Tchéky Karyo

Tchéky Karyo — Biography

Tchéky Karyo (born Baruh Djaki Karyo; 4 October 1953, Istanbul – 31 October 2025, Quimper) was a Turkish-born French actor and musician of Sephardic Jewish descent. His family emigrated to France when he was young, and he began his career on the stage, performing in classical and contemporary plays. Turning to film in the 1980s, he earned a César nomination for Most Promising Actor for his role as Petrovic in La Balance (1982). He reached wider audiences with Jean-Jacques Annaud's L'Ours and Luc Besson's Nikita. His command of English opened the way to international productions such as Bad Boys, GoldenEye, Crying Freeman, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc and The Patriot, where he worked as a character actor alongside his leading French roles in Dobermann, Le Roi danse and Jappeloup. On television he played detective Julien Baptiste in the BBC drama The Missing and its spin-off Baptiste. He also released two music albums and died in 2025 at the age of 72.