Tchéky Karyo

He tied the nuptial knot with Isabelle Pasco. However, the marriage did not last long and the two parted ways.

Tcheky Karyo was born as Baruh Djaki Karyo on October 4, 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey. He is of mixed ancestry; his mother was a Greek his father was a Turkish Jew.

At a young age, his family shifted base to Paris, France. It was here that Karyo spent much of his growing up years. The spelling of his name also changed to Tcheky, adhering to French transliteration.

While pursuing his academic degree, he took on to studying drama at Cyrano Theatre. Eventually, he became one of the members of the Daniel Sorano Company. Here, he played several classical roles.

Karyo commenced his career by enrolling himself at the National Theatre of Strasbourg. Therein, he played several classic and contemporary roles and characters. It was during this time that his acting talent was polished and refined.

In 1982, he launched himself into the world of French cinema with the movie, ‘The Return of Martin Guerra’ and later ‘La Balance’. The initial couple of projects had him don the role of a character actor. It was only later that he was given lead roles.

In 1988, he played the role of one of the hunters in the film, ‘The Bear’. Despite having a multi-star cast, his acting skills did not go unnoticed. In fact, he was lauded for giving depth to the character of Tom.

Year 1990 witnessed the release of his three films, ‘Isabelle Eberhardt’, ‘Nikita’ and ‘Vincent and Me’. In director’s Lu Besson’s ‘Nikita’, he played the role of the heroine’s spy mentor which earned much appreciation and adoration.

From 1991 to 1994, he did about two movies per year. Interestingly, he did not limit himself to a single particular genre but essayed roles in drama, comedy, tragedy, adventure, erotic films etc. He starred as a knife master in the movie ‘A Grande Arte’, which marked the revival of Brazilian film industry. Additionally, he starred in the American television film docudrama, ‘And the Band Played On’.

In 1982, he was nominated for Cesar Award’s ‘Most Promising Actor’ for playing the character of Petrovic in the French film, ‘La Balance’

In 1986, in recognition of his acting performances, he was honoured with the prestigious Jean Gabin Prize.