Born in Paris in 1965, Laurent Lucas enrolled as a student of Charles Dullin and quickly became one of the most promising students at the Strasbourg National Theatre. He first appeared on the screen in 1996 in J'ai horreur de l'amour (1997) in which he delivered a riveting performance of a man who is HIV positive. Lucas next played in Pola X (1999) by Leos Carax, and then with Karin Viard, shot two outstanding films: La nouvelle Ève (1999) and Haut les coeurs! (1999), his performance for which won him a Cesar nomination for Best Aspiring Actor. In 2000, Lucas rose to notoriety with his role as a young father in _Harry un ami qui veut du bien (2000)_, and in 2003, appeared in three films presented at Cannes International Film Festival: Tiresia (2003), Qui a tué Bambi? (2003) and Va, petite! (2002). Most recently, Lucas' performances in Lemming (2005) by Dominik Moll and Sur la trace d'Igor Rizzi (2006) by Noël Mitrani have definitively placed him at the head of his generation of French actors.