Tchéky Karyo is a Turkish-born French actor and musician who is known for playing leading French police investigator Julien Baptiste in the British drama The Missing and its spin-off series Baptiste. 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. 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 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 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, set during the American Revolutionary War, and his role as Jean de Dunois in . 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 as Captain Henri. In 2014 and 2016 Karyo appeared as Julien Baptiste in the acclaimed BBC One/Starz drama seriesThe Missing. He has received critical praise for his performance. In April 2018, it was confirmed by BBC that Tchéky 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 albumCe lien qui nous unit, and released Credo in 2013 on his 60th birthday.
