A French actor of Spanish-Moroccan descent, Jean Reno (pronounced Ruh-No) broke through into the American market with a heralded performance as an illiterate mob executioner who finds his soul saving the life of a teen-age girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by rogue DEA agents in "The Professional" (1994). The film also marked the English-language debut of screenwriter-director Luc Besson, with whom Reno has frequently collaborated.

The son of Andalusian parents, the actor was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Morocco, which was then under French territorial control, and remained there with his family until 1960 when they relocated to France. Reno began acting after high school, when he attended a French-government sponsored drama school. He made his professional stage debut in 1974 in a Parisian production of "Ecce Homo" and went on to spend the next couple of years honing his craft onstage. Reno made his screen debut in 1978, playing a small role in "L'Hypothese du tableau vole". The following year, he was cast in another small role in Costa-Gavras' "Clair de femme". He first worked for Besson in "Le Dernier combat" (1983), in the decidedly supporting role of a swordsman. A second outing with the director, "Subway" (1985), provided another brief part. But Besson and Reno formed a creative attachment and Besson provided a breakout role, the second male lead, in "The Big Blue" (1988). As Enzo Molinari, a macho champion free diver who fights off competition from an old friend and rival (Jean-Marc Barr), he received critical praise. But it was their next teaming, "La Femme Nikita" (1990), that brought the bearded actor to American attention. Cast as the partner-in-crime to Annie Parillaud's title character, Reno portrayed a character that established the tone of his screen persona, the ability to be cool, calculating and amoral yet retaining the impression that a human being and not a devil incarnate lives behind those brown eyes. Also in 1990, Reno played a sympathetic role, that of a priest who moonlights as a wrestler in order to raise money for his church's projects in "L'Homme au masque d'or". He had a much applauded turn as Godefroy de Montmirail, a valiant nobleman from the Musketeer-days transported to the 20th Century where he understands little in "Les Visiteurs/The Visitors" (released in the US in 1996). The film set box office records in France and spawned a 1997 sequel.

Working with Besson again, Reno made his English-language debut with "The Professional". He subsequently was a con-man thorn to Kevin Kline in Lawrence Kasdan's "French Kiss" (1995) and played Krieger, one of the operatives chosen by Tom Cruise for "Mission: Impossible" (1996). The actor became a known quantity with both Hollywood industry pros and appreciative audiences, who took to the actor when he appeared in features such as "Godzilla" (1998), "Ronin" (1998) and "Rollerball" (2002). He had a brief but potent uncredited turn in director Terry George's "Hotel Rwanda" (2004) as a sympathetic Belgian hotel corporation executive doing all he can to save the lives of his brave Rwandan manager (Don Cheadle) and the refugees he's sheltering during a bloody tribal conflict.

from movies.yahoo.com

  Flushed Away (2006) (filming) (voice) .... Le Frog
The Da Vinci Code (2006) (post-production) .... Bezu Fache
Flyboys (2006) (post-production)
Margaret (2006) (post-production) .... Ramon
The Pink Panther (2006) (completed) .... Gendarme Gilbert Ponton

Tigre e la neve, La (2005) .... Fuad
... aka The Tiger and the Snow (USA: literal English title)
Empire des loups, L' (2005) .... Jean-Louis Schiffer
Enquête corse, L' (2004) .... Ange Leoni
Hotel Rwanda (2004) (uncredited) .... Sabena Airlines President, Mr. Tillens
Onimusha 3 (2004) (VG) (voice) .... Jacques Blanc (French)
... aka Onimusha 3: Demon Siege (USA)
Rivières pourpres II - Les anges de l'apocalypse, Les (2004) .... Commissaire Niemans
... aka Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse (International: English title)
... aka Fiumi di porpora II - Gli angeli dell'apocalisse, I (Italy)
Tais-toi! (2003) .... Ruby
... aka Ruby & Quentin (France: working title) (USA)
Rollerball (2002) .... Alexis Petrovich
... aka Rollerball (Germany)
Décalage horaire (2002) .... Félix
... aka Jet Lag (Canada: English title) (International: English title)
Wasabi (2001) .... Hubert Fiorentini
... aka Petite moutarde qui monte au nez, La (France: subtitle)
... aka Wasabi - The Japanese Dip That Kicks Like a Mule (France)
Just Visiting (2001) .... Count Thibault of Malfete
... aka Visiteurs en Amérique, Les (France)
Rivières pourpres, Les (2000) .... Pierre Niemans
... aka The Crimson Rivers (USA)

Ronin (1998) .... Vincent
Godzilla (1998) .... Philippe Roaché
Couloirs du temps: Les visiteurs 2, Les (1998) .... Comte Godefroy de Montmirail, dit Godefroy le Hardi
... aka Couloirs du temps, Les
... aka The Corridors of Time (Singapore: English title: festival title)
... aka The Corridors of Time: The Visitors II
Soeurs Soleil, Les (1997) .... Un spectateur
Un amour de sorcière (1997) .... Molok
... aka Witch Way Love
Roseanna's Grave (1997) .... Marcello
... aka For Roseanna (USA: festival title)
... aka For the Love of Roseanna
Jaguar, Le (1996) .... Jean Campana
Mission: Impossible (1996) .... Franz Krieger
... aka Mission Impossible
Al di là delle nuvole (1995) .... Carlo
... aka Al di là delle nuvole (Italy)
... aka Beyond the Clouds (USA)
... aka Jenseits der Wolken (Germany)
... aka Par-delà les nuages (France)
French Kiss (1995) .... Inspector Jean-Paul Cardon
... aka Paris Match
Truffes, Les (1995) .... Patrick
Léon (1994) .... Leon
... aka Leon (UK)
... aka The Cleaner
... aka The Professional (USA)
Visiteurs, Les (1993) .... Godefroy de Papincourt, Comte de Montmirail
... aka The Visitors
... aka Visiteurs - Ils ne sont pas nés d'hier, Les (France)
Flight from Justice (1993) (TV) .... Charlie Bert
... aka Aventuriers d'Eden River, Les (France)
... aka Aventuriers..., Les (France)
... aka Justice à Eden River
Paranoïa (1993)
Vis, La (1993) .... Monsieur K
... aka The Screw
Kurenai no buta (1992) (voice) .... Porco Rosso (French version)
... aka Porco rosso (Australia) (Europe: English title) (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
... aka Crimson Pig (literal English title)
Opération Corned-Beef, L' (1991) .... Capitaine Philippe Boulier, dit 'Le Squale'/Captain Philippe Boulier aka Squale
Loulou Graffiti (1991) .... Pique la Lune
Nikita (1990) .... Victor nettoyeur
... aka La Femme Nikita (USA)
... aka Nikita (UK)
Homme au masque d'or, L' (1990) .... Father Victorio Gaetano
... aka The Man in the Golden Mask
... aka The Man with the Golden Mask

Grand bleu, Le (1988) .... Enzo Molinari
... aka The Big Blue (UK) (USA)
... aka Grand bleu, version intégrale, Le (France: director's cut)
... aka Grand bleu, version longue, Le (France: director's cut)
Monsieur Benjamin (1987) (TV) .... Rommin
I Love You (1986) .... Dentist
Zone rouge (1986) .... Leccia
... aka Zone Red (International: English title)
Pour venger Pépère (1986) (TV) .... Christiani
"Tender Is the Night" (1985) (mini) TV Series .... Dr. Dangen
Strictement personnel (1985) .... Detective Villechaize
Subway (1985) .... The Drummer
Un homme comblé (1985) (TV) .... Joël
Téléphone sonne toujours deux fois, Le (1985) .... L'homme de confiance de Marraine
... aka The Telephone Always Rings Twice (International: English title)
Notre histoire (1984) .... A neighbour
... aka Our Story
... aka Separate Rooms
Alea (1984)
Et demain viendra le jour (1984) (TV)
Ne quittez pas (1984)
Signes extérieurs de richesse (1983) .... Marc Letellier
Dernier combat, Le (1983) .... The Brute
... aka The Final Combat
... aka The Last Battle
... aka The Last Combat (UK)
"Quelques hommes de bonne volonté" (1983) (mini) TV Series
Ballade sanglante (1983)
Passante du Sans-Souci, La (1982)
... aka Passante, La
... aka Spaziergängerin von Sans-Souci, Die (West Germany)
... aka The Passerby
Bidasses aux grandes manoeuvres, Les (1981) .... Lieutenant Zag
On n'est pas des anges... elles non plus (1981) (uncredited)
Avant dernier, L' (1981)
"Aéropostale, courrier du ciel, L'" (1980) (mini) TV Series .... Moraglia
Voulez-vous un bébé Nobel? (1980) .... Bernier

Clair de femme (1979)
... aka Chiaro di donna (Italy)
... aka Liebe einer Frau, Die
... aka Womanlight (USA)
Hypothèse du tableau volé, L' (1979)
... aka The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting