Biografia
Born in Montréal, Québec on December 18, 1970, Philippe Hartmann is a Canadian-born American actor, voice artist, and New Yorker by choice. His parents hail from Europe: his French mother, Françoise Hartmann (née Hanssens-Eischen), is an animator and film director at the National Film Board of Canada, while his Belgian-born Hungarian father, István Hartmann, works as a window dresser, display artist, and decorator for prominent Canadian department stores.
Philippe studied professional theatre for three years at John Abbott College before pursuing English and French literature at Concordia University. He then moved to New York City to study film and TV acting at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute under George Loros and Irma Sandrey from 1992 to 1995, graduating from the program. Additionally, he trained at The 42nd Street Collective and made his off-Broadway debut at Playwrights Horizons.
Immediately after completing his studies at Strasberg in the summer of 1995, Philippe worked as a driver at Kaufman Astoria Studios, transporting actors, directors, and producers on film and television sets in Queens. A fortuitous encounter with Bill Cosby led to his first major TV role on the sitcom "Cosby." He went on to appear in TV shows such as Soul Man, Lateline, Whoopi, and Sesame Street, as well as films including A Cat In Paris, The Walk, Stonewall, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Mother!. In 1997, he presented an excerpt from his one-man show "Pipo Bertani: The Schmuck from Venise" at The New York International Fringe Festival in the Lower East Side. While residing in Greenwich Village, he performed in numerous productions at The 13th Street Repertory Company under Artistic Director Edith O'Hara. Philippe also expanded his skills by attending clowning and physical comedy workshops with David Shiner and Philippe Gaulier, and studied mime under Marcel Marceau.
Renowned for his smooth yet commanding voice in both English and French, Philippe has built a career in voice-over work spanning more than two decades, initially in Toronto and later extensively in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut. He is particularly recognized as the Euro-French speaking co-host, announcer, and color commentator for WWF's "Les Superstars du Catch" during the "Attitude Era" from the late 1990s until February 2002. This show aired in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Senegal, and Northern Africa. During this iconic period in American professional wrestling, he co-hosted major pay-per-view events—including Royal Rumble, No Way Out, King of the Ring, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and No Mercy—with fellow Quebecer Raymond Rougeau. Philippe returned to the WWE Network alongside Quebec City native Jean Brassard to host WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which set an attendance record of 101,763 fans. Beyond wrestling, he has participated in numerous films, television sitcoms, specials, and mini-series.
Splitting his time between Canada and the United States, Philippe continues to refine his voice-over craft as an ACTRA actor by attending workshops and recording demos with Kim Handysides. Recently, he resumed playing piano and keyboards, undertaking personalized coaching and mentoring sessions with Mike Lindup of LEVEL 42.
