Francis Michel Pardeilhan was born in 1953 in San Francisco, California, firstborn son of French immigrants. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in English Literature, his acting career begins with a failed audition for San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater. He left the States and, following a brief period as a tour guide on the Amazon River in Colombia, South America, he resumed his professional activities in London and, eventually, Denmark, where he became a member of the internationally acclaimed theater ensemble, Odin Teatret, directed by Eugenio Barba. Here he remained for eleven years. Since 1987, Francis Pardeilhan has lived in Umbria, Italy with his wife, Anna, and two children, Alice and Max. His present activities include theater, film, television and voice acting, as an actor, teacher and director.