Gérard Giroudon was appointed as a pensionnaire at the Comédie-Française on September 1, 1974. He became the 469th sociétaire on January 1, 1981 and Doyen of the Troupe on July 2013.

After training in Pierre Casari’s class in Lyon, he joined the Conservatoire d’art dramatique (Conservatory of Dramatic Arts) in 1969. He made his début in Roger Planchon’s staging of La Mise en pièces du Cid before Jean Meyer chose him to play in The Marriage of Figaro and La Vie parisienne (The Parisian Life) at Théâtre des Célestins.
In Paris, after trying The Petit cirque for children, he enrolled in le Centre de la rue Blanche where he followed Daniel Lecourtois’class. He performed at the Théâtre national populaire and at the Théâtre de la Ville and made an appearance with actors of the Comédie-Française at the Petit-Odéon in Calaferte’s Chez les Titch. Having studied under Maurice Jacquemont and Jean-Laurent Cochet at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique (National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts of Paris), he was awarded the second prize in comedy in 1974.
For his début at the Théâtre-Français, he played the roles of Billetdoux, O’Neill, Pinget, mainly embodying those of Marivaux’s Arlequins, valets and naïve characters. He notably embodied Tognino in Goldoni’s The Villeggiatura Trilogy directed by Giorgio Strehler, Tonino in Goldoni’s La Locandiera (The Mistress of the Inn) staged by Jacques Lassalle, Rodet in Chekov’s Three Sisters, La Vallée in Marivaux’s La Commère put on stage by Jean-Paul Roussillon. He played as well the roles of Maffio in de Musset’s Lorenzaccio staged by Franco Zeffirelli and Pierrot in Molière’s Don Juan directed by Jean-Luc Boutté. He was named a sociètaire after playing brilliantly the role of Pasquin in Marivaux’s The Game of Love and Chance staged by Jean-Paul Roussillon.

As a sociétaire, he has been directed by Lluis Pasqual, Dario Fo, Jean-Louis Jacopin, Jacques Lassalle, Otomar Krejca, Jean-Luc Boutté, Roger Planchon, Jean-Louis Benoit. During the years 2000, he interpreted the roles of Harpagon in Molière’s_The Miser_ staged by Andrei Serban, of the Vieillard carnatif in Valère Novarina’s L’Espace furieux (The Furious Space), of the Donkey, the Cockerel and the Rooster in La Fontaine’s The Fables put on stage by Robert Wilson, of Madame Pernelle in Molière’s Tartuffe staged by Marcel Bozonnet, as well as of Vosmibratov in Alexander Ostrovski’s The Forest staged by Piotr Fomenko, of Malvolio in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night directed by Andrzej Seweryn, and of the Shepherd in Shakespeare's The__Winter Tale staged by Muriel Mayette-Holtz.

During the 2007/2008 season, he performed Monsieur Purgon in Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid staged by Claude Stratz. In 2007, under the direction of Galin Stoev, he played the role of the Father in Spiro Scimone’s La Festa.



In the movies, his major performances were, in 1999, in Le Voleur de Saint-Aubin directed by Claire Devers and, in 1998, in Bertrand Tavernier’s It all Starts Today. On TV, he has appeared in many series, namely in Jeanne d’Arc by Péguy, Molière pour rire et pour pleurer, Les Amours de la Belle Époque : Mon amie Nane.

Gérard Giroudon was conferred the title of an Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters.