Biography
Actor Philipp (Lawrence) Durand was born Philippe Gilbert Durand. His mother, Lucienne, was a ballerina and his father, Roger, a tenor who began his singing career as a baritone. When Philipp was born, his parents were traveling a lot and needed more stability. His mother then worked for a firm overseas as the director's main secretary and his dad became an artist chief baker working with personalities. Philipp was always grateful to his parents for giving him a beautiful childhood and for always being supportive. They encouraged Philipp to practice arts and sports from a very young age. Philipp's parents believed in the saying "A sound mind in a healthy body". Raised in the South of France, the only child Philipp Durand started his career with the Alphabet Theater, a reputable independent theater company in Nice, in the play entitled "Dieu aboie-t-il?" by Francois Boyer.
Encouraged by the reviews, Philipp pursued acting, mostly stage, playing the leading men in "The School Of Wives", "Don Juan" and "The Misanthrope" among others. Philipp got his first theatrical roles at a very young age with the studio Of the Victorine: "Ombres", "Heidi", an appearance in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" with Michael Caine and Steve Martin, and "Monte-Carlo" with Joan Collins. But it was on stage, at the National Theater of Nice directed at the time by Jacques Weber, that Philipp caught the attention of the producers and agents with the lead role of the tormented and versatile soldier in love, Woyzeck, in "Woyzeck" by Georg Buchner. Philipp won a critic Award for the role (1994). At a very young age Philipp was already writing songs and playing piano at the well-known Conservatory of Nice. He won many prizes from age five to eighteen before starting an acting career a few years later. Also at a very young age, Philipp began competing in sports and rapidly became an accomplished athlete. He won competitions in skiing, swimming, tennis, and soccer. Since then Philipp has continued to practice sports on a regular basis. Before becoming a an artist, Philipp was torn between becoming a concert pianist or a professional soccer player. At age 17, he fell in love with a young actress and discovered theater through her. He told his parents that from now on he wanted to become an actor. His parents let him do it at one condition: that he finishes his studies at the University and obtains a diploma, which Philipp did. From Nice, Philipp went to Paris and it was in Paris that Philipp started to write and to direct while pursuing his acting career.
With four shorts (two award-winning in European festivals), three full scripts and his credits as an actor under his belt, Philipp arrived in Los Angeles. He bought an old American car at first and was working hard on his English pronunciation while being stuck in LA traffic. He practiced constantly that way. He soon appeared in a series of guest-starring roles: "USA High" (1998), "Seven Stages", the co-lead in the independent film "Pinter", and the lead in another independent film "The Islander". He then booked a guest-starring role in the Emmy Award-winning show, "Frasier" (2001), which was a huge deal, since the show was extremely popular around the world. Philipp was playing in the show the lover of Peri Gilpin and was breaking up, while Kelsey Grammer was translating in French, which created several hilarious moments. Philipp got many opportunities after being seen in this Award winning show. He then played the role of a mean French lover in the feature film "Not Entirely Awake" (2002), booked the co-lead in the French-English-Italian feature "Two Lonely Friends" (2003), and a challenging co-starring role in "American Dreams" (2004), playing the French Mercenaire, Rene, who gives JJ (played by Will Estes) a hard time. He also played on stage the role of Valmont in "Dangerous Liaisons" by Laclos. Philipp has been seen in a feature film with Christopher Walken entitled "Balls of Fury"(Focus Pictures/Universal)(2007). He went to Brazil to play the role of the race car pilot Symington in "Bluecross". He played on stage Jean-Pierre, the French lover of an American girl named Emma, in a love triangle story entitled "The Innocent Love of a Butterfly". He passed successfully his first audition at the Actors Studio with a scene from Fool For Love by Sam Sheppard, playing the role of Eddie, a cowboy. For a Frenchman, that was already an accomplishment. Something that will help him later on. Meanwhile Philipp has been pursuing his writing and directing career in the US and in Europe. Philipp's first American movie as a writer-director, "Black and Blue"(2005-2006), was a touching story about missing children. "Black and Blue" received acclaims from associations for the missing children. In addition Philipp starred in and directed the play Dangerous Liaisons by Laclos, and later on The Indecent Love of a Butterfly, a play written by Philipp with plans to ultimately become a film. A succession of US shows and films kept Philipp in the US where his career continues to blossom. One of the main projects that brought Philipp to the US has been a thriller entitled "The Man in the Green Hat" and before a feature film drama entitled "The Devil Never Sleeps", by director Ralph Server, winner of the 2004 New York Independent Film Festival with the film "Without Mercy". Philipp has been approached by the writer-director of this film to play the lead role in this drama, in the style of "Ocean 11". This role went to Alain Delon 15 years ago before the sudden death of one of the producers, Boris Sagal, that stopped the production of the film at that time.
Definitively based in Los Angeles, he wrote and is producing a heartbreaking drama romance, "Morning Shine", with his international partners and via his production company. The film, to be directed by English Award winning director Elizabeth Blake-Thomas, involves an Award nominee cast including actor Malcolm McDowell, Ellen Dubin from Napoleon Dynamite, with Philipp playing opposite rising star Katrina Bowden. Two other name actors who are about to join the cast will be unveiled soon. Additionally Philipp is committed as an actor, writer and producer to several upcoming films, also involving a stellar cast: among them, the family adventure The Adventures Of Buddy Thunder to be directed by Lawrence Guterman (Cats & Dogs) with Tom Everett Scott, Rachel Nichols, Brian Dennehy, Angela Lansbury, a comedy Crazy Business, a western entitled The French Cowboy that will be dedicated to Burt Reynolds. Burt was going to play one of the lead characters. Also in the works a war movie entitled In The Name of War, a spectacular and heartbreaking WWII story based on true events, with German star Ken Duken and an international cast. Also a TV show involving animals entitled T & G, as well as an untitled period piece (adventure drama) freely based on a true story. Also in the works a film based on a true story will approach the life and death of Amelia Earhart. And for the first time, an animation film in the style of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is in the works. On a personal note Philipp is a fervent supporter of animal welfare and has created a foundation that rescues wild and domestic animals around the world, Wonder Earth Rescue. Philipp also defends the cause of the missing children and supports the fight to end violence and harassment against women. Philipp adopted nine dogs, three horses, two pigs, and a calf who is now a young bull. He also rescued a lion named Valentino and a tigress named Tika that he followed with the team of a conservationist from Argentina to South Africa. He got married in 2022 with actress, writer, director and singer, the beautiful Hanna Castera. Hanna is also a fervent animal advocate and with Philipp and their foundation, Wonder Earth Rescue, often speaks and takes action on behalf of the animals. Both Philipp and Hanna are vegan.
