Jean Reno, originally named Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez, was born on July 30, 1948. He is a French actor famous for his roles in many international movies. He has acted in American, French, English, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian films. Some of his well-known movies are “Flushed Away” (2006), “Crimson Rivers” (2000), “Godzilla” (1998), “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), “Mission: Impossible” (1996), “The Pink Panther” (2006), “Ronin” (1998), “Les Visiteurs” (1993), “Wasabi” (2001), “The Big Blue” (1988), “Hector and the Search for Happiness” (2014), “La Femme Nikita” (1990), and “Léon: The Professional” (1994).
Jean Reno was born on July 30, 1948, in Casablanca, French Morocco. His parents were Spanish and moved to North Africa to find work and escape from Francoist Spain. He has a younger sister named María Teresa, and they were raised Catholic. His father worked as a linotypist, and his mother died when he was a teenager. He learned Spanish from his parents, Arabic and French in Morocco, and Italian later in life from acting in Italian films. At 17, he moved to France, where he studied acting and served in the French Army after his family gained French citizenship.
Jean Reno began his acting career in France, often playing tough characters due to his large frame (6 ft 2 in). He worked a lot with director Luc Besson, starring in successful movies like “Le Dernier Combat” (1983), “La Femme Nikita” (1990), “The Big Blue” (1988), and “Léon: The Professional” (1994). Reno voiced Mufasa in the French version of “The Lion King.” He also starred in American movies like “French Kiss” (1995), “Mission: Impossible” (1996), “Ronin” (1998), and “Godzilla” (1998). Reno turned down the role of Agent Smith in “The Matrix.” In 2006, he appeared in the “The Pink Panther” remake and its sequel, and played Captain Bezu Fache in “The Da Vinci Code.”
Reno has also worked in video games, lending his likeness and voice to the character Jacques Blanc in “Onimusha 3: Demon Siege.” He has appeared in commercials for UPS in the US and Toyota in Japan. In 2013, he starred in the English-language TV series “Jo.”
Jean Reno has been married three times. His first marriage was to Geneviève in 1977, ending in divorce in 1988. He then married Nathalie Dyszkiewicz, a Polish model, in 1995, but they divorced in 2001. In 2006, he married Zofia Borucka, a British model and actress of Polish descent, with Nicolas Sarkozy as his best man. Reno has six children, two from each marriage. He owns homes in Paris, Malaysia, and Los Angeles.