Raymond Hermantier aspired to act since at the age of 17.
His training was interrupted by World War II during which he served in the Free French Forces, until the liberation of Paris.
Decorated by General Charles de Gaulle, he resumed his acting career immediately after the end of the war.
Supported by André Malraux and Albert Camus, he ascended to fame at the Festival de Nîmes, France, in his role of Julius Caesar.
This culminated in the National Theater of Senegal being the first African Shakespearean to tour major European capitals in 1974.