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Jean Reno
Jean Reno at Cannes 2002
Born	Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1980–present
Spouse(s)	Genevieve Reno (1977-1995) Nathalie Dyszkiewicz (1996-2001) Zofia Borucka (2007-present)

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 Godzilla, The Da Vinci Code, Mission: Impossible and Ronin, but also European productions such as Léon and the 2005 Italian film The Tiger and the Snow.

Biography

Early life

Reno was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (also written as Don Juan Moreno y Herrera Jiménez) in Casablanca, Morocco. His Andalusian parents were natives of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), and had moved to North Africa to find work and escape the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Reno moved to France at the age of seventeen. His mother died when he was an adolescent. He has a younger sister, María Teresa (Maite). Reno is a former student of the Cours Simon. He was raised Catholic.

Career

Due to his tall, hulking frame (192cm, 6' 5"), 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. Of all the films they have done together, achieved critical and commercial success: Nikita (1990), the English-language films The Big Blue (1988), and Léon (1994) (known as The Professional in the United States) which features a young Natalie Portman. 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 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) and The Crimson Rivers (2000). 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'.

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 dialog. Reno has also appeared in American television commercials for UPS.

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, only a Presidential candidate) Nicolas Sarkozy was his best man. (Reno endorsed Sarkozy for the 2007 French Presidential Elections.) 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.

He is a huge fan of Elvis Presley and can actually imitate Elvis's voice. He used his "Thank you very much" impression in a scene of the film Godzilla when the script needed his character to pass as an American.

Filmography

Film and television

References

1. Jean Reno - scheda attore
2. Eupedia : France Guide - Famous French people of recent foreign descent
3. Le Cinéma de Jean Reno
4. Jean Reno Biography - Yahoo! Movies
5. Jean Reno cracks the `Code' | Business solutions from AllBusiness.com
6. http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003593198
7. Les acteurs qui soutiennent des candidats : Jean Reno - Nicolas Sarkozy

External links

• Jean Reno at IMDb
• Jean Reno: Cannes, Codes, and... Bouillabaisse (MPM interview)
• Jean Reno (fansite)
• Le Cinéma de Jean Reno (fansite in French)
• Le Monde de Jean Reno (fansite in French)
• Personal page at myspace

Template:Persondata

• 1948 births
• French film actors
• French people of Spanish descent
• French Roman Catholics
• Living people
• Mission: Impossible
• People from Casablanca