Jean Reno () (born 30 July 1948), is a French actor. He has worked in American, French, English, Japanese, Spanish and Italian movie productions; Reno appeared in films such as ''

Crimson Rivers ''The crimson Rivers'' (french: Les Rivières pourpres) is a 2000 French psychological thriller film starring Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel. The film, which was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, is based on the novel '' Blood-red Rivers'' by Jean-Ch ...

'', ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

'', ''

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'', '' Mission: Impossible'', ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...

'', '' Ronin'', ''

Les Visiteurs ''Les Visiteurs'' (; en, The Visitors) is a French fantasy comedy film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré and released in 1993. In this comedy, a 12th-century knight and his squire travel in time to the end of the 20th century and find themselves ad ...

'', ''

Wasabi Wasabi ( Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russi ...

'', ''

The Big Blue ''The Big Blue'' (released in some countries under the French title ''Le Grand Bleu'') is a 1988 film in the French ''Cinéma du look'' visual style, made by French director Luc Besson. It is a heavily fictionalized and dramatized story of th ...

'', '' Hector and the Search for Happiness'' and '' Léon: The Professional''.

Early life

Reno was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez, on 30 July 1948 in

Casablanca, Morocco Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econo ...

. His parents were Spanish, natives of

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposit ...

and

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

Andalucia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

. They had moved to North Africa to find work and escape

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. He has a younger sister named María Teresa ("Maite"); the children were raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Their father was a linotypist. Their mother died when he was a teenager. He learned Spanish from his parents, and Arabic and French growing up in Morocco. At the age of 17, he moved to France, where he studied acting in the Cours Simon School of Drama. When he moved to France, he served in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, which was mandatory after his family gained French citizenship.

Career

After he started to get acting jobs in France, Juan adopted the French version of his name, Jean, and shortened his surname to Reno. Due to his large frame (), Reno was called on to play "heavies" in his early career. He later appeared in romantic comedies and action films. He began his film career in France, appearing in many films by director

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films ''Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...

, including his early ''

Le Dernier Combat ''Le Dernier Combat'' (; en, italic=yes, The Last Battle) is a 1983 post-apocalyptic French film. It was the first feature-film to be directed by Luc Besson, and also features Jean Reno's first prominent role. Music for the film was composed by ...

'' (1983). The two have continued to work together, collaborating in films produced, written, or directed by Besson. Of their joint work, those that have achieved the most critical and commercial success include: '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990), and the English-language films ''

'' (1988) and '' Léon: The Professional'' (1994). Reno did the voice-over for

Mufasa This article lists the characters appearing in Disney's ''The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in ''The Lion King'' (1994) Simba Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick as adult Simba in the films, Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub in ''The Lion Kin ...

in the French-language version of ''

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'', a role originally performed in English by

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

. Reno has starred in such high-profile American films as ''

French Kiss A French kiss, also known as cataglottism or a tongue kiss, is an amorous kiss in which the participants' tongues extend to touch each other's lips or tongue. A kiss with the tongue stimulates the partner's lips, tongue and mouth, which are sens ...

'' (1995) with

Meg Ryan Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra; November 19, 1961) is an American actress. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Rich and Famous''. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap oper ...

and Kevin Kline, '' Mission: Impossible'' (1996) with

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

, '' Ronin'' (1998) with Robert De Niro, and ''

'' (1998) with

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994) ...

. Reno turned down the role of

Agent Smith Agent Smith (later simply Smith) is a fictional character and the main antagonist of ''The Matrix'' franchise. He was primarily portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the first trilogy of films and voiced by Christopher Corey Smith in '' The Matrix: Pat ...

in ''

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''. He also acted in French productions: ''

'' (1993) (which was remade in English as '' Just Visiting'' in 2001); '' The Crimson Rivers'' (2000), and ''Jet Lag'' (''Décalage Horaire'') by Danièle Thompson (2002), which was also a box-office success in France. In 2006, Reno had a prominent role in ''The Pink Panther'' 2006 remake and its sequel ''

The Pink Panther 2 ''The Pink Panther 2'' is a 2009 American comedy-mystery film directed by Harald Zwart. It is the eleventh installment in '' The Pink Panther'' film series and the sequel to the 2006 film '' The Pink Panther'', a reboot of the popular comedy seri ...

'', playing Gilbert Ponton, opposite

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

Inspector Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical '' The Pink Panther'' series. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in ...

. He portrayed

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Bezu Fache ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Lang ...

in the

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

film ''

''. Among his most successful films are ''Les Visiteurs'' and ''L'Enquète corse''. In other media, Reno was involved in the production of the third installment in the popular

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

series ''

Onimusha is a series of video games developed and published by Capcom. It makes use of the historic figures that shaped Japan's history, retelling their stories with supernatural elements. Most of the games are of the action-adventure genre, a combinat ...

'' ('' Onimusha 3: Demon Siege''), lending his likeness to the protagonist Jacques Blanc, as well as providing the voice for the character's French dialogue. In advertising work, Reno has appeared in American television commercials for

UPS UPS or ups may refer to: Companies and organizations * United Parcel Service, an American shipping company ** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary ** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary * Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...

and portrayed

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...

in a series of

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

ads in Japan, as part of the "ReBorn" campaign. He also starred as ''Jo'' in the 2013 English-language TV series ''Jo''.

Personal life

Zofia Borucka Jean Reno Shankbone 2010 NYC

Reno married Geneviève in 1977. After his first divorce in 1988, Reno married his second wife, Nathalie Dyszkiewicz, a Polish model, in 1995. They divorced in 2001. On 29 July 2006, Reno married for the third time, to a British model and actress of Polish descent, Zofia Borucka, at the

Les Baux-de-Provence Les Baux-de-Provence (; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Lei Bauç de Provença), commonly called Baux, is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regio ...

city hall. The presidential candidate

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

served as his best man (Reno endorsed Sarkozy for the 2007 French presidential election). Reno maintains three homes in Paris, Malaysia, and Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Stage

* ''Prends bien garde aux zeppelins'' (1977) * ''Ecce Homo'' (1978) * ''Celimare le bien-aimé'' (1978) * ''Je romps et ne plie pas'' (1979) * ''Société Un'' (1979) * ''La Manufacture'' (1981) * ''Terre étrangère'' (1984) * ''Andromaque'' (1989) * ''Montserrat'' (1991) * ''Les Grandes Occasions'' (2006) * ''Nos femmes'' (2015)

References

External links

*
Jean Reno: Cannes, Codes, and... Bouillabaisse (''MPM'' interview)Couples Retreat Video Interview at AMCtv.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reno, Jean 1948 births Living people Alumni of Lycée Lyautey (Casablanca) European Film Awards winners (people) French male film actors French people of Spanish descent Recipients of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite People from Casablanca 20th-century French male actors 21st-century French male actors French male television actors French male voice actors