Stephen Manas (French pronunciation:[stɛfɛnmanas]ⓘ; born 27 July 1992)[1] is a French actor and music composer.
Manas began his career in India, the Philippines, Japan, and the United Kingdom before returning to France.[2] He is best known for his recurring role as Richard Montlaur in the Apple TV+ comedy series Ted Lasso, starring Jason Sudeikis.
At the age of 17, Manas moved to Lyon to enter an international research school in marketing and communication. Shortly after, he was spotted on the street by an acting scout and was cast for a small role in an independent film. He continued his studies at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. After his graduation with a Master 2 in international marketing and communication research, he worked in the business world, but was unsatisfied with his career.[7] He then chose to focus on acting. He spent most of his weekends practising acting, shooting student short films, and playing music.[8]
Career
Acting
Manas's first role was in the movie Ma premiere fois, directed by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar. He appeared in many dramas on French television channels TF1, TMC, and M6 during his studies in Paris. After a talent agency based in India cold-called him and offered him a three-year contract, he moved to India where he immersed himself in the Bollywood industry, building his acting résumé.[8]
After two years living and working between Bollywood and Mumbai, then Manila and Tokyo, he returned to France in 2018.[8] Once back in Paris, Manas was chosen for the role of Christian in the short film Out of Frame/Hors Champ. He won multiple awards for this role.[9]
Manas started playing music at 8 years old. He first played clarinet in an orchestra in Megève until he was 15, then switched to saxophone and at 18, he learned piano and guitar. He began composing music in 2016. As of 2020, he had his own musical production, Sound-it.[8]