His film credits include La Femme Nikita, Vincent and Me, Nostradamus, Crying Freeman, Bad Boys, GoldenEye, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, The Patriot and Kiss of the Dragon.

His television roles include Dr. Willy Rozenbaum in the HBO film And the Band Played On, Georges Méliès in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, and French detective Julien Baptiste in the BBC crime drama The Missing, and its spin-off series Baptiste (2019-21).

[1] As a young man, Karyo studied drama at the Cyrano Theatre,[1] and later became a member of the Daniel Sorano Company,[1] playing many classical roles.

[1] He also appeared alongside Jet Li in Kiss of the Dragon (2001) as a corrupt and violent Paris police detective.

Such performances include his acting as a vengeful French officer alongside Mel Gibson in The Patriot (2000), set during the American Revolutionary War, and his role as Jean de Dunois in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.

[6] In 2018, Karyo appeared as Elisha in Mary Magdalene, written by Helen Edmundson and directed by Garth Davis.