
Tchéky Karyo
Born October 4, 1953 · Istanbul, Turkey
Tchéky Karyo (French: [tʃeki kɑʁjo]; born Baruh Djaki Karyo; October 4, 1953 – October 31, 2025) was a Turkish-born French actor and musician. Beginning his career as an actor on stage in classical and contemporary plays, he later worked as a character actor in films in the 1980s. He acted in numerous films by Hollywood and French directors, including Luc Besson. He was nominated for a César Award for Most Promising Actor for his performance in the 1982 film La Balance. Baruh Djaki Karyo was born in 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey. His mother was Greek Jewish, and his father, a delivery man and builder, was from a Turkish Sephardic Jewish family; both families had Spanish roots. When he was young, his family moved to Paris, France. The spelling of his name, Djaki, was changed to Tchéky in a form of French transliteration. At age 13, his parents separated, and his mother ordered him to leave her home as well. He attended the Parisian secondary school Lycée Arago. 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.
Notable Appearances
Movies

Bad Boys

The Patriot

The Core

GoldenEye

Kiss of the Dragon

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

The Killer

Taking Lives

Nikita

Mary Magdalene

1492: Conquest of Paradise

Crying Freeman

A Very Long Engagement

Special Forces

Addicted to Love

The Way

Wing Commander

And the Band Played On

Belle and Sebastian: The Adventure Continues

Belle and Sebastian

The Bear

Belle and Sebastian 3: The Last Chapter
TV Shows

From the Earth to the Moon

Les Nuls, l'émission

Liaison

ZeroZeroZero

The Unexpected Getaway

The Name of the Rose

The Missing

Top Gear France

Arabian Nights

The Eddy

Women at War

Baptiste

No Limit

Section Zéro

Boat Story

Folie passagère

The Accursed Kings

D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers

Possessions

Forest of the Missing

War on Beasts

I3P
More Movies

A Gang Story

Saving Grace

Dobermann

Husbands and Lovers

Fear City: A Family-Style Comedy

A Mermaid in Paris

Vicky and Her Mystery

The Good Thief

My Life So Far

Mad Love

Blueberry

Full Moon in Paris

The Outsider

The Return of Martin Guerre

The Gravedancers

Sketch Artist

Operation Dumbo Drop

A Man and His Dog

Through the Air

Jappeloup

Isabelle Eberhardt

Requiem for a Killer

D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers

Toute une nuit

Jacquou the Rebel

Faster

Like a Fish Out of Water

The Lark Farm

Boxes

Red Shoe Diaries 3: Another Woman's Lipstick

Will the High Salaried Workers Raise Their Hands!

Pieces of Me

Nostradamus

Morning Star

Serial Driver

Vincent and Me

The Black Angel

The Sword of Thyrus

Among Us

Let There Be Light!

Blue Hell

Sorceress

La fille des collines

Foreign Land

To Have and to Hold

Christmas Next Door

Rita Ritter

La masseria delle allodole

Vampire Party

Romantique

S.A.C. : Des hommes dans l'ombre

The Thousand Wonders of the Universe

Wild Tales From The Village

High Art

Tell Me Iggy

Follow Your Heart

The King Is Dancing

Shadow Dance

Passage to Paradise

Au coeur de Nikita

Babel

États d'âme

La Balance

Habitat

Fraîche

Too Close to the Gods

Zadoc and Happiness

Le Roman d’un trader

Coup d'éclat

Les Cerfs-volants

L'araignée rouge

L'Atlantide

Hotel Rome

Steel Butterfly

De guerre lasse

Moon Shadow

Old Goriot

Ne quittez pas !

Utopia

Australia

L'Affaire Bruay-en-Artois

The Life Before

Corps perdus

A Previous Engagement

L'unique

Le Matelot 512

On Guard

Daydreams

I Didn't Shoot Jesse James

Spiral

Les brigands

Grottenolm




