Jean Reno

French actor (born 1948) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jean Reno

Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (born 30 July 1948), commonly known as Jean Reno (French: [ʒɑ̃ ʁeno]), is a French-Spanish actor. He established himself as a leading man of French cinema through his collaborations with director Luc Besson, and has worked in numerous international productions. He is a three-time César Award nominee - Best Actor for Les Visiteurs (1993) and Léon: The Professional (1994), and Best Supporting Actor for The Big Blue (1988).

Quick Facts Born, Citizenship ...
Jean Reno
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Born
Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez

(1948-07-30) 30 July 1948 (age 76)
Citizenship
  • France
  • Spain
OccupationActor
Years active1977–present
Spouses
  • Geneviève Reno
    (m. 1977; div. 1995)
  • Nathalie Dyszkiewicz
    (m. 1996; div. 2001)
  • Zofia Borucka
    (m. 2006)
Children6
Signature
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Reno's other notable films include Le Dernier Combat (1983), La Femme Nikita (1990), Mission: Impossible (1996), Ronin (1998), Godzilla (1998), Crimson Rivers (2000), Wasabi (2001), The Pink Panther (2006), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Flushed Away (2006), Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014), The Promise (2016), and Da 5 Bloods (2020).

Early life

Reno was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez, on 30 July 1948 in Casablanca, French Morocco.[1] His parents were Spanish, natives of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia. They had moved to North Africa to find work and escape Francoist Spain. [citation needed] Reno has a younger sister named María Teresa ("Maite"); the children were raised Catholic.[2] Their father was a linotypist.[3] Their mother died when he was a teenager.[2]

At the age of 17, Reno and his family moved to France, where he studied acting at the Cours Simon School of Drama in Paris.[4] Reno also served in the French Army, as his military service became mandatory once his family had gained French citizenship.

Reno learned Spanish from his parents, Arabic and French growing up in Morocco, and Italian from studying it as a special interest and acting in Italian films.[5]

Career

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Jean Reno and Juliette Binoche at Cannes Film Festival in 2002

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 (1.88 m or 6 ft 2 in), 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, including his early Le Dernier Combat (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 The Big Blue (1988) and Léon: The Professional (1994).

Reno did the voice-over for Mufasa in the French-language version of The Lion King, a role originally performed in English by James Earl Jones. Reno has starred in such high-profile American films as French Kiss (1995) with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, Mission: Impossible (1996) with Tom Cruise, Ronin (1998) with Robert De Niro, and Godzilla (1998) with Matthew Broderick. Reno turned down the role of Agent Smith in The Matrix. He also acted in French productions: Les Visiteurs (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, playing Gilbert Ponton, opposite Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau. He portrayed Captain Bezu Fache in the Ron Howard film The Da Vinci Code. 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 series Onimusha (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 and portrayed Doraemon in a series of Toyota ads in Japan, as part of the "ReBorn" campaign.[6] He also starred as Jo in the 2013 English-language TV series Jo.

In 2024, Reno released his first novel, Emma.[7]

Personal life

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Reno with his wife Zofia Borucka at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Reno married his first wife, Geneviève, in 1977; they divorced in 1988. Reno married his second wife, Polish model Nathalie Dyszkiewicz, 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 city hall.[8] The presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy served as his best man (Reno endorsed Sarkozy for the 2007 French presidential election).[9][10] Reno has six children, two from each marriage.[11]

Reno maintains three homes in Paris, Malaysia, and Los Angeles.[12] He is a dual citizen of France and Spain.[13] In a 2016 interview, Reno stated "his roots are above all Spanish, Andalusian."[13]

Stage credits

  • 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)

Filmography

Film

More information Year, Title ...
YearTitleRoleNotes
1978The Hypothesis of the Stolen PaintingTableaux Personnel
1979WomanlightTraffic policeman
1980The Moroccan Stallion
1982The PasserbyAngry Man
1983Signes extérieurs de richesseMarc Letellier
Le Dernier CombatThe Brute
1985Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!!Conman
SubwayThe Drummer
1986I Love YouThe dentist
1988The Big BlueEnzo Molinari
1990La Femme NikitaVictor, cleaner
1991L'Homme au masque d'or [fr]Father Victorio Gaetano
Loulou Graffiti [fr]Pique la Lune
L'Opération Corned-BeefCaptain Philippe Boulier
1992Porco RossoMarco "Porco Rosso" Pagot (voice)French dub
1993Les VisiteursGodefroy de Papincourt, Comte de Montmirail
La Vis [fr]Monsieur K
Paranoïa [fr]Short subject
Homeward Bound: The Incredible JourneyShadow (voice)French dub
1994The Lion KingMufasa (voice)
Léon: The ProfessionalLeone "Léon" Montana
1995Les Truffes [fr]Patrick
French KissInspector Jean-Paul Cardon
Al di là delle nuvoleCarlo
1996Mission: ImpossibleFranz Krieger
Le JaguarJean Campana
1997Roseanna's GraveMarcello
Un amour de sorcièreMolok
Les Sœurs SoleilSpectator
1998Les Visiteurs II: Les Couloirs du tempsComte Godefroy de Montmirail, dit Godefroy
GodzillaPhilippe Roaché
RoninVincent
1999The Book That Wrote ItselfHimself
2000Crimson RiversPierre Niemans
2001Just VisitingCount Thibault of Malfete
Atlantis: The Lost EmpireVincenzo "Vinny" Saltorini (voice)French dub
WasabiHubert Fiorentini
2002Décalage horaireFelix
RollerballAlexis Petrovich
2003Tais-toi!Ruby
2004Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the ApocalypseCommissaire Niemans
Hotel RwandaMr. TillensUncredited
The Corsican FilesAnge Leoni
2005L'Empire des loupsJean-Louis Schiffer
The Tiger and the SnowFuad
2006The Pink PantherGilbert Ponton
FlyboysCaptain Thenault
The Da Vinci CodeCaptain Bezu Fache
Flushed AwayLe Frog (voice)Also French dub
2008Ca$hMaxime - Dubreuil
2009The Pink Panther 2Gilbert Ponton
Le Premier CercleMilo Malakian
Couples RetreatMarcel
ArmoredQuinn
2010The Round UpDr. Sheinbaum
The Philosopher [fr]Baggio
22 BulletsCharly Matteï
2011ZookeeperBernie the Gorilla (voice)French dub
You Don't Choose Your Family [fr]Docteur Luix
MargaretRamon
2012Alex CrossGiles Mercier
The ChefAlexandre Lagarde
The Day of the CrowsLe père Courge
2013Days and NightsLouis
2014My Summer in ProvencePaul
Hector and the Search for HappinessDr. Diego Baresco
Benoît Brisefer: Les Taxis rouges [fr]Poilonez
2015The SquadSerge Buren
Brothers of the WindDanzer
2016The Last FaceDr. Mehmet Love
The Visitors: Bastille DayComte Godefroy de Montmirail
The PromiseAdmiral Louis Dartige Fournet
2017Mes trésorsPatrick
The Girl in the FogAugusto Flores
The AdventurersPierre
20194 LatasJean Pierre
Cold BloodHenry
The Lion KingMufasa (voice)French dub
Polina and the Mystery of a Film StudioScreen Hologram
2020Waiting for AnyaHenri
Da 5 BloodsDesroche
Rogue CityAnge Leonetti
The DoormanVictor Dubois
2021PromisesGrandpa
2024LiftLars Jorgenson
My Penguin FriendJoão
Family PackGilbert Vassier
TBATunerFilming
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Television

More information Year, Title ...
YearTitleRoleNotes
1993Flight from JusticeCharlie BertTV movie
2013JoJoachim "Jo" St-Clair8 episodes
2021Who Killed Sara?Reinaldo Gómez de la Cortina7 episodes
2022A Private AffairHéctor Hugo8 episodes
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Video games

More information Year, Title ...
YearTitleRoleNotes
2004Onimusha 3: Demon SiegeJacques BlancVoice and likeness
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Awards and nominations

Honours

References

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