Lucien Arnaud

Lucien Arnaud (August 26, 1897 – December 11, 1975) was a French stage and film actor and acting coach whose career spanned several decades across theater, film, and television.

Arnaud began his theatrical career in Paris during the 1920s as a member of the troupe de l'Atelier at the Théâtre-Montmartre, the venue now known as the Théâtre de l'Atelier, where he worked alongside Charles Dullin. In addition to his performing work, Arnaud maintained a long parallel career as an acting coach, and his classes drew a number of performers who would become prominent figures in French theater and film, among them Jean-Louis Barrault, Jean Vilar, Alain Cuny, and Jean Marais. He subsequently joined Vilar at the Théâtre National Populaire, where he continued both performing and teaching. Arnaud also played a role in launching the career of Gérard Depardieu: Depardieu had accompanied a friend to one of Arnaud's classes and was noticed by Arnaud, who invited him to perform on stage.

Arnaud's film work began in the silent era, with appearances in La Vivante épingle (1921) and Louis Feuillade's Le Fils du flibustier (1922), in which he played the role of Corentin. He appeared in Jean Grémillon's Misdeal (1928) as a traveler, and in Marc Allégret's The Chocolate Girl (1932) as Pinglet. His subsequent film credits included Paris, mes amours (1935), Jacques Becker's Antoine et Antoinette (1946), Le cavalier de Croix-Mort (1948), Three Telegrams (1950), Monsieur Taxi (1952), and Le Dialogue des carmélites (1952). On television, he appeared in Claude Barma's Loin de Rueil (1961) and Robert Valey's L'Avare (1962), playing the character Théodore L'Aumône in both productions.

In 1958, Arnaud brought his stage experience to Broadway, appearing in productions of Lorenzaccio and Marie Tudor.