Ten fun facts about Jean Reno

Fact 1
His real name is Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez.

Fact 2
Working in French, English, Japanese, Spanish and Italian, he has appeared in numerous successful films such as Crimson Rivers, Godzilla, The Da Vinci Code, Mission: Impossible, The Pink Panther, Ronin, Les visiteurs, The Big Blue and Léon: The Professional.

Fact 3
He moved to France at the age of seventeen and studied acting in the Cours Simon School of Drama.

Fact 4
Reno has starred in such high-profile American films as French Kiss (1995) with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, Mission: Impossible (1996) with Tom Cruise, Ronin (1998) with Robert De Niro, and Godzilla (1998).

Fact 5
Reno turned down the role of Agent Smith in The Matrix.

Fact 6
Reno has portrayed Doraemon in a series of Toyota ads in Japan, as part of the “ReBorn” campaign.

Fact 7
Due to his tall frame (1.91 m; 6 ft 3 in), he mostly played brutes early on in his career.

Fact 8
He later appeared in romantic-comedies and action films.

Fact 9
Reno's career began in French cinema, where he appeared in many of Luc Besson's films, including Besson's first film, Le dernier combat.

Fact 10
Reno did the voice-over for Mufasa in the French-language version of The Lion King, a role originally performed by James Earl Jones.