandre by Julie Deliquet. He will also be playing in the rerun of Racine’s Britannicus by Stéphane Braunschweig.