Roland Amstutz

Although he appeared in numerous films and television series throughout his career, Roland Amstutz's heart belonged to the theater. Amstutz began his training in Switzerland, where he worked closely with the Theatre de Vidy-Lausanne. He next moved to Paris and joined the Theatre du Soleil troupe, garnering critical acclaim in 1979 for his performance in the play "Mephisto." On screen, he worked primarily as a supporting actor in films such as "I as in Icarus," "À Vendre," and, perhaps most notably, Jean-Luc Godard's "Every Man for Himself." In the 1980s, Amstutz left his theatre troupe to set off on his own. He was cast in several made-for-television films, including "Car Cemetery" and "Le Conte d'Hiver," and had minor roles in television shows such as "Disparitions" and "Les Enqu'tes du Commissaire Maigret." Amstutz became closely associated with Swiss theatre director Luc Bondy, with whom Amstutz worked in stage productions of William Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale" and Henrik Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman." While Amstutz continued to focus on the stage in the 1990s, he took a recurring role in the television series "Julie Lescaut" and starred in films such as "Alors Violà" and "Le Silence de Rak." In 1997, his burgeoning career was cut short by the actor's tragic suicide.