Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 3,615
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium, to Eliana and Eugène Van Varenberg, an accountant. "The Muscles from Brussels" started martial arts at the age of eleven. His father introduced him to martial arts when he saw his son was physically weak. At the age of 12, Van Damme began his martial arts training at Centre National De Karate (National Center of Karate) under the guidance of Master Claude Goetz in Ixelles, Belgium. Van Damme trained for 4 years and earned a spot on the Belgium Karate Team. He won the European professional karate association's middleweight championship as a teenager, and also beat the 2nd best karate fighter in the world. His goal was to be number one but got sidetracked when he left his hometown of Brussels. In 1976 at the age of sixteen, Jean-Claude started his Martial Arts fight career.
Over the next 6-years, he competed in both full-contact and semi-contact matches. He debuted under his birth name of Jean Claude Van Varenberg. In his first match, Jean-Claude was staggered by a round-house kick thrown by fellow countryman, Toon Van Oostrum in Brussels, Belgium. Van Damme was badly stunned, but came back to knockout Van Oostrum moments later. In 1977, at the WAKO Open International in Antwerp, Belgium, Jean-Claude lost a decision to fellow team mate Patrick Teugels in a semi-contact match. At the 1978 Challenge De Espoirs Karate Tournament (1st Trials),Jean-Claude placed 2nd in the semi-contact division. He defeated twenty-five opponents during the week long tournament, but lost in the finals to Angelo Spataro from the Naha Club. Later in 1978, Jean-Claude lost a 3-round match for the Belgium Lightweight Championship (semi-contact) to his fellow team-mate to Patrick Teugels.
In 1979, Jean-Claude traveled to the United States of America, to Tampa, Florida. In his first and only match against a United States opponent, Van Damme faced 'Sherman 'Big Train'Bergman', a kick-boxer from Miami Beach, Florida. For the first and only time in his career, Jean-Claude was knocked to the canvas after absorbing a powerful left hook from Bergman. However, Jean-Claude climbed off the canvas and with a perfectly timed ax-kick, knocked Bergman out in 56 seconds of the first round. Jean-Claude was a member of the Belgium team which competed on December 26, 1979 at the La Coupe Fancois Persoons Karate Tournament which was sanctioned by the Federation bruxelloise de Karate. Van Damme's final match victory enabled his team to win the European Team Karate Championship. In Full-Contact karate, Jean-Claude knocked out England's Micheal Heming in 46 seconds of the first round. In 1980, Van Damme knocked out France's Georges Verlugels in 2 rounds of a match fought under kick-boxing rules. Jean-Claude wanted to defeat his rival Patrick Teugels. At the Forest Nationals in Brussels, on March 8, 1980, Jean-Claude knocked Teugels down and Teugels suffered a nose injury and was unable to continue. Jean-Claude was awarded a first round victory.
Jean-Claude retired from martial arts in 1982, following a knockout over Nedjad Gharbi in Brussels,Belgium. Jean-Claude posted a 18-1 (18 knockouts) Kickboxing record, and a Semi-Contact record of 41-4. He came to Hong Kong at the age of 19 for the first time and felt insured to do action movies in Hong Kong. In 1981 Van Damme moved to Los Angeles. He took English classes while working as carpet layer, pizza delivery man, limo driver, and thanks to Chuck Norris he got a job as a bouncer at a club. Norris gave Van Damme a small role in the movie Missing in Action (1984), but it wasn't good enough to get anybody's attention. Then in 1984 he got a role as a villain named Ivan in the low-budget movie No Retreat, No Surrender (1985). Then one day, while walking on the streets, Jean-Claude spotted a producer for Cannon Pictures, and showed some of his martial arts abilities which led to a role in Bloodsport (1988). But the movie, filmed in Hong Kong, was so bad when it was completed, it was shelved for almost two years. It might have never been released if Van Damme did not help them to recut the film and begged producers to release it. They finally released the film, first in Malaysia and France and then into the U.S. Shot on a meager 1.5 million dollar budget, it became a U.S box-office hit in the spring of 1988. It made about 30 million worldwide and audiences supported this film for its new sensational action star Jean-Claude Van Damme.
His martial arts assets, highlighted by his ability to deliver a kick to an opponent's head during a leaping 360-degree turn, and his good looks led to starring roles in higher budgeted movies like Cyborg (1989), Lionheart (1990), Double Impact (1991) and Universal Soldier (1992). In 1994, he scored with his big breakthrough $100 million worldwide hit Timecop (1994). But in the meantime, his personal life was coming apart. A divorce, followed by a new marriage, followed by another divorce. It began to show up in his career when his projects began to tank at the box office - The Quest (1996), which he directed; Maximum Risk (1996) and Double Team (1997). The three films made less than $50 million combined. In 1999 he remarried his ex-wife Gladys Portugues and restarted his lost career to attain new goals. With help from his family he faced his problems and made movies like Replicant (2001), Derailed (2002), and In Hell (2003) which did averagely in box office terms, but he tried to give his fans the best, his acting in those movies got better, more emotional and each movie was basically in different action tones.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Audrey Hepburn was born as Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was a Dutch noblewoman. Her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was a businessman and Honorary British Consul in the Dutch East Indies; he was born in Úzice, Bohemia, of English, Austrian, and Czech-Jewish descent.
After her parents' divorce, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. Later, when her mother moved back to the Netherlands, she attended private schools as well. While she vacationed with her mother in Arnhem, Netherlands, Hitler's army took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. Audrey suffered from depression and malnutrition.
After the liberation, she went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it seemed, she had found her niche in life--until the film producers came calling. In 1948, after being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed to a bit part in the European film Nederlands in zeven lessen (1948). Later, she had a speaking role in the 1951 film, Young Wives' Tale (1951) as Eve Lester. The part still wasn't much, so she headed to America to try her luck there. Audrey gained immediate prominence in the US with her role in Roman Holiday (1953). This film turned out to be a smashing success, and she won an Oscar as Best Actress.
On September 25, 1954, she married actor Mel Ferrer. She also starred in Sabrina (1954), for which she received another Academy Award nomination. She starred in the films Funny Face (1957) and Love in the Afternoon (1957). She received yet another Academy Award nomination for her role in The Nun's Story (1959). On July 17, 1960, she gave birth to her first son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer.
Audrey reached the pinnacle of her career when she played Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), for which she received another Oscar nomination. She scored commercial success again playing Regina Lampert in the espionage caper Charade (1963). One of Audrey's most radiant roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady (1964). After a couple of other movies, most notably Two for the Road (1967), she hit pay dirt and another nomination in Wait Until Dark (1967).
In 1967, Audrey decided to retire from acting while she was on top. She divorced from Mel Ferrer in 1968. On January 19, 1969, she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. On February 8, 1970, she gave birth to her second son, Luca Dotti in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. From time to time, she would appear on the silver screen.
In 1988, she became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was named to People's magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Her last film was Always (1989).
Audrey Hepburn died, aged 63, on January 20, 1993 in Tolochnaz, Vaud, Switzerland, from appendicular cancer. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies. Her elegance and style will always be remembered in film history as evidenced by her being named in Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time".- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
John Mark Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, to American parents; his father was stationed there while serving in the U.S. Air Force. When he was three years old, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he grew up with his parents, Mary Lou and Richard Galecki, and siblings, sister Allison (1980) and brother Nick (1982). His father was of Polish descent, and his mother's ancestry is Irish and Italian. His mother was a mortgage consultant and his father became a teacher for blind veterans in a VA hospital outside of Chicago. When Galecki was sixteen, his father died in an accident.
His mother recalled in an interview with People magazine that Galecki was a very artistic kid; at only 4 years old, he told her: "Mom, I'm gonna be on T.V., and I don't mean when I grow up." Two years later, when their attempts to distract him with sports failed, Galecki's parents took him to open auditions at local theaters in Chicago. He landed his first role in "Fiddler on the Roof," and more parts in other productions followed. By age 11, he was already known as an excellent actor in Chicago's theater scene evidenced by him receiving a Joseph Jefferson Citation nomination for portraying John Henry in "The Member of the Wedding."
In 1989 he was cast in his first movie, a holiday film called Prancer (1989), but his big break was in another Christmas movie as Chevy Chase's son Rusty Griswold, in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). On the set, Chase took a liking to him, and Galecki recalled in a later interview that Chevy Chase showed him some tricks for comedic timing.
By that time, his whole family had moved from Chicago to L.A. to support his career. But within 10 months they realized they missed Chicago too much, and moved back home. Galecki, still just 14, was under contract on a show with Robert Urich called "American Dreamer (1990)", so he stayed in L.A. Although he was living alone in a studio apartment, he never got into trouble and was a good kid. He recalled living alone in L.A. without adult supervision as "not fun" and "quite intimidating and lonely, to be honest. But I've always been happiest when I'm working, so..." He bought a motorcycle with a mirrored helmet so he could get to work and back, at Paramount studios.
In 1991 Galecki was picked by Roseanne Barr to play her son in the made for T.V. movie Backfield in Motion (1991). She liked him so much she asked him to come on her sitcom for what started as a one-off appearance, but soon turned into the important recurring role of David Healy. His family was religious viewers of the show and he was somewhat intimidated at first to be working with his television heroes. However, before long, it was his heroes that praised him: Roseanne said he showed "great vulnerability." John Goodman said: "If he was one of those little stuffed bears at a carny, he'd have a Wuv me t-shirt on. People just want to take care of him." Galecki also became very close friends with co-star Sara Gilbert and the show's executive producer Eric Gilliland.
After Roseanne (1988) he worked on a number of diverse roles, from funny Ira alongside Christopher Walken in the 1997 dark-comedy Suicide Kings (1997) to a drug-addicted student in 2003's Bookies (2003), and he played gay characters in Don Roos's Bounce (2000) and The Opposite of Sex (1998). He never stayed far from the television industry as he made guest appearances such as Laurie Freeman's younger lover in Norm (1999) (where he once again worked with Laurie Metcalf, his former Roseanne cast mate), as a golfer in My Name Is Earl (2005), as Hope & Faith (2003)'s younger brother in the sitcom of the same name, and as hilarious party-boy Trouty on My Boys (2006). In 2006 he returned to his theater roots as he took on the role of conflicted but sweet male escort Alex in Douglas Carter Beane's play "The Little Dog Laughed," for which he received a 2007 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Browdway Debut.
In 2007 he was back on the small screens, starring as Leonard Hofstadter in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007). Not only was Chuck Lorre, a former producer for Roseanne, a producer of the new show, but Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf both made guest appearances.
Galecki is a self-admitted motorcycle "nerd," and rides a Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe. Although he never went to college, he has said: "I'm not dead! We should never stop learning. We should never stop absorbing," and so he learned how to play the cello in his early twenties. He likes traveling around the world, painting, music (he also plays bass), and hiking with his dog Vera.
He always has been very private about his personal life and little is known about past relationships. It has only been confirmed that he dated actresses Laura Harris and Kaley Cuoco. He isn't on twitter, and Galecki once said, "I don't understand the current frame of mind in our society that seems to say that any action is not of value until it's broadcast somehow."
He still lives in Los Angeles but is often spotted in Chicago, where his siblings still live.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Celine Buckens was born on 9 August 1996 in Brussels, Belgium. She is an actress and director, known for Showtrial (2021), The Ex-Wife (2022) and Warrior (2019).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Matthias Schoenaerts was born on December 8, 1977 in Antwerp, Belgium. His mother, Dominique Wiche, was a costume designer, translator, and French teacher, and his father was actor Julien Schoenaerts. He made his film debut at the age of 13 alongside his father in the Belgian film Daens (1992), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Schoenaerts enrolled in film school but was expelled for poor attendance in his second year. By age 21, he was enrolled at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp and was acting professionally in small roles on Belgian television and in Belgian film. By the time he graduated in 2003, Schoenaerts was already named one of "Europe's Shooting Stars" by the influential marketing organization, European Film Promotion.
In 2002, he starred in Dorothée Van Den Berghe's directorial debut Meisje (2002), which was also his first feature film since Daens. With his role in Tom Barman's Any Way the Wind Blows (2003), he proved he was Flanders' young actor to watch.
In 2004, Schoenaerts produced and starred in the short film A Message from Outer Space (2004). He also appeared in Ellektra (2004) alongside his father.
In 2006, he had a small role as a member of the Dutch Resistance in Paul Verhoeven's Black Book (2006), and landed his first starring role in the Belgian film Dennis van Rita (2006), playing Dennis, a mentally-challenged man learning to adjust to life after a prison sentence for a rape he may not have committed.
Though Schoenaerts garnered critical praise for his role in "Love Belongs to Everyone", the film that would make him a star in his homeland came in 2008, in Erik Van Looy's Loft (2008), Schoenaerts played Filip, one of a group of married friends who share the rent on a downtown loft as a place to meet their respective mistresses. The dramatic thriller was a smash hit, becoming the top-grossing Flemish film of all time. In the same year, he also starred in the horror film Linkeroever (2008).
In 2009, he worked once again with director Dorothée Van Den Berghe, playing the hippie Raven in My Queen Karo (2009). In 2010, he played the lead role in Alex Stockman's techno-thriller Pulsar (2010).
In 2011, Schoenaerts starred in Michaël R. Roskam's Bullhead (2011), playing Jacky Vanmarsenille, a cattle farmer who becomes entangled with the underworld of bovine hormones and steroids. Impressed by the script, Schoenaerts committed to star in the film in 2005, and over the five years that it took first-time director Roskam to secure financing, the actor transformed his naturally thin body into that of a steroid-abusing brute. His powerful performance in the tragic role won awards at numerous film festivals and propelled "Bullhead" to an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012.
In 2012, Schoenaerts got the lead role opposite Marion Cotillard in Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone (2012); in the film he played Ali, an ex-boxer who falls in love with Cotillard's character. Like Audiard's previous films, "Rust and Bone" received a breathless reception at the Cannes Film Festival with a 10-minute standing ovation at the end of its screening and was a critical and box office hit in France. Schoenaerts' performance in the film earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor in 2013.
Schoenaerts also starred in the Belgian short film Death of a Shadow (2012), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2013 and won the European Film Award for Best European Short.
In 2013, he starred in Blood Ties (2013) after being recommended for the film by his co-star in "Rust and Bone", Marion Cotillard. Following his breakthrough in "Rust and Bone", Matthias started a career in Hollywood and landed roles in American and British productions like Saul Dibb's Suite Française (2014), Alan Rickman's A Little Chaos (2014), Michaël R. Roskam's The Drop (2014), and Thomas Vinterberg's Far from the Madding Crowd (2015).
In 2015, Schoenaerts returned to French cinema in Alice Winocour's Disorder (2015), in which he plays an ex-soldier with PTSD. He also played one of the leads of Luca Guadagnino's A Bigger Splash (2015), opposite Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes, and played the art-dealer Hans Axgil in Tom Hooper's The Danish Girl (2015).
He will reteam with Michaël R. Roskam in Racer and the Jailbird (2017) and also with Thomas Vinterberg in The Command (2018), in which Schoenaerts will play the captain of a Russian submarine.- Actress
- Director
Eline Powell is a Belgian actress. Powell was born in Leuven, Belgium. She has a brother. When she was in high school she participated in theater classes. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2011 with a BA degree in acting, with special skills in ballet, Hip Hop, Flamenco, singing, violin and speaks Dutch and French, as well as English with American, South American, Estuary, and Irish accents.
She started her career making a short film For Elise playing Mila, then appeared in small roles in films such as Quartet, Novitiate and Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur both of 2017. In 2014, she won the lead role in the Italian drama film Anita B. as Anita directed by Roberto Faenza. Then in 2016 she appeared in Game of Thrones as Bianca.
Powell was cast to star in the upcoming Freeform series Siren playing Ryn, a mermaid.- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Cecile de France was born in Namur in Belgium in 1975 and discovered her vocation at the early age of six. As soon as she was seventeen, she was off to Paris with the ambition of beginning a career on the stage. She studied drama with Jean-Paul Denizon, actor and assistant to Peter Brook, before being admitted to the Ecole National Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre, where she complemented her preparatory training with classes in fencing, dance, singing and masque.
Hardly had she graduated than the cinema snapped her up. It was none other than Richard Berry himself who offered her her first important role in L'art (délicat) de la seduction. Theatre and film roles followed aplenty, leading up to L'Auberge Espagnole (Potluck or Spanish Apartment in English speaking countries), where her performance as the character Isabelle was a huge success with the public and earned her a prestigious César award for most promising young actress as well as the Prix Louis Lumière. Two years later the sequel, Les Poupées russes (The Russian Dolls), brought her a César for best supporting actress. The next Klapisch's movie, Casse-tête chinois (Chinese Puzzle), will be out on December 4, 2013 for France.
On film Cecile de France continued to give her all with Alexandre Aja's horror movie Haute Tension (High Tension or Switchblade Romance in English-speaking countries). This gave her the opportunity to bring genre cinema into her repertoire, as well as to win the hearts and minds of the most demanding film buffs.
Gilles Jacob invited her to host the legendary Cannes Film Festival in 2005. Cecile de France's unquenchable, vital passion for acting has found its truest expression when playing opposite such great performers as Gerard Depardieu (Quand j'étais chanteur; When I Was a Singer), Ulrich Tukur (Où est la main de l'homme sans tête?; Hand of the Headless Man), Kad Merad (Superstar) and Jean Dujardin (Möbius) or when working with such major figures of French film as Etienne Chatiliez, Daniele Thompson, Claude Miller, Cedric Klapisch, Claude Chabrol and the Dardenne brothers.
Her American career, which was launched in Around the World in 80 Days alongside Jackie Chan, recently entered a new phase in 2009 with Clint Eastwood's Hereafter.
Cecile is ready to live out all the forms of human passion and to embrace the most diverse forms of cinema, providing they are demanding, creative and stimulating. However, she has always maintained a special love for the theater, she will play in a new reading of Anna, a Serge Gainsbourg's musical at Lyon and Paris in few months.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Monique van Vooren was born on 25 March 1927 in Brussels, Belgium. She was an actress, known for Wall Street (1987), Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953) and Ça va barder (1955). She was married to Curt H Pfenniger. She died on 25 January 2020 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Virginie Efira was born on 5 May 1977 in Brussels, Belgium. She is an actress and writer, known for Elle (2016), Benedetta (2021) and Revoir Paris (2022). She was previously married to Patrick Ridremont.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Émilie Dequenne was born on 29 August 1981 in Beloeil, Wallonia, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Rosetta (1999), Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) and Our Children (2012). She has been married to Michel Ferracci since 11 October 2014.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Patrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau was born in Brussels, Belgium. His father, Henry Bauchau, is a noted author, psychoanalyst, and philosopher, while his mother was an educator who also helped operate a publishing company. Coming from an intellectual family, it's not surprising that Bauchau won an academic scholarship to Oxford University, where he received a degree in Modern Languages. In the early '60s, Bauchau became interested in film, and worked with French filmmaker Eric Rohmer; this led to Bauchau being cast in the leading role as Adrien in Rohmer's 1967 "moral tale," La Collectionneuse. Bauchau and his fellow leading actors Haydee Politoff and Daniel Pommereulle were also credited with the film's dialogue. While this got Bauchau's acting career off to an impressive start, his naturalistic performance left many believing that Bauchau was simply playing himself. After "Tuset Street" (also released in 1967), Bauchau temporarily moved away from acting and worked with Salvador Dali constructing large pillow-like animal sculptures.
In 1980, Bauchau re-launched his film career in Robert Kramer's "Guns", and in 1982, Wim Wenders cast him in the leading role of "The State of Things". In 1984, Bauchau made his American film debut in Alan Rudolph's eccentric, romantic comedy "Choose Me", and through much of the rest of the decade he worked regularly on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1991, Bauchau scored an impressive role in Michael Tolkin's superb drama "The Rapture", and four years later the same director gave him a meaty role in "The New Age". Bauchau plays the villain the Bond flick, "A View to a Kill" and has starring roles in Entre Nous and The Music Teacher, both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film In 1996. Bauchau was cast in the television series "Kindred: The Embraced" as a patriarch of the living dead; while the series lasted only a few weeks, it did lead to the series regular role of Sydney in "The Pretender", which debuted the same year and ran for four seasons on NBC. Bauchau's higher profile in television helped him win notable roles in high-profile films such as "Clear and Present Danger", "The Cell", "Ray" and "Panic Room". Bauchau also plays notable roles in the independent features "The Five Obstructions", "Twin Falls Idaho", "The Secretary", "Boy Culture" and "The Gray Man" among several others. Bauchau is a series regular playing the blind seer Lodz on the HBO hit show "Carnivale" and recurs in NBC's "Revelation" and ABC's "Alias". He guest stars on numerous television shows including "Castle", "CSI", "How to Make It In America", "Numbers", "Women's Murder Club", "House", "Dead Zone" and "24" among many others. More recently in Europe Bauchau finished shooting the feature films "Ladrones" in Spain, "Suzanne" (France), "Glenn" (Belgium), "Chrysalis" (Italy) and Michel Houellebecq's "Possibility Of an Island" also filmed in Spain. Bauchau currently stars in the hit French TV series" Mystere". More recently in the USA Bauchau appears in Roland Emmerich's "2012", the Polish Brothers film "The Sweet Smell Of Success" and "Extraordinary Measures" with Harrison Ford. He recently returned from filming in Vera Cruz, Mexico on "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" with Mel Gibson.
Bauchau speaks at least 6 languages fluently and has acted in films in different languages throughout the world. He holds passports in 3 countries including the USA.
When not busy with acting, Bauchau lives in a small village outside Paris, and, in Malibu Lake, California, where he is an avid gardener, reader and art collector. He's married to Mijanou Bardot, Brigitte's sister, who also appears in La Collectionneuse. They have 5 dogs, and an adult daughter that lives in Rome.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Jonas Bloquet was born on 10 July 1992 in Brussels, Belgium. He is an actor and director, known for Elle (2016), The Nun (2018) and 3 Days to Kill (2014).- Kevin Janssens (°1979) studied at the Studio Herman Teirlinck (Antwerp) and got his first important role in his last year of his studies, when he was asked to play the leading role in a mini TV series about a boxer called KING OF THE WORLD, by Guido Henderickx. Continuously, he performed several serious leading roles in Belgium, in the popular TV Series WINDKRACHT : KOKSIJDE RESCUE and the crime series MISSING. He played in Jan Verheyens romantic comedy ZOT VAN A. and MAD ABOUT YOU by Hilde Van Mieghem. Since his performance in THE ARDENNES by Robin Pront, in a production of Oscar Nominated Producer Bart Van Langendonck for Savage Film, his career had a turning point. The film was selected for many festivals , amongst them the TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. He recently was seen in the French-Belgian production ABOVE THE LAW by François Troukens together with Olivier Gourmet, Bouli Lanners and Lubna Azabel , which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and in Coralie Fargeats film REVENGE together with Mathilda Lutz, which is selected for SUNDANCE. He recently finished the shooting of a Dutch film called CATACOMBE by Victor D. Ponten and a Belgian TV series called OPEN WATER by Tom Lenaerts, where he both played the leading role. In the French film Les Confins Du Monde by Guillaume Nicloux , he has a small part next to Gérard Depardieu.
- Actress
Lyne Renée (real name Line van Wambeke, born 17 May 1979) is a Belgian actress.
She graduated from the Studio Herman Teirlick in Antwerp, Belgium. From 2003 to 2005, she worked as a stage actress in Belgian theaters, and then starred in the Belgian TV series Kinderen van Dewindt and the Dutch film Ober, by Alex van Warmerdam. In 2006 she moved to Los Angeles and appeared in the movies The Box Collector (2008) and The Hessen Affair (2009). The latter is a film noir, the plot of which takes place in US-occupied Germany right after the end of World War II. In it, Renée plays a femme fatale, the driving force behind a jewelry heist.
In 2011 she moved to London, where she starred in The River Line at the Jermyn Street Theatre. She also appeared in the TV series Strike Back and Parade's End.
In 2016, she had a recurring role on the ABC series Of Kings and Prophets as the Witch of Endor, appeared in the miniseries Madoff as Catherine Hooper, fiancee of Andrew Madoff, and had a role in the thriller Split. Then in 2017, she appeared in the second season of the PBS series Mercy Street as well as the film The Hippopotamus. In 2019, she had another major film role, in Guy Ritchie's The Gentlemen.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Tim Mielants was born on 11 December 1979 in Mortsel, Flanders, Belgium. He is a director and writer, known for Small Things Like These (2024), Wil (2023) and Patrick (2019).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Adil El Arbi was born on 30 June 1988 in Edegem, Flanders, Belgium. He is a director and producer, known for Rebel (2022), Black (2015) and Gangsta (2018). He has been married to Loubna Khalkhali since 18 December 2021.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Agnès Varda was born on 30 May 1928 in Ixelles, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Vagabond (1985) and Faces Places (2017). She was married to Jacques Demy. She died on 29 March 2019 in Paris, France.- Lubna Azabal was born on 15 August 1973 in Brussels, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Incendies (2010), Coriolanus (2011) and Body of Lies (2008).
- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Chantal Akerman was born on 6 June 1950 in Brussels, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for I, You, He, She (1974), The Meetings of Anna (1978) and Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). She was married to Sonia Wieder-Atherton. She died on 5 October 2015 in Paris, France.- Actress
- Director
Philippine Velge was born on 6 January 1996 in Brussels, Belgium. She is an actress and director, known for Station Eleven (2021), Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) and Summer of 85 (2020).- Actor
- Producer
Ronald Guttman is a theatre, film, and television actor, originally from Brussels, and active in both America and Europe. Some of his most recent work include Godfather of Harlem with Forest Whitaker (MGM+), Sister of the Groom with Alicia Silverstone (Hulu) and Hunters starring Al Pacino (Amazon Prime Video). Other credits include:
Theatre: Peter Morgan's Patriots (Noël Coward Theatre, 2023; Almeida Theatre, 2022); New York - The Fall (Huron Club); Picasso at the Lapin Agile; The Philanthropist (Long Wharf Theatre); The Fifth Column; The Lonely Way (The Mint); Rough For Theater I (Drama League); Race (Classic Stage Company); No Exit; The Free Zone (UBURep); Funky Crazy Boogaloo Boy (Naked Angels); Modigliani (Jewish Repertory Theatre); Coastal Disturbances (Second Stage/Circle in the Square); Oedipus (Performing Garage); Liliom (Off Broadway); Escurial (Actors Studio); Master and Margarita (Summer Stage Bard); Bauer (San Francisco Playhouse); Elephant Man (Théâtre de la Potinière, Paris); Le Sablier (Théâtre Antoine, Paris); numerous productions at the National Theatre (Brussels) and La Compagnie du Rideau de Bruxelles.
Film: V13; All You Need is Blood; The Duel; Isle of Love; Entre Deux Trains; Sister of the Groom; On the Basis of Sex; Black Magic for White Boys; Wanderland; Mr & Mrs Adelman; Welcome to New York; Nina; Pawn; Imogene; 13; Tickling Leo; 27 Dresses; And The Band Played On; Avalon; Green Card; The Hunt for Red October; August Rush; Danton.
Television: Documentary Now; Godfather of Harlem; Hunters; Black Earth Rising; Baskets; Mozart in the Jungle; Blacklist; Madam Secretary; Bull; Preacher; Elementary; The Good Wife; Rendez-Vous; Mad Men; Mildred Pierce; Homeland; Lipstick Jungle; Lost; The West Wing; Sex and the City; Star Trek: Voyager; Murder, She Wrote.- Olivia Rouyre is a Belgian-American actress who appears as a series regular in the Clea Duvall/Laura Kitrell adaptation of Tegan and Sara's HIGH SCHOOL for Amazon Prime. She will next be seen in the 2023 US theatrical release of the independent feature, SLOTHERHOUSE. Olivia also appeared as a guest star on Ryan Murphy's AMERICAN HORROR STORIES opposite Alicia Silverstone.
- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Veerle Baetens studied Musical Theatre at the "Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts" in Brussels. After this she had roles in theatre and then started her TV career for VTM.
In 2005 she won the "John Kraaijkamp Musical Award" for her role in the theatre version of Pippi Longstocking. And in 2008 she won awards for her performance of "Sara" (the Flemish version of the TV show Ugly Betty). After this TV show ended she starred in the movie Loft. Then another big role came as Hannah Maes in the TV show "Code 37" where she played the tough police chief. This show lasted for 3 seasons.
In 2012 she started her own band together with friend Sandrine called "Dallas" and the album "Take it All" came out in 2012. Another album that Veerle was part of was the movie soundtrack of "The Broken Circle Breakdown" where she played the role of Elise, a woman who loses her daughter.
She and her boyfriend Geert have a daughter (2008) and live in Belgium.- Actress
- Producer
Alexandra Vandernoot is a Belgian actress of Yugoslavian descent. To English-speaking audiences she is primarily known for portraying Tessa Noël, the first lover and confidant of immortal protagonist Duncan MacLeod in the fantasy series "Highlander: The Series" (1992-1998). Vandernoot was a regular cast member in all season 1 episodes and the first four episodes of season 2, but then departed the series for personal reasons. She has since had regular roles in many French-speaking television series and mini-series, such as the comedy-drama series "Station Horizon" (2015).
In 1965, Vandernoot was born in Brussels. Her father was André Vandernoot (1927-1991), an award-winning music conductor. He also served as the artistic director for various orchestras, and for the opera house La Monnaie. Vandernoot's mother was Dusanka Sifnios (1933-2016), a Yugoslavian ballerina and choreographer with an international career. Sifnios had served as the muse of choreographer Maurice Béjart (1927-2007) during the 1960s, and was the first person to perform Béjart's ballet version of Maurice Ravel's "Boléro".
Vandernoot studied drama at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels .She started her film career in the 1980s, but was often limited to minor roles. Among her few notable film roles was the period film "The Supper" (1992), which depicted the private meeting of a politician with the scheming diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838). Taleyrand was famous for serving leaders of four different French regimes, and for his betrayal of his supposed masters. Vandernoot portrayed Dorothea von Biron, Duchess of Dino (1793-1862), the favorite niece and alleged mistress of Talleyrand.
Vandernoot's first major role in a television production was that of Tessa Noël in "Highlander: The Series" . Her character was depicted as a French antique dealer, professional sculptor, and professional illustrator. Tessa was the long-term lover and business partner of immortal Duncan MacLeod, and one of the few peoples aware of his immortality and the struggles which he faced with rival immortals. She was also aware that he was destined to outlive her, and that he was sterile and unable to produce children with her. Tessa tended to remind Duncan that he was not omnipotent, and that the he was not solely responsible for the safety of the world.
While the role of Tessa made Vandernoot famous for a while, she found the work schedule of the series to be exhausting. "Highlander" had twice as many episodes per season as the average European television series, and she had to appear in all of them. Shootings for the series took place in two different series: Vancouver, Canada and Paris, France. This required Vandernoot to spend several months in Canada, where she had no family or friends. She found herself missing her family, and she requested to leave the series in order to re-establish contact with them. The producers and writers quickly developed a death scene for Tessa. Having already survived encounters with several dangerous foes over the previous episodes, Tessa is eventually ambushed and killed by a random mugger. Her death continued to haunt Duncan for the entire duration of the series.
Following her return to Europe, Vandernoot started a long-term with Bernard Uzan. Uzan was a French director and screenwriter. They had their first son, Léo in 1995. Their daughter Julia was born in 2003. Vandernoot eventually returned to "Highlander" for guest star appearances. She initially played a villain impersonating Tessa, and later an alternate reality version of Tessa. To Vandernoot's reported surprise, her character remained highly popular with the series' audience. This led to her guest appearances in the series, and also to Vandernoot's appearances in fan conventions.
Vandernoot had the supporting role of Christine Brochant in the box-office hit "The Dinner Game" (1998). Her character was the wife of Parisian publisher Pierre Brochant (played by Thierry Lhermitte). During her husband's brief association with a supposedly foolish civil servant, Brochant's new friend accidentally reveals to Christine that her husband has a mistress. This comedy was the top-grossing French film of 1998. It has inspired four different remakes.
During the 2010s, Vandernoot had several theatrical roles. She appeared in new plays by (among others) Bernard Uzan, Francis Vener, Éric Le Roch, and Alil Vardar. She has went on theatrical tours to perform her various notable roles. Vandernoot has kept working into the 2020s. By 2022, she was 57-years-old. She seems to have no plans to retire.- Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
Marie Gillain was born on 18 June 1975 in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. She is an actress and director, known for Coco Before Chanel (2009), Elective Affinities (1996) and My Father the Hero (1991).