Laurent Terzieff (Toulouse, 27 June 1935 – Paris, 2 July 2010) was a French actor and theatre director, an iconic figure of avant-garde theatre and arthouse cinema. Brought to public attention by Marcel Carné's film *Les Tricheurs* (1958), he built a prestigious film career, collaborating with internationally renowned directors such as Pier Paolo Pasolini (*Medea*), Luis Buñuel (*The Milky Way*), and Valerio Zurlini (*The Desert of the Tartars*). His true calling, however, was the theatre, where in 1961 he founded his own company to stage demanding and poetic texts, often by little-known contemporary authors. Endowed with a magnetic presence and a distinctive voice, he favored an intellectual and socially committed repertoire, far from the commercial circuit. His work was recognized with numerous accolades, notably including several Molière Awards—France's most prestigious theatre award—which he won both as an actor and as a director, a testament to his profound impact on the stage.