Jean Reno is a multicultural actor, gaining a large following for his acting career. He was raised by Spanish parents, grew up in Casablanca, Moroco, where he learned the languages of Spanish, Arabic, and French. By the age of seventeen, Reno and his family moved to North Africa for work and to escape the Francoist dictatorship in Spain. Reno then moved to France to become an actor, studying at the Cours Simon School of Drama, founded by French actor René Simon.
Simon once said, “One does not learn to be an actor — one is born an actor.” The same is true of Jean Reno. His birth name was Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez until he adopted the French equivalent when he found his first acting jobs. He was cast as a “heavy” for his six-foot height and transitioned to romantic comedies and action. Reno worked closely with French director Luc Besson who was an early proponent of the highly visualized style of Cinéma du look. His most notable works with Besson are La Femme Nikita and Léon: The Professional. Since then, Reno has amassed a diverse number of performances with American, English, French, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish productions.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Hotel Rwanda (2004)
MGM
At the Hôtel des Mille Collines in 1994, a genocide of the Tutsi, Hutu, and Twa minorities took place in the African country of Rwanda. Hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle) housed and protected 1,268 refugees who escaped corrupt militia forces. In his uncredited role, Reno plays Mr. Tillens, a member of the United Nations who attempts to send more peacekeeper convoys to aid Rusesabagina. His delivery might feel underwhelming considering the political upheaval across the world, but his actionable concern is not unheard.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Wasabi (2001)
Wasabi is the French version of Rush Hour. Reno plays senior French police officer Hubert Fiorentini who learns that he has a daughter, Yumi (Ryōko Hirosue) with a Japanese ex-spy, Miko whom he fraternized and had an affair with almost two decades ago. He must protect Yumi from the Yakuza after Miko stole a fortune from the Japanese mafia as a present for her daughter. Reno carries the film with his action scenes, although their jump cuts are hurried and sporadic.
6 Ronin (1998)
French gunman Vincent befriends Sam Regazolli (Robert De Niro), a former CIA operative and American mercenary. They work with a team of ex-government agents to secure a package before the Russian mafia does. In one scene, Sam is shot and walks Vincent through removing a bullet near his rib cage. The bond between De Niro and Reno is natural and fitting for the two heist men always looking for their next job.
5 The Big Blue (1988)
Gaumont
One of director Besson’s films that puts Cinéma du look to good use, The Big Blue shares the friendship between champion free divers Jacques Mayol (Jean-Marc Barr) and Enzo Maiorca (Reno’s character), renamed “Enzo Molinari” for the film. Both perform underwater feats for sport, such as holding one’s breath underwater for a time before resurfacing or reaching a certain depth without breathing aids like scuba gear. Fictional liberties were taken; for example, the two divers were never direct competitors, but they showcased a generation of deep sea daredevils and explorers. Reno has that wayward but thoughtful demeanor of someone searching for wholeness, a deeper meaning.
4 Mission: Impossible (1996)
Paramount Pictures
Franz Krieger is a disavowed helicopter pilot for the Impossible Mission Force, a global espionage agency. He is recruited by Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) to track down a mole who set up and killed his first IMF team. He becomes an accomplice in a double-crossing scheme to confiscate a CIA NOC list. Krieger comes close to killing Hunt with a helicopter blade, but while flying through the TGV railway Channel Tunnel, is blown up by a stick of explosive chewing gum. Close calls and hard falls are what Reno does best.
3 22 Bullets / L’immortel (2010)
EuropaCorp.
Reno plays former mafia boss Charly Matteï who trades his time in the underworld for a peaceful life with his family. An unexpected attempt on Matteï’s life comes from his past when eight men gun him down. The kidnap his son and leave him riddled with 22 bullets. Matteï miraculously survives the shooting and comes out of retirement to go on a manhunt for each killer. Audiences are given a glimpse into Reno’s softer and playful side with a darker sense of morality in the balance.
2 La Femme Nikita (1990)
Victor the Cleaner is sent by the Centre (the General Directorate for External Security) when a plot to steal sensitive documents from an embassy goes south for their assassin Nikita (Anne Parillaud). He kills pursuers and destroys evidence of the crime until he is fatally wounded. Victor also manages to save Nikita from certain death. Besson and Reno knew what to do with the subtle but ruthless hitman.
1 Léon: The Professional (1994)
In Léon: The Professional The Italian gun-for-hire Léon works for the mob in Little Italy, New York. He returns home after a job and meets his neighbor Mathilda (Natalie Portman) who leaves to get groceries. She returns to an apartment where her family was gunned down by corrupt DEA agents, in recompense for her father stealing cocaine drops they paid him to hide. Mathilda wisely knocks on Léon’s door down the hall and for the first time, saves a life. Reno’s portrayal of a loner, outcast, killer, immigrant, and father is nothing short of genius storytelling.
