Tchéky Karyo

Tchéky Karyo — Biography

Tchéky Karyo, born Baruh Djaki Karyo in Istanbul on 4 October 1953, was a French actor, singer and musician; he died at Quimper in Brittany on 31 October 2025. He came from a Sephardic Jewish family, his father Turkish and his mother of Salonica background, and grew up in France, where he began working in the theatre in the late 1970s in both classical and contemporary repertoire.

Petrovic in Bob Swaim's La Balance (1982) was his breakthrough and brought a César nomination as most promising newcomer. Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Bear and Luc Besson's Nikita widened his audience, and his command of English opened up Anglophone productions such as 1492, Bad Boys, GoldenEye, Addicted to Love, The Patriot and Kiss of the Dragon. In France he stayed a leading presence in Dobermann, Jeanne d'Arc, Le Roi danse, A Very Long Engagement and Jappeloup, and played César across the three Belle et Sébastien films.

On television he appeared in Kaamelott and No Limit before creating the detective Julien Baptiste in the BBC drama The Missing and carrying the part into its spin-off. He released two albums of songs, was made an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and was married to the actress Isabelle Pasco.