Jean Reno

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

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. 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. Reno has a younger sister named María Teresa ("Maite"). Their father was a linotypist. Their mother died when he was a teenager.

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. 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, and French growing up in Morocco.

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 (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. He also starred as Jo in the 2013 English-language TV series Jo.

In 2024, Reno released his first novel, Emma. He published a sequel titled L'Évasion in 2026, which was inspired by the abductions of Ukrainian children during the Russo-Ukrainian war; although based on real events, Reno stressed the story is apolitical.

Personal life

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.

The presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy served as his best man (Reno endorsed Sarkozy for the 2007 French presidential election). Reno has six children, two from each marriage.

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

Filmography

Television

• 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

• 2004 — Onimusha 3: Demon Siege — Jacques Blanc — Voice and likeness

Stage credits

Awards and nominations

• César Award — 1989 — Best Supporting Actor — The Big Blue — Nominated
• César Award — 1994 — Best Actor — Les Visiteurs — Nominated
• César Award — 1995 — Best Actor — Léon: The Professional — Nominated
• European Film Award — 2000 — Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema — —.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap}N/a — Honored
• Giffoni Film Festival — 2012 — François Truffaut Award — —N/a — Honored
• Screen Actors Guild Award — 2021 — Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture — Da 5 Bloods — Nominated

Honours

• 2003 Officer of the National Order of Merit
• 2007 Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters
• 2015 Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts
• 2024 Commander of the Legion of Honor