Jean-Claude Tran

Jean-Claude Tran (1966-    ) is a French actor of stage, television and film originally from Saigon, South Vietnam.

He was born on February 2, 1966 into a famous Vietnamese showbiz family of performers,  His father was the legendary Southern Vietnamese folk opera actor, Hữu Phước.  Both of his older sisters are famous overseas Vietnamese pop singers, Hương Lan and Hương Thanh.  His youngest brother is accomplished French actor Steve Tran.

While still living in Saigon at the age of 5, Jean-Claude Tran made his silver screen debut in the Vietnamese feature film, Lẽ Sống Đời Tôi, portraying the main character, Minh.  Two years after the Fall of Saigon, Jean-Claude Tran resettled in Paris, France along with the rest of the members of his family.  Throughout his adolescence in Paris, he learned and mastered the French language and enrolled in numerous theater courses to study acting.  In 1982, Jean-Claude Tran made his professional debut as a French actor with a part in the Maxime Gorki classical play, Les Bas-Fonds, at the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, France.  Two years later, he landed a small part in his first French feature film, L'Arbalète (The Syringe), directed by Sergio Gobbi.  The following year, Jean-Claude Tran began to gain prominence in French cinema after landing a significant role as Loulou in the film, Hors-la-Loi, directed by Robin Davis.  He continued with further success in the 1985 film, Le Fils du Mékong, winning critical praise for his portrayal of one of the main characters, Trung.  Among his other notable acting credits in French cinema include Sept Ans de Mariage (2003), Cabaret Paradis (2006), Protéger et Servir (2010), La Vérité si Je Mens ! 3 (2012), Koan de Printemps (2012), Le Voyageur (2015) and Je Ne Suis Pas un Homme Facile (2017).  In addition, Jean-Claude Tran has starred in, written and directed several short films in French cinema including Le Chemin (2006), 60 Secondes (2010) and Quelques Jours Avec Toi (2016).  He has also provided his voice dubbed for roles portrayed by other actors in several major feature films of French cinema such as Indochine (1992), Les Anges Gardiens (1995) and Holy Lola (2003).

Since the early 1990s, Jean-Claude Tran has also enjoyed success as an actor on French television.  He has made numerous guest appearances on various popular French television shows including Le Voyageur (1991), Le Carmaguais (2004), Dos au Mur (2013), Kim Kong (2017) and Alice Nevers, le Juge Est une Femme (2017).  In 2011, he had a supporting role in the highly rated French television movie, Saïgon, L'été de Nos 20 Ans, which was directed by Philippe Venault and costarred French-Vietnamese Eurasian actress Audrey Giacomini.  In the year prior, Jean-Claude Tran had created his own web series, La Cage, together with Dijby Badiane.

Jean-Claude Tran is married and is a father of two grown children, a daughter , Melanie, and a son, Florent.  Both of his children have since followed in their father's footsteps and now have established established acting careers in French television, credited respectively as Melanie Tran and Florent Tran.

Link(s):

Jean-Claude Tran YouTube Channel