Carice van Houten

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Carice van Houten
Carice-van-Houten.jpg
Carice van Houten in 2008
Born Carice Anouk van Houten
(1976-09-05) 5 September 1976 (age 36)
Leiderdorp, Netherlands
Occupation Actress
Years active 1997–present
Partner(s) Sebastian Koch (2005–2009)
Website
www.caricevanhouten.com

Carice Anouk van Houten (Dutch pronunciation: [kaˑˈris ɑˈnuk vɑn ˈɦʌu̯tə(n)]; born 5 September 1976) is a Dutch stage, film and television actress. She has won five Golden Calf Awards for Best Actress for her roles in Suzy Q (1999), Undercover Kitty (2001), Black Book (2006), De Gelukkige Huisvrouw (2010) and for Black Butterflies (2011). Her role in Black Book launched her international career and she has starred in the Hollywood films Valkyrie (2008) and Repo Men (2010). Since 2012 she has played the role of Melisandre on the HBO television series Game of Thrones.

She is the older sister of fellow actress Jelka van Houten.

Contents

Early life[edit]

Van Houten was born on 5 September 1976 in Leiderdorp, the Netherlands. Her mother Margje Stasse is on the board of Dutch educational TV and her father Theodore van Houten is a writer and broadcaster. She has a younger sister, Jelka van Houten, who is also an actress. She went to the St. Bonifatiuscollege (high school) in Utrecht, where she played the leading role in Hugo Claus' Tijl Uilenspieghel, directed by Ad Migchielsen. Van Houten studied at the Kleinkunstacademie in Amsterdam.[1]

Acting career[edit]

Van Houten at the premiere of Dorothy

Carice van Houten played her first leading role in Martin Koolhoven's TV film Suzy Q. Van Houten won a Golden Calf for her part as Suzy. She also won the Pisuisse Award and the Top Naeff Award for her stage acting and another Golden Calf for her part as the kitten that becomes a girl in Undercover Kitty (2001). The first time she could be seen in cinemas in the USA was when Martin Koolhoven's AmnesiA (2001) got a small theatrical release.

Van Houten won a Golden Calf for her performance as Rachel Stein in the 2006 film Black Book[2] at the Netherlands Film Festival. Black Book's director Paul Verhoeven says about her in a television interview: "Never in my life I have worked with an actress this talented", and when asked to compare her with Sharon Stone he said "Carice can really act".[3] The international press is also enthusiastic about her role in Black Book.[4] Dick Schümer wrote in his review of the film in the Frankfurter Allgemeine that Carice van Houten is "not only more beautiful, but also a better actress than Scarlett Johansson".[5]

In December 2006, van Houten withdrew from a theatre production of Alex van Warmerdam due to personal reasons. According to a theatre spokesman it was because of a work overload.[6]

Carice's first English spoken movie was Dorothy from French director Agnès Merlet.

Her performance in Black Book led to roles opposite Tom Cruise in Valkyrie and Jude Law and Forest Whitaker in Repo Men. She has acted in three movies directed by Dutch director Martin Koolhoven.

In 2008, she starred in the non-commercial short movie Zingen in het Donker("Singing in the dark"), a drama on domestic violence. In January 2008, van Houten was named Woman of the Year by New York Magazine.[7] She appeared in the magazine Vanity Fair in the issue for March 2008, photographed by Wayne Maser.[8]

On 4 October 2008, filming began on From Time To Time, directed by Julian Fellowes. It is based on the children's literature classic The Chimneys of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston. Van Houten is attached to star as Maria Oldknow.

In April 2009, it was announced that van Houten would star in Black Death by UK director Christopher Smith and in the highly anticipated Dutch film Stricken (Komt een vrouw bij de dokter), based on the celebrated novel of the same name by Ray Kluun. She also starred in the Science-Fiction thriller Repo Men.[9]

In July 2011, van Houten was cast as the priestess Melisandre in the second season of HBO's fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.[10]

In 2012, van Houten appeared in Antony and the Johnsons' "Cut the world" video, which was directed by Nabil[11] and also starred Willem Dafoe and Marina Abramovic.[12]

In late November 2012, the video for "Particle Of Light", the second single from her album, "See You On The Ice", was debuted on YouTube. This song was written by Howe Gelb of Giant Sand.

Personal life[edit]

She was in a relationship with actor Sebastian Koch, her co-star in Black Book.[13] The couple announced they were separating in August 2009.

Carice has stated that Hollywood makes her unhappy: "I have seen Hollywood, and although I have nothing against it, it's not my kind of life. My agent is shocked that I want to stay in Europe", she says. "If Hollywood offers me a great part, of course I'll take it, but I just don't want to live there".[14]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1997 3 ronden Emily Short film
1998 Ivoren wachters
2001 Storm in mijn hoofd Titania Erwtenbloesem
2001 AmnesiA Sandra
2001 Undercover Kitty Minoes
2002 Het everzwijn Pandora Short film
2003 Father's Affair Monika
2005 Black Swans Marleen
2005 Lepel Juffrouw Broer
2005 Bonkers Lis
2006 Thousand Kisses, AA Thousand Kisses Samarinde
2006 Ren Lenny ren Carice Video
2006 Black Book Rachel Stein / Ellis de Vries
2007 Alles is Liefde Kiki Jollema
2008 Dorothy Mills Jane Van Dopp
2008 Valkyrie Nina von Stauffenberg
2009 From Time to Time Maria Oldknow
2009 Stricken Carmen
2010 Repo Men Carol
2010 Happy Housewife, TheThe Happy Housewife Lea
2010 Black Death Langiva
2011 Black Butterflies Ingrid Jonker
2011 Intruders Susanna
2012 Jackie Sofie
2012 Family Way Winnie de Roover
2013 Fifth Estate, TheThe Fifth Estate Birgitta Jónsdóttir Filming

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Het Labyrint Mariek TV series
1999 Suzy Q Suzy TV film
2000 Goede daden bij daglicht: Op weg Carola TV film
2001 De acteurs Ellie TV series
2002 Luifel & Luifel Roos Episode: "De Krottenkoning"
2004 Russen José Machielsen Episode: "De zevene getuige"
2004 Kopspijkers Georgina Verbaan Episode: "Dance-4-Life"
2006 Koppensnellers Georgina Verbaan Episode: "1.16"
2009 Gewoon Hans Carice Van Houten TV film
2010 In therapie Aya Episodes: "Aya & Michel", "Aflevering 9", "Aflevering 14"
2012-present Game of Thrones Melisandre Main role (8 episodes)

Discography[edit]

Awards[edit]

Film Awards
Theatre Awards
  • Pisuisse Prize (1999)
  • Top Naeff Prize (2000)
Other Awards
  • ELLE Personal Style Award 2006

References[edit]

  1. ^ Biography for Carice van Houten. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
  2. ^ Winnaars Gouden Kalveren 2006, 6 October 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2006.
  3. ^ De Wereld Draait Door, 7 September 2006
  4. ^ Carice van Houten slaat in als een bom, 4 September 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2006.
  5. ^ Basisinstinkt: Paul Verhoevens „Schwarzbuch“ in Venedig in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 1 September 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2006.
  6. ^ ANP (2006-12-06). "Carice van Houten trekt zich terug uit voorstelling". nu.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2006-12-17. 
  7. ^ "Women of the Year" (2008-01-07) in the magazine New York. Retrieved on 2008-12-13.
  8. ^ Van Houten (February 2008) in the magazine Vanity Fair. Retrieved on 2008-12-13.
  9. ^ Repo Men Madness! Six Interviews, Seven Clips, Plus B-Roll
  10. ^ Hibberd, James (19 July 2011). "'Game of Thrones' casts sorceress Melisandre and Stannis Baratheon". EW.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011. 
  11. ^ Film, Nabil Elderkin's nabil.com website lists the video. Video at vimeo. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  12. ^ News, antonyandthejohnsons.com webpage, August 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
  13. ^ Carice valt voor tegenspeler uit 'Zwartboek' 22 August 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
  14. ^ ANP (2007-07-05). "Carice van Houten wordt ongelukkig van Hollywood". nu.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2007-07-05. 
  15. ^ "Carice van Houten - See You On The Ice (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 22 October 2012 (2012-10-22). 

External links[edit]