Christopher Chaplin
Swiss and English composer and actor (born 1962)
Christopher James Chaplin (born 8 July 1962) is a Swiss and English composer and actor. He is the youngest son of film comedian Charlie Chaplin and his fourth wife Oona O'Neill. He is the grandson of Eugene O'Neill.
01Biography
Christopher Chaplin was born on 8 July 1962 at Clinique de Mont Choisi in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is the youngest child of film actor Charlie Chaplin and his fourth wife Oona O'Neill: when Christopher was born, his father was 73 years old. Chaplin's father died of a stroke in 1977 at the age of 88, when he was aged 15.
Chaplin studied piano under Irene Denereaz in Vevey, then settled in London to become an actor. He made his feature film debut as Ivan in the comedy film Where Is Parsifal? (1983), screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, and played Jacques Sette in Charles Jarrott's TV miniseries Till We Meet Again based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Judith Krantz.
In Peter Patzak's Death of a Schoolboy, a historical biopic about the life of 17-year-old Gavrilo Princip, Chaplin took on the role of Trifco, and he played Franz Kafka in Jaromil Jireš's film Labyrinth (1991). The film received the Critic's Choice at the 1992 American Film Institute International Film Festival.
Chaplin played Rodrigo de Escobedo, the Spanish royal notary, secretary of Columbus fleet, and commander of La Navidad, in John Glen's historical film Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, released for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage. In Liliane de Kermadec's return to feature film, the French period road movie La Piste du télégraphe (lit. 'The Telegraph Road') (1994), Chaplin played John alongside Elena Safonova's Lisa Alling. He played French poet Charles Cros in Agnieszka Holland's historical account of the relationship between Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, Total Eclipse (1995).
Since 2005, Chaplin has focused on a career as a composer, and has collaborated with German experimental, ambient and electronic musician Hans-Joachim Roedelius, amongst others. In 2010, he signed to Fabrique Records, and released his solo debut album Je suis le Ténébreux in 2016.
02Discography
- Seven Echoes, Kava & Christopher Chaplin (2010, Fabrique Records)
- King of Hearts, Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Christopher Chaplin (2012, Sub Rosa)
- Je suis le Ténébreux, Christopher Chaplin (2016, Fabrique Records), featuring Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Christine Roedelius, Judith Chemla, Claudia Schumann, Pino Costalunga
- Deconstructed (Remix EP), Christopher Chaplin (2017, Fabrique Records), featuring reworks by Tim Story, Jana Irmert, Peter Zirbs, <tfo>
- Triptych in Blue, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Christopher Chaplin & Andrew Heath (2017, Disco Gecko Recordings)
- Paradise Lost, Christopher Chaplin (2018, Fabrique Records), featuring Leslie Winer, Nathan Vale
- BJARMI, Christopher Chaplin & Stereo Hypnosis (2019, Fabrique Records)
- M, Christopher Chaplin (2020, Fabrique Records), featuring Finley Quaye, Aurelia Thierree, Mira Lu Kovacs
- Enosh, Christopher Chaplin (2020, Fabrique Records)
- Jared, Christopher Chaplin (2021, Fabrique Records)
- Patriarchs, Christopher Chaplin (2021, Fabrique Records)
- Patriarchs Live, Christopher Chaplin (2023, Fabrique Records)
- Door 1 Door 2, Christopher Chaplin (2024, Fabrique Records)
Remixes
- "Slippery Forces", Boz Boorer (2012, Fabrique Records)
- "Virtue", Loretta Who (2016, Fabrique Records)
03Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Where Is Parsifal? | Ivan | |
| 1989 | Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again | Jacques Sette | |
| 1990 | Death of a Schoolboy | Trifco | |
| 1991 | Labyrinth | Franz Kafka | |
| 1992 | Christopher Columbus: The Discovery | Rodrigo de Escobedo | |
| 1994 | La Piste du télégraphe | John | |
| 1995 | Total Eclipse | Charles Cros | |
| 2001 | Far from China | Port | |
| 2017 | Je suis le ténébreux | Short Film | |
| 2024 | Chaplin: Spirit of the Tramp | Self | Documentary film |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Christopher Chaplin”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- PD5 CC030 (cropped).jpg by PeterDraxl, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Christopher Chaplin.jpg by Elena Ringo, CC BY 4.0
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