"I first decided to become an actor at school. A teacher gave us a play to do and that had a major impact. At first, I wanted to work in the theatre, but there was something about the ambience of film, especially American films, that always attracted me."
Need a badass with a deep voice and an authentic French accent? Call for Jean Reno!
Appearing as "that French tough guy" in many films, Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez (born July 30, 1948 in Casablanca, Morocco) was born in Morocco, when it was a Spanish protectorate, and moved to France when he was seventeen. So the fact that his name is Juan (in French, Jean) Moreno (cut the first syllable and you have his artistic name) Herrera-Jimenez can make him a sort of Dashing Hispanic. Of course, he can also play other nationalities in a pinch, including a damn good Elvis Presley impersonation.
Also, he was Doraemon!!! No, seriously.
Selected filmography:
- The Last Battle (1983) as the Brute
- Subway (1985) as the Drummer
- The Big Blue (1988) as Enzo Molinari
- Nikita (1990) as Victor "The Cleaner"
- L'Opération Corned-Beef (1991) as Capitaine Philippe "Le Squale" Boulier
- Porco Rosso (1992) as Porco Rosso (French dub)
- Les Visiteurs (1993) as Godefroy de Montmirail "le Hardi"
- Les Visiteurs II: The Corridors of Time (1998)
- Les Visiteurs: Bastille Day (2016)
- La Vis (1993) as Mr. K
- The Professional (1994) as Léon
- The Lion King (1994) as Mufasa (French dub)
- Reprised the role in the dub of the 2019 remake.
- French Kiss (1995) as Jean-Paul
- Mission: Impossible (1996) as Franz Krieger
- Le Jaguar (1996) as Jean Campana
- The Fifth Element (1997) as Aknot (French dub)
- Witch Way Love (1997) as Molok Edramareck
- Rōnin (1998) as Vincent
- Godzilla (1998) as Philippe Roche
- The Crimson Rivers (2000) as Detective Superintendent Pierre Niemans
- Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004)
- Just Visiting (2001) as Thibault de Malfète
- Wasabi (2001) as Hubert Fiorentini
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2002) as Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini (French dub)
- Onimusha 3: Demon Siege (2004) as Jacques Blancnote
- The Corsican Investigation (2004) as Ange Leoni
- Hotel Rwanda (2005) as Mr. Tillens
- The Tiger and the Snow (2005) as Fuad
- The Da Vinci Code (2006) as Commissionner Bézu Fache
- The Pink Panther (2006) as Gilbert Ponton
- The Pink Panther 2 (2009)
- Flushed Away (2006) as Le Frog
- Couples Retreat (2009) as Marcel
- Jo (2013) as Joachim "Jo" Saint-Clair
- The Last Face (2016) as Dr. Mehmet Love
- Cold Blood Legacy (2019) as Henry
- Da 5 Bloods (2020) as Desroches
- The Doorman (2020) as Victor Dubois
Tropes in his works:
- Badass Baritone: Some of his roles put his deep and smooth voice to good use.
- Comically Serious: His poker face falls into this territory outside of the "tough guy" roles.
- Face of a Thug: Leads to him being type-casted as a thug, hitman or at very least a rough cop.
- Playing Against Type: French Kiss was the first film to play with his "tough guy" screen persona. While he certainly was a no-nonsense cop in the film, his character was also an idealistic and romantic father.
- Production Posse: He has appeared in five movies directed by Luc Besson — The Last Battle, Subway, The Big Blue, Nikita and Léon - The Professional. He was also cast in some movies produced and written (but not directed) by Besson, such as Wasabi and Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse. He also dubbed the Mangalore leader Aknot in Besson's The Fifth Element.
- Those Two Actors: He has been famously paired with fellow French actor Christian Clavier in comedy films since Operation Corned Beef and Les Visiteurs. He also voiced Shadow in the French dub Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, while Clavier voiced Chance.
