Jean Reno will stick with acting as long as he can

The fact that Mr Comedian Jean Reno managed to get under the skin of 1500 moviegoers in the Grand Hall was evidenced by two standing ovations. The French actor was joking from the very start when receiving the KVIFF President's Award: "This thing is very heavy, I don't know if they'll let me take it in the plane with me." But he also managed to be serious for a moment: "Special thanks to you the audience; without you there wouldn't be any films or any actors."

Along with Marek Eben on the show "At the Pool", Reno then went through the various moments of his life. Following his not-so-great memories of military service in Germany, where Reno says the cold and food were both awful, he got his start in acting: "I think that every film actor should start with theatre. For one thing you make friends there, which is a big difference from in film."

The interview did not omit his collaboration with director Luc Besson, with whom Reno shot many films - Léon: The Professional, which is being shown in Karlovy Vary, as well as the successful flick The Big Blue. "There was a scene where we had to toast with champagne underwater, and we had to learn to hold our breath for three minutes for that, which was no joke. Otherwise though we were just shooting in the hotel pool, so there was no danger there," added Reno, who won a César award for the role. He also won the same award for Léon: "Leon is Noel backwards, which means luck, and for me it was a bit lucky, because thanks to him I became famous in the United States."

Reno, who is also known for the comedy series The Visitors, took the initiative in the interview and taunted Marek Eben with various absurdities. For example he said that everyone should speak to their houseplants and that everyone has an animal of some sort inside them. "For example I have a camel. He is not beautiful, but he can carry people and cargo and he can also spit on you."

Although Jean Reno became passionate when talking about topics such as food and farming, he doesn't plan on giving up acting yet. "Interpreting roles keeps me alive - so if I remain in good form, I will keep acting," concluded Reno, and the audience supported his statement with a long applause.