Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (born 30 July 1948), commonly known as Jean Reno (), 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 (), 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 Film 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 Brute1985 Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!! Conman Subway The Drummer 1986 I Love You Dentist 1988 The Big Blue Enzo Molinari 1990 La Femme Nikita Victor 1991 Father Victorio Gaetano Pique la Lune L'Opération Corned-Beef Captain Philippe Boulier 1992 Porco Rosso Marco "Porco Rosso" Pagot (voice) French dub1993 Les Visiteurs Godefroy de Papincourt, Comte de Montmirail Monsieur K Short subject Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey Shadow (voice) French dub1994 The Lion King Mufasa (voice) Léon: The Professional Leone "Léon" Montana1995 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" Santorini (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 Baggio 22 Bullets Charly Matteï 2011 Zookeeper Bernie the Gorilla (voice) French dub Docteur Luix Margaret Ramon 2012 Alex Cross Giles Mercier The Chef Alexandre Lagarde The Day of the Crows Le père Courge 2013 Days and Nights Louis 2014 My Summer in Provence Paul Hector and the Search for Happiness Dr. Diego Baresco 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 2025 Tuner Marius Maissner Zootopia 2 Chèvre, Bushron (voices) Cameos Also French dub TBA The Florist Post-production

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

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)

Awards and nominations Institution Year Category WorkResult César Award 1989 Best Supporting Actor The Big Blue 1994 Best Actor Les Visiteurs 1995 Léon: The Professional European Film Award 2000 Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema Giffoni Film Festival 2012 François Truffaut Award Screen Actors Guild Award 2021 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Da 5 Bloods

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

References

External links

Jean Reno: Cannes, Codes, and... Bouillabaisse (MPM interview) Couples Retreat Video Interview at AMCtv.com