Jean Reno

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Jean Reno

Jean Reno at Cannes 2002
Born Juan Moreno y Herrera Jiménez
July 30, 1948 (1948-07-30) (age 59)
Flag of Morocco Casablanca, Morocco
Years active 1980 - present
Spouse(s) Zofia Borucka

Jean Reno (born July 30, 1948) is a French actor. Working in both French and English, he has appeared not only in numerous successful Hollywood productions such as The DaVinci Code, Mission Impossible and Ronin, but also European productions such as the 2005 Italian film The Tiger and the Snow.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Reno was born Juan Moreno y Herrera Jiménez[1][2] (also written as Don Juan Moreno y Herrera Jimenez)[3] in Casablanca, Morocco. His Spanish Andalusian parents were natives of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Jerez de la Frontera, and had moved to North Africa to escape the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Reno moved to France at the age of seventeen. His mother died when he was an adolescent. Reno is a former student of the Cours Simon.[4] He was raised Catholic.[5]

[edit] Career

Due to his tall, hulking frame (6' 2"), he mostly played villainous brutes early on in his career. Thanks to his skills as an actor, he has broken away from this stereotype and has played everything from romantic-comedy leads to action heroes. Reno's career began in French cinema, where he appeared in many of Luc Besson's films, including Besson's first short film, L'Avant dernier. The two have continued to work together throughout their careers, in films produced, written or directed by Besson, though the films in which he has done all three have proven to be the most popular, including Nikita (1990), and the English-language films The Big Blue (1988), and Léon (1994) (known as The Professional in the United States) featuring a young Natalie Portman. Additionally, he dubbed over the character of Mufasa in the French-language version of The Lion King, a role originally occupied by James Earl Jones.

Reno has starred in such high-profile American movies 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), for which Reno turned down the role of Agent Smith in the The Matrix. He has not neglected to continue making French productions either - e.g., Les Visiteurs (1993) (which was later remade in English as Just Visiting in 2001) and The Crimson Rivers (2000). In 2006, he had a prominent role in the remake of The Pink Panther, playing Gilbert Ponton, the partner of Inspector Clouseau opposite Steve Martin, and also portrayed Captain Bezu Fache in the Ron Howard film The Da Vinci Code.

In other media, Reno was involved in the production of the third installment in the popular PlayStation 2 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. Reno has also appeared in United Parcel Service advertisements on television.

[edit] Personal life

On July 29, 2006 the actor married model and actress Zofia Borucka, 35, at the city hall of Baux-de-Provence in southern France. The French President (at the time being Presidential candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy was his best man. He was married twice before and has four children, two from each marriage. His first wife was Geneviève, with whom he has a daughter, Sandra (born in 1978), and a son, Mickael (born in 1980). His second wife is model Nathalie Dyszkiewicz, with whom he has a son, Tom (born 1996), and a daughter, Serena (born 1998). He maintains homes in Paris, Malaysia and in Los Angeles.

Reno endorsed Nicolas Sarkozy for the 2007 French Presidential Elections.[6][7] He is a huge fan of Elvis Presley and can actually imitate Elvis' voice. He used his impression in a scene of the film Godzilla when the script needed his character to pass as an American.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Film and television

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Armored Quinn filming
The Pink Panther Deux Gilbert Ponton awaiting release
2008 Margaret Ramon awaiting release
2006 Flushed Away Le Frog voice
The Da Vinci Code Captain Benzu Fache
Flyboys Captain Thenault
The Pink Panther Gilbert Ponton
2005 The Tiger and the Snow Fuad
L'Empire des loups (Empire of the Wolves) Jean-Louis Schiffer
2004 L'Enquête Corse Ange Leoni
Hotel Rwanda Mr. Tillens (uncredited)
Les Rivières pourpres II: Les anges de l'apocalypse
(Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse)
Commissaire Niemans
Onimusha 3: Demon Siege
(Capcom-based popular franchise)
Voice actor and Character Model of Jacques Blanc
2003 Tais-toi! Ruby
Jet Lag Felix
2002 Rollerball Alexis Petrovich
Décalage horaire Felix
2001 Wasabi Hubert Fiorentini
Just Visiting Count Thibault of Malfete
2000 Les Rivières pourpres (Crimson Rivers) Pierre Niemans
1998 Ronin Vincent
Godzilla Philippe Roaché
Les Visiteurs II: Les Couloirs du temps Comte Godefroy de Montmirail, dit Godefroy
1997 Les Soeurs Soleil Un spectateur
Un amour de sorcière Molok
Roseanna's Grave Marcello
1996 Le Jaguar Jean Campana
Mission: Impossible Franz Krieger
1995 Al di là delle nuvole Carlo
French Kiss Inspector Jean-Paul Cardon
Les Truffes Patrick
1994 Léon (The Professional) Leon
1993 Les Visiteurs Godefroy de Papincourt, Comte de Montmirail
Flight from Justice Charlie Bert TV
Paranoïa
La Vis Monsieur K
1992 Kurenai no buta Porco Rosso Voice
1991 L'Opération Corned-Beef Capitaine Philippe Boulier, dit 'Le Squale'/Captain Philippe
Loulou Graffiti Pique la Lune
1990 Nikita Victor, nettoyeur
L'Homme au masque d'or Father Victorio Gaetano
1988 Le Grand Bleu (The Big Blue) Enzo Molinari
1985 Subway The Drummer
Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!! Marraine 's confidence man
1983 Le Dernier Combat
1982 La Passante du Sans-Souci
1980 The Moroccan Stallion


[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Persondata
NAME Reno, Jean
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jiménez, Juan Moreno y Herrera
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Casablanca, Morocco
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH