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1-50 of 1,248
- 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.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Adil El Arbi was born on 30 June 1988 in Edegem, Flanders, Belgium. He is a director and writer, known for Rebel (2022), Black (2015) and Gangsta (2018). He has been married to Loubna Khalkhali since 18 December 2021.- 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
- Actor
- Writer
Bilall Fallah was born on 4 January 1986 in Vilvoorde, Flanders, Belgium. He is a director and actor, known for Rebel (2022), Black (2015) and Gangsta (2018).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Belgian film director and screenwriter. He was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in 2019.
Dhont was born in Ghent, Belgium. His mother, Hilbe is a fashion teacher at an art school. He has a younger brother Michiel who is a producer. As a teenager, Dhont worked as a costume design assistant on film and television sets.
He made his feature-length debut in 2018 with Girl, a drama film inspired by the story of Nora Monsecour which focuses on a trans girl pursuing a career as a ballerina. Girl premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Caméra d'Or award for best first feature film, as well as the Queer Palm. It received the André Cavens Award for Best Film given by the Belgian Film Critics Association (UCC) and was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. It received nine nominations at the 9th Magritte Awards and won four, including Best Flemish Film and Best Screenplay for Dhont.
Dhont's second feature, Close, starring Emilie Dequenne and Léa Drucker, premiered in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where he shared the Grand Prix with Claire Denis' Stars At Noon. It also won the Sydney Film Prize in June 2022. The film is based on his own experiences at school, and tells the story of the friendship between two boys in their early teens.
As of July 2021 Dhont is developing an untitled film with screenwriter Laurent Lunetta.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Jan Bijvoet was born on 28 December 1966 in Antwerpen, Flanders, Belgium. He is an actor and composer, known for Peaky Blinders (2013), Embrace of the Serpent (2015) and The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012).- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Felix van Groeningen was born on 1 November 1977 in Gent, Flanders, Belgium. He is a director and writer, known for Beautiful Boy (2018), The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) and The Eight Mountains (2022).- 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.- 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).- Charlotte Timmers was born on 7 October 1988 in Zonhoven, Flanders, Belgium. She is an actress, known for Billie vs Benjamin (2022), Zillion (2022) and Niets te melden (2020).
- Award-winning Koen De Bouw (1964) is one of the leading actors in Belgium. He studied theatre at the prestigious Antwerp Studio Herman Teirlinck, and made his film debut in 1988 upon graduation. Since then he played leading parts in more than 30 Belgian and international films as well as a similar number of television series, several of them internationally awarded. Koen has had a long collaboration with top Belgian directors Jan Verheyen and Erik Van Looy, most recently Van Looy's 2016 film The Prime Minister (2016). His other film credits include starring in Van Looy's 2008 international cult hit Loft (2008). Koen stars opposite Matt Bomer and Kelsey Grammer in the Amazon series The Last Tycoon (2016), created by Billy Ray. In Belgium he can also be seen as "Jasper Teerlinck", the enigmatic lead of the hit #1 rated Belgian television series Professor T. (2015), running for 3 seasons in Belgium, with remakes in France and Germany. Other recent work of him are the series Red Light (2020), Niets te melden (2020), Bullets (2018), the Flemish-Dutch coproduction Grenslanders (2019) and the feature film Torpedo (2019). In 2020, he starred in the Oscarnominated film The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020). This year, he will be spotted in the serie Glad IJs (2021), but also in the films Nowhere (2022) and The Last Front (2024).
- Actress
- Editorial Department
Lynn is a Dutch-speaking Belgian actress, best known for her lead role in Hotel Beau Séjour (2016), for which she received the 2018 TV Drama Best Actress award at the Television Festival in Monte Carlo. While studying acting at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound in Brussels, Lynn showcased her talent in a number of shorts. Quickly thereafter, she emerged on the Belgian acting scene by securing roles (guest and recurring) in some of Belgium's best known television series. When Hotel Beau Séjour (2016) won the audience award at Paris' Séries Mania 2016, the press praised Lynn's natural and emotionally profound portrayal of lead character Kato. As of March 2017, the series streams worldwide on Netflix. Other prestigious roles quickly followed. She appears alongside Veerle Baetens in the internationally acclaimed hit series Tabula Rasa (2017), and in 2018, Lynn is the Belgian lead in the second season of the successful German-Danish-Belgian co-production The Team (2015). She will also appear in a number of future Belgian TV series such as De Dag (2018) and The Twelve (2019). Lynn's skills include motor cross, playing the guitar and horseback riding. Aside from Dutch, she speaks French and English and is studying Spanish. In 2017, Lynn was selected for the Subtitle Talent Network.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Michaël R. Roskam was born on 9 October 1972 in Sint-Truiden, Flanders, Belgium. He is a producer and director, known for The Drop (2014), Bullhead (2011) and Racer and the Jailbird (2017). He has been married to Eline De Munck since 9 January 2021.- Actress
- Writer
Marie Vinck was born on 3 January 1983 in Antwerpen, Flanders, Belgium. She is an actress and writer, known for De kus (2004), De Rodenburgs (2009) and Adem (2010).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Johan Heldenbergh (55) grew up in Gent (Belgium) dreaming of being a movie director and actor, but he was converted to theatre in the late eighties, during his education in the prestigious Studio Herman Teirlinck acting school in Antwerp. The fact that Flanders didn't have a real, or interesting movie and television culture at the time and the freedom he found as a theatre actor, persuaded him to follow that path, enjoying the independence and creativity contemporary Flemish theatre had to offer. He worked as an actor for Alain Platel, Luc Perceval, Raven Ruell, Arne Sierens.a.o.
He started writing and directing in 2001. In 2005 he founded "Compagnie Cecilia" together with Arne Sierens and Marijke Pinoy. His plays "Massis the musical" and especially "The Broken circle breakdown" have become landmarks in Flemish theatre history. His major themes are suicide, political, social, and religious commentaries.
His true vocation has always been cinema, but it wasn't until he met Felix Van Groeningen for his first movie "Steve and Skye", that he started to consider engaging himself in Belgian cinema, and combining the two, playing a character in a movie every summer. His collaboration with Felix Van Groeningen continued for "De helaasheid der dingen/La merditude des choses", that was selected for "La quinzaine des realisateurs" in Cannes, and especially for the adaptation of his own play "The Broken Circle Breakdown/Alabama Monroe" that received an Oscar nomination, a EFA nomination, and the Cesar for best foreign language in 2014.
Since then he is a regular actor in French and international movies and television series. He starred with Jessica Chastain in "The zookeepers wife" (2017), with Hilary Swank and Helena Bonham Carter in "55 Steps" and with Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard in "The hummingbird project". He played "Kolonel Karremans" in "Quo Vadis Aida" which was nominated in 2021.
In 2009 he started a community project in the village where he lived for 13 years. 600 nonprofessionals collaborated on a movie he wrote and directed, called "Schellebelle 1919". Although the priority has always been on the social aspect of the project, the movie succeeded in getting a professional distribution, and got the first "Ensor for special merit" the flemish academy issued every year since then.
He plays the five-string banjo, mandolin, and acoustic guitar. He tapdances and has four children.- Actor
- Writer
Peter Van den Begin is a Belgian actor and writer whose career spans over almost 4 decades. He is known for his versatility, delivering award-winning performances both in drama and comedy as well as theater. Most recently he received international acclaim for his role in festival favorite King of the Belgians (2016), for which he also received the Best Actor award at Les Magritte du Cinéma 2018. The Hollywood Reporter stated "Peter Van den Begin plays the multifaceted figure to perfection", Variety said "Peter Van den Begin perfectly captures the ultra-composed royal placidity". He also appears in many television series, such as De infiltrant (2018), Tabula Rasa (2017), Amateurs (2014) and Oud België (2010). Peter received various nominations for the Joseph Plateau Awards in the category of Best Belgian Actor for Everything Must Go (1996), Le bal masqué (1998) and Film 1 (1999). He also received a nomination for the Ensors in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his role in Waste Land (2014), and won two Best Actor awards (in both Film and Theater categories) at the 2017 Flemish Actors Guild awards.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Erik Van Looy was born on April 26, 1962 in Deurne, Flanders, Belgium as Erik Ludovicus Maria Van Looy. He is a Director and a Writer, known for the classic Belgian films, De Zaak Alzheimer/The Memory of a Killer (2003) and Loft (2008). He's also directed the US-remake of The Loft (2014). Between writing and directing movies, he is the host of De Slimste Mens Ter Wereld/The Smartest Person in the World, a hugely successful game show on Belgian TV.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Stef Aerts was born on 22 November 1987 in Turnhout, Flanders, Belgium. He is an actor and director, known for Callboys (2016), Adem (2010) and Wil (2023).- Ella Leyers moved to New York in 2007 where she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After returning to Belgium, she landed roles in several TV shows, such as Zuidflank, Vermist and Spitsbroers. She was Koen De Bouws sidekick in the crime drama Professor T (één) and tech wizard Paulien in the internationally acclaimed series 13 Commandments (vtm). More recently she was in the feature film All Of Us by Willem Wallyn. For five seasons, Ella was a cast member of the sketch comedy and variety show Tegen De Sterren Op (vtm). She recently had small parts in the French films Ma Mère Est Folle (Diane Kurys) and Annette (Léos Carax) and the UK series The Window. She also sings, plays theatre and is a correspondent in the satirical news show The Ideal World (canvas).
- Actor
- Music Department
Wim Willaert was born on 19 March 1967 in Nieuwpoort, Flanders, Belgium. He is an actor, known for When the Sea Rises (2004), Offline (2012) and Red Sonja (2011).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Pommelien Thijs was born on 4 April 2001 in Kessel, Flanders, Belgium. She is an actress, known for High Tides (2023), Vermist (2008) and Labyrinthus (2014).- Actor
- Producer
Tom Waes was born on 7 November 1968 in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. He is an actor and producer, known for Undercover (2019), Het geslacht De Pauw (2004) and Reizen Waes (2013).- Cinematographer
Maxime Alexandre was born in Renaix, Belgium, 1971. At five years old, he moved to Rome, Italy, with his mother, sisters, and brother. His stepfather, Inigo Lezzi (during that period A.D. for Marco Bellocchio, Gianni Amelio, and Nanni Moretti), let Maxime discover the Italian cinema sets one by one. Maxime soon worked as a young actor in several movies, including "Une Page d'Amour" directed by Elie Chouraqui, with Anouk Aimée and Bruno Cremer and Nanni Moretti's "Bianca" in 1984. A few years later, Maxime discovered his Photography passion on a set of a short-movie directed by his stepfather. In the late 1980s, Maxime moved with his family to Paris, where he began his career in the camera department working in commercials, learning from great Cinematographers like Darius Kondji, J.Y. Escoffier, P. Lhomme, Vilko Filak, and Italian cinematographers including Tonino Delli Colli and Franco Di Giacomo. His earliest work as a Director of Photography was shooting the second unit of a commercial for Michel Gondry. In 2001, Maxime met Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur, working in the second unit for Aja's father, Alexandre Arkadi, on the movie "Break of Dawn" written by Aja and Levasseur. The three collaborated on Aja's directorial debut, "High Tension," two years later. The movie was internationally recognized as the beginning of the French New Wave of horror in the 2000s and was picked up for distribution by Lions Gate Films.
Maxime, Alexandre, and Gregory collaborated again on the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" and "Mirrors." During the making of Hills Have Eyes, Maxime met Wes Craved, with whom he worked on "Paris, Je T'aime," an anthology film that grouped works from Alexander Payne, The Coen Brothers, Vincenzo Natali, and others, and the film was selected to screen at Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, the second time for Maxime after "Marock," a movie directed by Laila Marrakchi in 2005.
In 2006, Maxime was recognized by Variety as one of its Ten Cinematographers to Watch.
Several other films have followed, including P2, directed by Franck Khalfoun; The Crazies, by Breck Eisner; The Voices, directed by Marjane Satrapi; The Crawl, by Alexandre Aja; Shazam, by David F. Sandberg and soon-to-be-release Never let go by Alexandre Aja and Paris Paradis by Marjane Satrapi.- Barbara Sarafian was born on April 16, 1968, in Ghent, Belgium. Her father was a half-Armenian painter, and her mother was a painter and teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. She was raised bilingual in French and Flemish/Dutch. She studied at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Antwerp and at Parallax in Brussels.
At first she was known as "Sonja Duplex", her alter ego on the radio show "De Lieve Lust" on 'Studio Brussel'.
Her first appearance in a feature film was in the short film "Pasta!" Very shortly after that, she started an international career with "CQ", directed by Roman Coppola, and "Fortress 2 - Re-Entry", directed by Geoff Murphy. In 1999 she starred in her first big role in Peter Greenaway's "8 ½ Women" as Clothilde.
She took a sabbatical for a few years to raise her son.
In 2008, Sarafian starred in Christophe Van Rompaey's "Moscow, Belgium" as Matty, a 41-year-old mother of three surviving her husband's mid-life crisis and falling in love with Johnny, a much younger truckdriver. Her powerful performance in the role won her awards at numerous festivals, including two awards for best actress. In the USA, newspapers wrote about Barbara Sarafian turning in "an Oscar-caliber performance".
Subsequently, she appeared convincingly in "SM-rechter", "Saint", "Zot van A." and "Marieke, Marieke"; for the latter, she was nominated for best actress in a supporting role.
In 2011 she starred in the role of Eva Forrestier in Michael Roskam's "Rundskop" (Bullhead) along with Matthias Schoenaerts.
Between 2012 and 2015, she played starring and supporting roles in "Allez, Eddy", "Emmenez-Moi", "Hemel", "Billy the Bully" and "Brasserie Romantiek". For her role in "Brasserie Romantiek" she won the Ensor Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Most recently she has starred in Nic Balthazar's "Everybody Happy" as Laura Maris and as Marianne in Christophe Van Rompaey's "Vincent". For the latter film she won the 2016 Boccalino d'Oro Award for Best Actress.
Besides her work on the big screen, she has a comprehensive palmares in television series and shows. She plays main roles in i.a. "Dubbelleven", "Vossenstreken" , "Clan (The Out-Laws)" and "In Vlaamse Velden". For her role in "in Vlaamse velden" she won a TV star for Best Actress. Her main supporting roles were in "Zone Stad", "Kiekens", "Aspe" and "Professor T". She has also starred in sketch and comedy shows such as "achter de feiten", "Tegen de sterren op" and "Wat als?".
Barbara Sarafian has also played some acclaimed roles in theatre. Her remarkable performances were in i.a. 'Uniroyal', 'Alles van Eva (All about Eve)' and 'Closer'. Sarafian will be playing in Gilles Coulier's "Cargo", ..."Wij", and the TV series "Beau Séjour", "De Infiltrant" and "De Dag". - Stephanie Rose Bertram is a Belgian model. Her mother signed her with a modeling agency when she was 13. Bertram was cast by the Dominique agency at 16 and attracted notice in a photo-shoot with Juergen Teller for Jambox; she has since appeared in campaigns for H&M, L'Oréal, Hunkemöller, Primark, and Agent Provocateur among others. She moved to the United States at age 18, and signed with Marilyn. She was the subject of photo articles in Oyster, shot by Tyler, the Creator, and in Galore, and modeled for several fashion houses. In 2015, she was the first Belgian model to be featured in promotion for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.