Jean Reno made his debut in the 1978 French experimental mystery film ‘The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting’ directed by Raúl Ruiz. The film saw critical acclaim upon release and came to be known as one of Raúl Ruiz’s best works. He next appeared in films like ‘Womanlight’ (1979), ‘The Moroccan Stallion’ (1980), ‘The Passerby’ (1982), ‘Signes extérieurs de richesse’ (1983), ‘Le téléphone sonne toujours deux fois!!’ (1985), and ‘Subway’ (1985). In 1987, he starred as ‘Enzo Molinari’ in the Luc Besson-directed film ‘The Big Blue.’ The film received mostly positive reviews and was a major financial success in France, however, it was a commercial failure in the United States. Reno also received the ‘César Award’ nomination for his performance in the film. He continued to star in films like ‘La Femme Nikita’ (1990), ‘L'Homme au masque d'or’ (1991), ‘Les Visiteurs’ (1993), ‘Léon: The Professional’ (1994), and ‘French Kiss’ (1995). He starred as ‘Franz Krieger’ in the 1996 American action spy film ‘Mission: Impossible’ directed by Brian De Palma. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and was a major box office success, grossing over $457.7 million on a budget of $80 million.
In 1998, he appeared in the American monster film ‘Godzilla’ directed by Roland Emmerich. The film was panned by critics and was a box office disappointment. That same year, he also starred as ‘Vincent’ in the American action thriller film ‘Ronin’ directed by John Frankenheimer. The film earned praise from critics and was a moderate financial success. Reno continued to star in films like ‘Les Rivières pourpres’ (2000), ‘Wasabi’ (2001), ‘Rollerball’ (2002), ‘Tais-toi!’ (2003), ‘Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse’ (2004), and ‘The Tiger and the Snow’ (2005). In 2006, he joined the cast of the American comedy-mystery film ‘The Pink Panther’ directed by Shawn Levy. Even though the film received negative reviews, it was a financial success. That same year, he also appeared in the American mystery thriller film ‘The Da Vinci Code’ which was also a massive commercial success despite opening to negative reviews from critics.
Reno was next seen in films like ‘Ca$h’ (2008), ‘The Pink Panther 2’ (2009), ‘Armored’ (2009), ‘The Round Up’ (2010), ‘Zookeeper’ (2011), ‘The Chef’ (2012), ‘Days and Nights’ (2013), ‘My Summer in Provence’ (2014), ‘The Squad’ (2015), ‘The Promise’ (2016), ‘The Girl in the Fog’ (2017), and ‘The Lion King’ (2019). He was last seen in the 2020 American action thriller film ‘The Doorman’ directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. The film saw mixed reviews upon release. He is all set to appear in the upcoming French-Italian romantic drama film, ‘Promises.’