Francis Huster was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He studied acting at the Conservatoire of the 17th arrondissement of Paris, at the Cours Florent and at the Conservatoire national (1968), where he had René Simon and later Antoine Vitez as teachers . He joined the Comédie-Française in 1971, became sociétaire in 1977, and left this institution in 1982. He later founded the theater group Compagnie Francis Huster, of which the following actors have been members: Clotilde Courau, Valérie Crunchant, Christiana Réali, Estelle Skornik, Valentine Varela, Olivier Martinez, Mathieu Charriere.
Francis Huster became Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur in 1991, and was awarded the rank of "Officier" by Jacques Chirac in 2006. The latter made the following comment: "C'est un comédien absolument exceptionnel qui se donne sans réserve à son art" ("He is an absolutely exceptional actor who dedicates himself totally to his art").
