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Jean Reno

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Jean Reno
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

Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (born 30 July 1948), commonly known as Jean Reno (French: [ʒɑ̃ ʁeno]), is a French 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).

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 Da Vinci Code (2006), The Pink Panther (2006), Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014), The Promise (2016), and Da 5 Bloods (2020).

Early life

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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

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  • 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

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1978 The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting Tableaux Personnel
1979 Womanlight Traffic policeman
1980 The Moroccan Stallion
1982 The Passerby Angry Man
1983 Signes extérieurs de richesse Marc Letellier
Le Dernier Combat The Brute
1985 Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!! Conman
Subway The Drummer
1986 I Love You The dentist
1988 The Big Blue Enzo Molinari
1990 La Femme Nikita Victor, cleaner
1991 L'Homme au masque d'or Father Victorio Gaetano
Loulou Graffiti Pique la Lune
L'Opération Corned-Beef Captain Philippe Boulier
1992 Porco Rosso Marco "Porco Rosso" Pagot (voice) French dub
1993 Les Visiteurs Godefroy de Papincourt, Comte de Montmirail
La Vis Monsieur K
Paranoïa Short subject
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey Shadow (voice) French dub
1994 The Lion King Mufasa (voice)
Léon: The Professional Leone "Léon" Montana
1995 Les Truffes Patrick
French Kiss Inspector Jean-Paul Cardon
Al di là delle nuvole Carlo
1996 Mission: Impossible Franz Krieger
Le Jaguar Jean Campana
1997 Roseanna's Grave Marcello
Un amour de sorcière Molok
Les Sœurs Soleil Spectator
1998 Les Visiteurs II: Les Couloirs du temps Comte Godefroy de Montmirail, dit Godefroy
Godzilla Philippe Roaché
Ronin Vincent
1999 The Book That Wrote Itself Himself
2000 Crimson Rivers Pierre Niemans
2001 Just Visiting Count Thibault of Malfete
Atlantis: The Lost Empire Vincenzo "Vinny" Saltorini (voice) French dub
Wasabi Hubert Fiorentini
2002 Décalage horaire Felix
Rollerball Alexis Petrovich
2003 Tais-toi! Ruby
2004 Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse Commissaire Niemans
Hotel Rwanda Mr. Tillens Uncredited
The Corsican Files Ange Leoni
2005 L'Empire des loups Jean-Louis Schiffer
The Tiger and the Snow Fuad
2006 The Pink Panther Gilbert Ponton
Flyboys Captain Thenault
The Da Vinci Code Captain Bezu Fache
Flushed Away Le Frog (voice) Also French dub
2008 Ca$h Maxime - Dubreuil
2009 The Pink Panther 2 Gilbert Ponton
Le Premier Cercle Milo Malakian
Couples Retreat Marcel
Armored Quinn
2010 The Round Up Dr. Sheinbaum
The Philosopher Baggio
22 Bullets Charly Matteï
2011 Zookeeper Bernie the Gorilla (voice) French dub
You Don't Choose Your Family Docteur Luix
Margaret Ramon
2012 Alex Cross Giles Mercier
The Chef Alexandre Lagarde
Le Jour des Corneilles Le père Courge
2013 Days and Nights Louis
2014 My Summer in Provence Paul
Hector and the Search for Happiness Dr. Diego Baresco
Benoît Brisefer : Les Taxis rouges [fr] Poilonez
2015 The Squad Serge Buren
Brothers of the Wind Danzer
2016 The Last Face Dr. Mehmet Love
The Visitors: Bastille Day Comte Godefroy de Montmirail
The Promise Admiral Louis Dartige Fournet
2017 Mes trésors Patrick
The Girl in the Fog Augusto Flores
The Adventurers Pierre
2019 4 Latas Jean Pierre
Cold Blood Henry
The Lion King Mufasa (voice) French dub
Polina and the Mystery of a Film Studio Screen Hologram
2020 Waiting for Anya Henri
Da 5 Bloods Desroche
Rogue City Ange Leonetti
The Doorman Victor Dubois
2021 Promises Grandpa
2024 Lift Lars Jorgenson
My Penguin Friend João
Family Pack Gilbert Vassier
TBA Tuner Filming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Flight from Justice Charlie Bert TV movie
2013 Jo Joachim "Jo" St-Clair 8 episodes
2021 Who Killed Sara? Reinaldo Gómez de la Cortina 7 episodes
2022 A Private Affair Héctor Hugo 8 episodes

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Onimusha 3: Demon Siege Jacques Blanc Voice and likeness

Awards and nominations

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Institution Year Category Work Result
César Award 1989 Best Supporting Actor The Big Blue Nominated
1994 Best Actor Les Visiteurs Nominated
1995 Léon: The Professional Nominated
European Film Award 2000 Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema Won
Giffoni Film Festival 2012 François Truffaut Award Won
Screen Actors Guild Award 2021 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Jean Reno - scheda attore". Film.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  2. ^ a b Dawson, Angela (10 May 2006). "Jean Reno cracks the 'Code'". AllBusiness.com. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  3. ^ Jamieson, Teddy (30 August 2010). "Jean Reno on 22 Bullets". Herald Scotland. Herald & Times Group. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Jean Reno Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  5. ^ "Jean Reno tra "A Private Affair" e l'amore per l'Italia". YouTube: Il Messaggero. 2022. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  6. ^ Loo, Egan (18 November 2011). "Film star Jean Reno's live-action Doraemon ad streamed". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Emma". xoeditions.com (in French). Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  8. ^ "Da Vinci Code Actor Jean Reno Weds". People.com. Time Inc. 30 July 2006. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  9. ^ Melillo, Wendy (4 June 2007). "What the French Taught Us". Ad Week. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Les Acteurs qui soutiennent des candidates: Jean Reno - Nicolas Sarkozy". Linternaute (in French). 2007. Archived from the original on 4 October 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  11. ^ "Jean Reno papa de Sandra, Michael, Tom, Serena, Cielo et Dean : Qui sont ses 6 enfants ?".
  12. ^ "Jean Reno Trivia: 26 amazing facts about the French actor! (List)". www.uselessdaily.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Jean Reno ne croit pas à l'intégration des musulmans en France". parismatch.com (in French). 7 June 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  14. ^ Décret du 14 mai 2003 portant promotion et nomination, retrieved 30 December 2024
  15. ^ "Nominations dans l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres - Cinquantenaire de l'ordre - 2008". www2.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  16. ^ "BOE-A-2015-14323 Real Decreto 1179/2015, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se concede la Medalla al Mérito en las Bellas Artes, en su categoría de oro, a las personas y entidades que se relacionan". www.boe.es. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  17. ^ Décret du 3 juillet 2024 portant promotion dans l'ordre national de la Légion d'honneur, retrieved 30 December 2024
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