Tchéky Karyo left us, he was 72 years old

An emblematic villain of French cinema in the 90s, who became a rough and moving investigator for television at the end of his career, Tchéky Karyo died of cancer.

It’s a face of French cinema that is disappearing.

Actor Tchéky Karyo died on Friday October 31, died of cancer. He was 72 years old. “Valérie Keruzoré, his wife, and their children are saddened to report the disappearance of Tchéky Karyo who died of cancer this Friday, October 31“, indicates a press release from his family sent to AFP.

Revealed at the beginning of the 1980s, Tchéky Karyo first established himself in Libra by Bob Swaim (1982)where he burst onto the screen as a little thug with a big heart, a role which earned him a nomination for the César for Most Promising Actor. He continues with The Bear by Jean-Jacques Annaud (1988) and above all Nikita by Luc Besson (1990)where he plays Bob, implacable mentor and protector of the heroine played by Anne Parillaud. Three pivotal roles which establish his raw presence, this unique blend of hardness and humanity.

With his battered face and his piercing gaze, Karyo quickly becomes one of the most fascinating “bad guys” on the big screen. In Doberman by Jan Kounen (1997)he plays a sadistic cop with almost mythological violence. In Crying Freeman by Christophe Gans (1995)he plays detective Netah, an obsessive hunter, another side of the same demon. His face, cut for chiaroscuro, becomes his signature: that of an actor who will not be forgotten.

Very quickly, Hollywood became interested in this very magnetic villain. He crosses the Atlantic and imposes his crazy charisma as an assassin chemist hunted by Will Smith in Bad Boys by Michael Bay (1995)then in 1492: Christopher Columbus by Ridley Scott (1992)or even GoldenEye by Martin Campbell (1995)where he faces Pierce Brosnan. In France, he found Luc Besson to Joan of Arc (1999)where he plays Jean de Dunois, a loyal and fierce comrade in arms. During these years, he became one of the rare actors capable of navigating between two cinemas, two languages, while maintaining the same intensity and the same truth in his gaze.

In the 2000s, Tchéky Karyo changed skin. As he gets older, he is less frightening and becomes a fatherly, caring, protective figure. He thus finds a form of gentleness in Belle and Sebastian by Nicolas Vanier (2013)where he plays Caesar, the gruff grandfather with a tender heart, or in Jappeloup by Christian Duguay (2013)where he plays a mentor, a figure of experience and transmission. The tough guy from the 90s has transformed into a calming face, a pillar of popular French cinema.

Quite naturally, he made the transition to television in the heart of the 2010s. His role as detective Julien Baptiste in The Missing (2014-2016) reveals him to a new generation of spectators and makes him a star across the Channel. The character will be entitled to his own spin-off, Baptiste (2019-2021)broadcast on BBC One, confirming its status as an international actor. Until the end, Tchéky Karyo will have toured tirelessly, between arthouse cinema, popular films and international series. His last role, in Fastwas released last April. One last rant before bowing out.