[1] Born in Rouen, to a teacher mother, and filling station attendant father, Torreton grew up in a suburb of the city.

He left in 1999 having played many prestigious roles including Scapin, Lorenzaccio, Hamlet, Henry V, Tartuffe.

He played Capitaine Conan[1] in the film of the same name, directed by Bertrand Tavernier, based on a little-known incident from the time of the First World War, and for which he won the César Award for Best Actor 1997.

And, a politically committed actor, he played the role of the principal of a primary school confronted with social problems in Ça commence aujourd'hui, again directed by Tavernier, in 1998.

On 10 April 2020, during the coronavirus lockdown, Torreton was one of a handful of people to take part in a Good Friday service led by Michel Aupetit, Archbishop of Paris, in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, still being rebuilt after the fire a year earlier.