Jean Reno talks about his lack of money after The Big Blue

When Jean Reno starred in the film that made him famous, The Big Blue, he was 40 years old. Luc Besson, met a few years earlier, trusted him in 1988 to play one of the main characters in the feature film, Enzo Molinari. The Italian, a freediving enthusiast, made the Frenchman Jacques Mayol his underwater rival. A dangerous competition between the two men sets in when it will be the one who lasts underwater the longest without a respirator. Initially poorly received by critics, Le Grand Bleu ultimately won over many spectators, and launched the career of Jean Reno. However, following this role, the French actor found himself penniless, he told Nagui and Leïla Kaddour-Boudadi in The Original Band, this Friday February 9 on France Inter. “I had no money, but I traveled, I moved. Nothing, adrift.”

Jean Reno’s revelation regarding his life following The Big Blue is surprising as the film was a commercial success

“I played pool, a lot. And Luke [Besson] said to me: ‘But what are you going to do, billiard player, later?’ And it started to wake me up. Sentences like that started to bring me back on the right path,” explained Jean Reno. Information which surprised Leïla Kaddour-Boudadi as the actor was a revelation in The Big Blue, best film at the French box office in 1988 with 9.2 million admissions. “Yes, but I didn’t work for eight months! I was paid a pittance on The Big Blue…” Even though he had already played in more than ten films, Jean Reno was not then known or recognized as an actor. It was following this that the glory came.

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Since Le Grand Bleu, Jean Reno has made a series of films, comedic or more dark

His role in The Big Blue earned him a César nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category. In 1989, Luc Besson called him back to star in Nikita, another of his great successes. He plays Victor, the cleaner. In the 1990s, Jean Reno tried his hand at comedy and once more, it was a real success. His role as Godefroy de Montmirail in Les Visiteurs has become cult. Since then, the actor has oscillated between drama and comedy, between France and the United States. This February 14, he will be showing in Retirement House 2, alongside Kev Adams and Chantal Ladesou.

Article written in collaboration with 6Médias