Actor
Claude Laydu
March 10, 1927 · Etterbeek, Belgique
Claude Laydu ([klod lɛjdy]; 10 March 1927 – 29 July 2011) was a Belgian-born Swiss actor on stage and in films. He was renowned for his performance in his film debut in the role of the young priest in Robert Bresson's Diary of a Country Priest (1951), which has been described as one of the greatest in the history of film.
Laydu was born and grew up in Brussels. He moved to Paris to study at the National Academy of Dramatic Arts. He became a member of Madeleine Renaud and Jean-Louis Barrault's company at the Théâtre Marigny, when he was selected by director Robert Bresson for his first role in a film, as the titular young priest in Diary of a Country Priest, based on the 1936 novel of the same name by Georges Bernanos. They met to discuss the role, and Laydu prepared by spending time in a monastery and losing weight.
Often works with
Yvette Etiévant
5 titles together
Diary of a Country Priest, We Are All Murderers, The Dialogue of the Carmelites
Antoine Balpêtré
3 titles together
Diary of a Country Priest, We Are All Murderers, The Road to Damascus
Henri Crémieux
2 titles together
We Are All Murderers, Price of Love
Anouk Ferjac
2 titles together
We Are All Murderers, The Dialogue of the Carmelites
Pierre Brasseur
2 titles together
The Dialogue of the Carmelites, Rasputin
Henri Vilbert
2 titles together
Good Lord Without Confession, Napoleon Road
Full filmography · 20
Bonne nuit les tipeu
as Ulysse (voice)
2018
Bonne nuit les petits - Le meilleur de Nounours
Writer
2000
Mafia alla sbarra
as Giovanni
1963
Italienisches Capriccio
as Carlo Goldoni
1961
The Dialogue of the Carmelites
as Knight of Force
1960
The Wheel
as Roland Pelletier
1957
Altair
as Mario Rossi
1956
Price of Love
as Pierre Ménard
1955
Attila
as Valentiniano Caesar
19545.4
Symphony of Love
as Franz Schubert
1954
Rasputin
as Héliodore
1954
Napoleon Road
as Pierre Marchand
1953