He was born in Paris, the son of a silversmith. He was educated at the Collège Mazarin, and joined an amateur company of players against which the Comedie Française obtained an injunction. Voltaire supported him for a time and enabled him to act in his private theatre and also before the duchess of Maine. Owing to the hostility of the actors it was only after a struggle of seventeen months that, by the command of King Louis XV he was accepted at the Comedie Française.
His success was immediate. Among his best parts were Herod in Mariamne, Nero in Britannicus and similar tragic roles, in spite of the fact that he was short, stout, and lacking in good looks. His name is connected with several important scenic reforms. It was he who had the benches removed on which privileged spectators sat obstructing the stage; Count Lauragais paid the excessive indemnity demanded. Lekain also protested against the method of sing-song declamation which was prevalent, and endeavoured to correct the costuming of the plays, although unable to obtain the historic accuracy at which François Joseph Talma aimed.
His son published his Mémoires (1801) with his correspondance with Voltaire, David Garrick and others. They were reprinted in Mémoires sur l'an dramatique (1825).
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