Tchéky Karyo (born Baruh Djaki Karyo; 4 October 1953 – 31 October 2025) was a Turkish-born French actor and musician. Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary plays, he later worked as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He has acted in numerous films by Hollywood and French directors, including Luc Besson.
He’s best remembered for playing Petrovic in La Balance (1982), Bob in “La Femme Nikita” (1990), Vincent Van Gogh in “Vincent and Me” (1990), the title character in “Nostradamus” (1994), Detective Netah in Crying Freeman (1995), Russian Defence Minister Dimitri Mishkin in GoldenEye (1995), Fouchet in Bad Boys (1995), Jean de Dunois in Jeanne d'Arc (1999), Major Jean Villeneuve in The Patriot (2000), Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard in Kiss of the Dragon (2001), Serge in The Core (2003) and César in Belle and Sebastien (2013).
In 1982, he was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actor for his role in La Balance. In 1986, he was awarded the Prix Jean Gabin in recognition of his acting performances. He spoke multiple languages and was fluent in French, Spanish, English and Arabic.
Karyo died of cancer in Brittany, on 31 October 2025, at the age of 72.
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