Tch\u00e9ky Karyo, who appeared in some of director Luc Besson\u2019s biggest hits and a string of international films, died on Friday at the age of 72, his family have announced.<\/p>\n
A statement from his wife and children sent to AFP said he had \u201csuccumbed to cancer\u201d.<\/p>\n
The actor appeared in many action and adventure films, sometimes as the lead but more often in supporting roles. Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1953, he started out in French cinema in the 1980s, getting some early awards and nominations.<\/p>\n
He was the hunter in Jean-Jacques Annaud\u2019s 1988 wilderness adventure The Bear. Then in 1990 he got attention for his turn as the hard-nosed secret agent handling Anne Parillaud\u2019s female assassin Nikita, in Besson\u2019s hit film of the same name.<\/p>\n
Anne Parillaud and Tch\u00e9ky Karyo in Nikita. Photograph: Samuel Goldwyn\/Allstar<\/p>\n
Karyo\u2019s gift for languages \u2013 he spoke French, English and Spanish among others \u2013 meant he was soon appearing in international productions, such as Ridley Scott\u2019s historical epic 1492: Conquest of Paradise. He later appeared in major Hollywood films including Bad Boys as drug kingpin Fouchet, and the James Bond film GoldenEye<\/a> as the Russian defence minister.<\/p>\n He worked steadily through the subsequent decades in cinema and television in France<\/a> and abroad, appearing in films as varied as Jean-Pierre Jeunet\u2019s 2001 whimsical comedy Am\u00e9lie and Brazilian director Walter Salles\u2019s 1995 thriller Foreign Land.<\/p>\n