Education
He moved to France at the age of seventeen and studied acting in the Cours Simon School of Drama.
He moved to France at the age of seventeen and studied acting in the Cours Simon School of Drama.
Reno's career began in French cinema, where he appeared in many of Luc Besson's films, including Besson's first film, L'Avant dernier. The two have continued to work together throughout their careers, in films produced, written or directed by Besson. Of the films they have done together, the ones that have achieved the most critical and commercial success include: Nikita (1990), the English-language films The Big Blue (1988), and Léon (1994) (known as The Professional in the United States). Additionally, Reno did the voice-over for Mufasa in the French-language version of The Lion King, a role originally performed 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). Reno turned down the role of Agent Smith in The Matrix. He has not neglected to work in French productions either—e.g., Les Visiteurs (1993) (which was later 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, he had a prominent role in the remake of The Pink Panther and its sequel, 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. Among his most successful films are Les Visiteurs and L'Enquete corse.
After making a name for himself in his native France, particularly with his collaborations with action director Luc Besson, actor Jean Reno crossed the Atlantic to become a highly-sought character performer in big budget Hollywood fare. Though he broke the ice with American audiences with the cult classic "La Femme Nikita" (1991). He acted in great number of films : The Round Up (2010), The Pink Panther 2 (2009), Wasabi (2002), Tais-Toi (2003), The Pink Panther (2006), The Tiger and the Snow (2006) and etc.
Quotations:
"Actually, I only have a few friends in real life. And when I say friends, I'm referring to those people who I've known since the 1960s. "
"Sometimes I take the watch, or I take the shoes, but usually the souvenir is to take the life you had with those directors, or the crew - the camera person, the lighting person. When you finish a film it's like a little death. You had a family for a bit, and you finish the movie and you probably will never see each other again. "
"The advantage of being eighty years old is that one has had many people to love."
On July 29, 2006, the actor married a Polish model and actress Zofia Borucka, 35, at the city hall of Baux-de-Provence in southern France. The French President (at the time, only a Presidential candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy was his best man (Reno endorsed Sarkozy for the 2007 French Presidential Elections).
They welcomed son Cielo in July 2009 in New York City. He was married twice before and has four older 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 Polish model Nathalie Dyszkiewicz, with whom he has a son, Tom (born January 10, 1996), and a daughter, Serena (born June 28, 1998). He maintains homes in Paris, Malaysia and in Los Angeles.