Jean Reno turns 75, his best films from “Léon” to “The Da Vinci Code”

Jean Reno, one of the best known and most characteristic actors of international cinema, is 75 years old. Born in Casablanca, French at the time, the July 30, 1948his true name is Juan Moreno y Herrera Jiménez. Her parents were Spaniards who fled to Morocco to escape the Franco dictatorship. He moved to France at the age of 12, after a few years he received citizenship. Between European and American productions, he has taken part in some of the most beautiful films of the last century. From Leon to The rivers of purple: his most beautiful films

A summer in Provence, the cast of the film with Jean Reno

188 cm tall and with hard facial features, at the beginning of his career Jean Reno was often chosen to play the role of the villain. Surely, to contribute to the actor’s success was the partnership with Luc Besson, for which he plays roles that have become unforgettable. The first films shot under the guidance of the French director are Le Dernier Combat in 1983 (Besson’s first feature film), where he played the role of the brute, and Subway in 1985, in which he is the drummer

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In 1988, again directed by Luc Besson, he was the freediver Enzo Molinari de Le Grand Bluethe opening film of the Cannes Film Festival that year and a huge success in France, as well as winner of two César awards for best music and best sound

Promises, the trailer of the film with Favino and Jean Reno

Two years later Jean Reno is Victor the eliminator in Nikitaagain with Luc Besson directing. The film is inspired by the song of the same name by Elton John and tells the story of a drug addict girl who becomes a spy for the secret services. In the film Reno plays a ruthless and vicious agent who takes part in a mission of Nikita

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However, international popularity for the French actor comes with another masterpiece by Besson: Leon. Here Reno plays alongside a very young girl Natalie Portman and plays an Italian-American hitman who lives an apparently maniacal existence devoid of any emotion, until he meets the little neighbor with whom he weaves an ambiguous relationship. For his role, Jean Reno was nominated for Best Actor at the 1995 César Award

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In 1995, Jean Reno takes part in the American production French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. The French actor is Inspector Jean Paul Cardon

The following year is Franz Krieger in commercial success Mission: Impossible by Brian DePalma with Tom Cruise. Reno plays the role of pilot and former IMF agent who, in exchange for money, helps the protagonist in his secret mission

In 1998 the French act with Robert DeNiro in ronin in the role of Vincent and is Philippe Roaché ​​in the remake of Godzilla, directed by Roland Emmerich. For this part, Reno refuses to participate in the film matrixin which Agent Smith was supposed to be

Among the French productions to remember there is certainly The rivers of purple by Mathieu Kassocitz starring Reno paired with Vincent Cassel. The 2000 film was nominated for 5 Cesar awards and 3 European Film Awards and the actor gets the latter recognition as best international character

In 2006 he has the important role of Gilbert PontonInspector Closeau’s assistant, in the film The Pink Panther, directed by Shawn Levy and reboot of the film series that began in 1963 with Blake Edwards’ version. With Reno, he also acts Steve Martin who plays the role of Closeau

He also acts, with the role of the Captain Bezu Facheneither Da Vinci’s codedirected by Ron Howard. Based on the Dan Brown novel of the same name, the film was blockbuster and has aroused numerous criticisms, in particular from the Catholic Church and from Opus Dei, the religious association mentioned in the film

Reno then collaborated on other European productions including The tiger and the snow of and with Roberto Benigni. The 2005 film won two Silver Ribbons for best subject and best cinematography and a novel of the same name was made from the screenplay

In 2017 Reno acts in Italian in the film The girl in the fog Of Donato Carrisi, a film that won a David di Donatello for best new director. Here Reno is it Flores psychiatrist to which Inspector Vogel tells what lies behind the mysterious disappearance of a young woman named Anna Lou

Thanks to his merits in helping to make French cinema known abroad, Jean Reno was awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor. He also voiced the character of Mufasa in the French adaptation de The Lion King and the character of Jaques Blanc, modeled after his facial features, in the video game Onimusha 3: Demon Siege. Brilliant and talented, at 75 she is still among the best actors internationally

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