Tchéky Karyo born 4 October 1953 is a French actor and musician of Turkish origin, who is known for playing police investigator Julien Baptiste in the British drama The Missing (2014–2016) and its spin-off series Baptiste (2019). Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary works, he began to work as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He has acted in numerous films by Hollywood and French directors, including Luc Besson.
Early life
He was named Baruh Djaki Karyo at birth in 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey; his mother was Greek Jewish and his father was from a Turkish Jewish family with ancestral roots in Spain (Sephardic Jewish). When he was young, his family moved to Paris, France, where he grew up. The spelling of his name, Djaki, was changed to Tchéky in a form of French transliteration. As a young man, Karyo studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre and later became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company, playing many classical roles.
Career
Karyo at the 17th César Awards, 1992
Karyo joined the National Theatre of Strasbourg, where he starred in both contemporary and classical plays. He found success in French films beginning in the 1980s, first as a character actor. He later appeared in leading roles in several notable films, such as The Bear, in which he played one of the hunters, and director Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita, in which he played the heroine’s spy mentor.
He has participated in many Hollywood movies, often portraying a French character, in the same fashion as Jean Reno. His movie credits include 1994’s Nostradamus in which he plays the famous French prophet, and 1995’s Bad Boys opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in which he plays a criminal named Fouchet. He also appeared alongside Jet Li in Kiss of the Dragon (2001) as a corrupt and violent Paris police detective. He has acted in prominent roles in major films set during wartime. Such performances include his acting as a vengeful French officer alongside Mel Gibson in The Patriot (2000), set during the American Revolutionary War, and his role as Jean de Dunois in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. In the DVD edition of The Patriot, Karyo overdubbed his own lines on the French-language track. He appeared in Martin Sheen’s film The Way (2010) as Captain Henri.
In 2014 and 2016 Karyo appeared as Julien Baptiste in the acclaimed BBC One/Starz drama series The Missing. He has received critical praise for his performance.
In 2018, Karyo appeared as Elisha in Mary Magdalene, written by Helen Edmundson and directed by Garth Davis.
In April 2018, it was confirmed by that Karyo would reprise his role as Julien Baptiste in a spin-off series titled Baptiste, to be written by Jack and Harry Williams. The new six-episode series began on 17 February 2019.
Karyo is also a musician and songwriter. In 2006 he released the album Ce lien qui nous unit (English: “The link that binds us”), and released Credo in 2013 on his 60th birthday.
Awards
He was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actor for his role in La Balance. In 1986, he was awarded the Jean Gabin Prize in recognition of his acting performances.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Return of Martin Guerre | Augustin | French | Daniel Vigne |
| La Balance | Petrovic | French | Bob Swaim | |
| 1983 | Le Marginal | Francis Pierron | French | Jacques Deray |
| 1984 | Full Moon in Paris | Remi | French | Éric Rohmer |
| 1985 | L’Amour braque | Micky | French | Andrzej Zulawski |
| 1986 | Bleu comme l’enfer | Frank | French | Yves Boisset |
| 1987 | Sorceress | Étienne de Bourbon | French | Suzanne Schiffman |
| 1988 | The Bear | Tom | English | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| 1989 | Australia | Julien Pierson | French | Jean-Jacques Andrien |
| 1990 | La Femme Nikita | Bob | French | Luc Besson |
| Vincent and Me | Vincent van Gogh | French | Michael Rubbo | |
| 1991 | A Grande Arte (American title: Exposure) | Hermes | English | Walter Salles |
| Isabelle Eberhardt | Slimene | English | Ian Pringle | |
| Husband and Lovers | Paolo | English | Mauro Bolognini | |
| 1992 | 1492: Conquest of Paradise | Martín Alonso Pinzón | English | Ridley Scott |
| L’Atlantide | Lieutenant Morhange | French | Bob Swaim | |
| Sketch Artist | Paul Korbel | English | Phedon Papamichael | |
| 1993 | And the Band Played On | Willy Rozenbaum | English | Roger Spottiswoode |
| 1994 | La Cité de la peur | Monsieur Jacques, the first projectionist | French | Alain Berbérian |
| Nostradamus | Nostradamus | English | Roger Christian | |
| 1995 | Colpo di luna | Lorenzo | Italian | Alberto Simone |
| Crying Freeman | Detective Netah | English | Christophe Gans | |
| Bad Boys | Fouchet | English | Michael Bay | |
| GoldenEye | Russian Minister of Defence Dmitri Mishkin | English | Martin Campbell | |
| Foreign Land | Kraft | Portuguese | Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas | |
| Operation Dumbo Drop | Goddard | English | Simon Wincer | |
| 1996 | To Have & to Hold | Jack | English | John Hillcoat |
| 1997 | Dobermann | Inspecteur Sauveur Cristini | French | Jan Kounen |
| Habitat | Hank Symes | English | René Daalder | |
| Addicted to Love | Anton | English | Griffin Dunne | |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries) | Georges Méliès | English | (various) |
| Let There Be Light | Harper | French | Arthur Joffé | |
| 1999 | My Life So Far | Gabriel Chenoux | English | Hugh Hudson |
| The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc | Jean de Dunois | English | Luc Besson | |
| Wing Commander | Commodore James “Paladin” Taggart | English | Chris Roberts | |
| 2000 | Arabian Nights | Black Coda | English | Steve Barron |
| Le Roi danse | Molière | French | Gérard Corbiau | |
| Saving Grace | Jacques Chevalier | English | Nigel Cole | |
| The Patriot | Major Jean Villeneuve | English | Roland Emmerich | |
| 2001 | Kiss of the Dragon | Inspecteur Jean-Pierre Richard | English | Chris Nahon |
| 2002 | The Good Thief | Roger | English | Neil Jordan |
| 2003 | The Core | Serge | English | Jon Amiel |
| 2004 | A Very Long Engagement | Captain Etienne Favourier | French | Jean-Pierre Jeunet |
| Taking Lives | Hugo Leclair | English | D. J. Caruso | |
| Blueberry | the uncle | English | Jan Kounen | |
| 2005 | Les Rois maudits (miniseries) | Philip IV of France | French | Josée Dayan |
| 2006 | The Gravedancers | Vincent Cochet | English | Mike Mendez |
| 2007 | Jacquou le Croquant | the Chevalier | French | Laurent Boutonnat |
| Boxes | Jean | French | Jane Birkin | |
| The Lark Farm | Aram | English | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani | |
| 2009 | A Man and His Dog | the guitar player in the park | French | Francis Huster |
| Kaamelott (TV series) | Manius Macrinus Firmus (episode 7) | French | Alexandre Astier | |
| 2010 | The Way | Captain Henri | English | Emilio Estevez |
| 2011 | A Gang Story | Serge Suttel | French | Olivier Marchal |
| Forces spéciales | Guezennec | French | Stéphane Rybojad | |
| 2012 | No Limit (TV Series) | Koskas | French | (various) |
| Pieces of Me | Edern | French | Nolwenn Lemesle | |
| 2013 | Jappeloup | Marcel Rozier | French | Christian Duguay |
| Belle and Sebastian | César | French | Nicolas Vanier | |
| 2014 | The Missing, Series 1 (TV Series) | Julien Baptiste | English | Tom Shankland |
| 2015 | Through the Air | Armand Cavelle | French | Fred Grivois |
| Belle & Sebastian: The Adventure Continues | César | French | Christian Duguay | |
| 2016 | The Missing, Series 2 (TV Series) | Julien Baptiste | English | Ben Chanan |
| 2018 | Mary Magdalene | Elisha | English | |
| 2019 | Baptiste (TV series) | Julien Baptiste | English | Börkur SigÞórrson |
| The Name of the Rose (TV miniseries) | Pope John XXII | English | Giacomo Battiato |
Music videos
- 1992 : “Born On The Wrong Side Of Town” Jaye Muller(J.) (directed by Jean Baptiste Mondino)
- 2005 : “L’avenir est à nous” Kool Shen feat Rohff & Dadoo (directed by J.G Biggs)