Tchéky Karyo , the French actor who co-starred in Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita , toplined the TV series Baptiste and had more than 100 other film and television credits during a 40-year screen career, died Friday of cancer. He was 72.

His wife, actor Valérie Keruzoré, and their children announced his death to the French news agency AFP.

Born on October 4, 1953, in Instanbul, Karyo moved with his family to France at a young age. He was nearly 30 when he began to land roles in film and was nominated for a César Award as Most Promising Actor for one of his earliest movies, La balance (1982).

He began working steadily through the 1980s, and his big break came in 1990, when writer-director Besson cast him in the key role of Bob, a member of a secret government entity who mentors Nik

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