A French leading man usually in light comedy and often compared by cineastes to the American actor Tom Hanks, Thierry Lhermitte began in show business on stage in his teens and made his feature film debut in "L'an 01" (1972). In the mid-1970s, he was one of the founders of Le Splendid, a comedy troupe similar to Chicago's famed Second City. A sketch Lhermitte co-wrote about life at a Club Med called "Les Bronzes/Sun Tan" became a hit in France when made into a motion picture in 1976 and spawned an equally successful sequel. He went on to essay leading roles in "Les Heroes n'ont pas froid aux
