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Michael Lonsdale as "Bond" villain Drax in 1979
Photo: ddp images
The British-French actor Michael Lonsdale, who became known among other things as the villain in the film "James Bond 007 - Moonraker - Top Secret", died at the age of 89.
Lonsdale died in his home in Paris - the city where he was born on May 24, 1931.
In a career spanning six decades, Lonsdale starred in more than 200 film and television productions - from small independent films to large blockbusters.
Lonsdale shot with Orson Welles, Michel Deville and François Truffaut, among others.
His breakthrough came with the Truffaut films "The Bride Wore Black" and "Stolen Kisses", both from 1968.
He became known to millions of cinema fans in 1979 in the film "Moonraker", in which he challenges the then James Bond actor Roger Moore as the sadistic industrialist Hugo Drax.
From the point of view of many film critics, the highlight of his career was his work in the 2010 film "Von Menschen und Göttern".
Based on a true story, he tells how seven French monks in Algeria got caught between the fronts.
His last film was "The End is Just the Beginning" in 2016.
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cpa / AFP / dpa
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