Finally! The Simpsons Meet Celebrated Dutch Actress Carice van Houten!

Carice van Houten Guest Stars on THE SIMPSONS!

Los Angeles, CA—It was no secret that my favorite actress, Carice van Houten loves The Simpsons! I knew she made a stop on her last visit to L.A. to the Pico Ave Fox Studios to the Simpsons sound stage.  Van Houten left proudly sporting a Simpson’s souvenir jacket.

Carice van Houten is probably best known as the Red Witch, Melisandre in the wildly popular HBO series, Game of Thrones.   She’s also the winner of five, Golden Calf awards (The Dutch equivalent of our Oscar Award).  

Van Houten’s amazing talent first blew me away as the star of my all time favorite dramatic film, Paul Verhoeven’s, Black Book.   Now van Houten has found herself as guest star on the Simpsons.    Her character named Anneke van Houten will debut on the May 3rd episode.

This incredibly talented actress comes from a gifted Dutch family that’s deeply routed in in art, music, television and theater.  Aside from having great music and acting chops van Houten has mastered several languages including German, English and French. 

The album, See You On The Ice is a hit in Europe but has not been promoted well in the USA.  It was a labor of love for van Houten along with co-writer, producer and master international musician, Ken Stringfellow.  I love that album that’s entirely in English and available on iTunes.

Van Houten has had limited success in the USA being cast in such films as Valkyrie, Repo Men and The Fifth Estate. 

In coming months van Houten will appear in the both the Jessie Owen’s biopic, Race and Blumhouse Production’s, Incarnate.  Of course there are other film in various stages of development waiting to exploit van Houten’s exceptional talents.

Comedy has never been lost on van Houten who was raised partially on Laurel and Hardy films. Her great sense of humor is showcased on many six second Vine.com films and pictures all over the Internet.

Hopefully Crimefile News can land a video interview of van Houten for this blog.  This actress is a real star that is Oscar quality in every respect.  I’m confident she will be cast in the right film where we will see that happen.

In the mean time very soon we will enjoy a bit of silliness that The Simpsons are known for with my favorite star! 

Carice van Houten at Sunday Night’s Heineken Music Hall Concert in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, NL—Okay, I’m obsessed!  I love the arts, theater and of course, music.   There are those artists that entertain us all.   God given talent and the ability to face the world and perform seems to be handed to a chosen few.  Carice van Houten is at the very top of my list of terrific performers.

Yes, people are born with talent but without hard work and serious dedication it may all be wasted.  Carice has incredible acting chops, best described by film director Paul Verhoeven.   Vehoeven said, “Carice is beautiful like Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct), but she can act!”  This was not really a slight to Stone’s ability but his recognition that Carice has a rare and special magic.   I certainly don’t discount Verhoeven’s ability to get all that an actor can possibly give in a performance.

To give a great performance an actor must forget the cameras, audience and simply put aside their ego.  They must actually live their part and avoid “performing”.  The great actors never imitate their characters but rather become them without losing their own voice and skin. 

Carice got my undivided attention in the Paul Verhoeven film, Black Book.  Carice was unquestionably the lead actor followed by a wonderful ensemble cast.  Unfortunately it’s all too rare when a film script offers a woman such a strong and commanding lead. 

Black Book was a fine example that a woman can be an action hero without killing anyone or losing her dignity or felinity.   Few actresses could have even come close to Carice’s great performance.

In this World War Two drama,  Carice spoke three languages, swam, danced and sang.  The role was as demanding as any you will ever see.  Unfortunately the film was never adequately distributed in the U.S.  The film can easily be obtained in Blu-Ray from Netflix or Amazon.com.  Black Book is a fabulous showcase for Carice’s amazing talents.

Carice just released her new CD called; See You On The Ice. It’s entirely in English There are some really well written songs I know most people will enjoy and Carice has a hit on her hands. Of Course you can sample and buy this music from iTunes and wherever music is sold today.

Carice gave a concert at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam.  It was disappointing for me that I was unable to attend, however thankfully here are three videos attached below from the concert. 

I don’t know just where Carice’s career is going but we need to see much more of her in the United States.  Her impeccable English should not bar her from any role.   She’s got a top American agent who must get busy or risk losing Carice to another.   Carice belongs in big budget feature films rather than television. 

Carice has reportedly told tabloid publications she wants to do more music.  If you’ve not see Black Book, do so.  I have attached the trailer at the bottom after the others.

Sit back and enjoy the videos.  

Still I dream of It.

Particle of Light

Time

Emily

Particle of Light Official Video

The Black Book Film Trailer

Carice van Houten’s Music CD, A Review

Amsterdam, The Netherlands—In this wonderful city full of the richest art, sights and sounds, is the gifted actress and singer Carice van Houten.  First, I must confess, I love everything this European siren does. 

I first heard van Houten sing in the great Paul Verhoeven film, Black Book (2006).   She was the masterful leading lady of that thrilling film in every respect.  If you’ve not seen it, you must! She swims, sings, dances and acts in three languages.

If you saw the film Valkyrie, van Houten played Nina Von Stauffenberg opposite Tom Cruise.  She also has a role in the successful HBO series Game of Thrones.

This charming lady speaks, sings and acts in Dutch, German and English.  She again caught my attention in a wonderful duet with Kane called, No Surrender. 

Finally van Houten has brought her talent to the recording studio and cut an album titled, See You On The Ice.  The songs are modern and are in English.  This is all new material. 

It’s only a matter of a short time before van Houten catches on in the USA in a big way. 

I got a sneak peek at the CD from van Houten’s promotional efforts and it’s great.

You must check this out on ITunes and other music sources such as Amazon.com.  This is great stuff to play in your car while traveling these upcoming fall evenings.

UPDATE:  Carice has tweeted that there is a delay in getting her music up on ITunes in North America until October 2nd. 

Below is the Official Video of Emily contained in the CD.

Carice van Houten Rocks!

The lovely and talented Carice Van Houten ROCKS!

Amsterdam, NL—The amazing actress, singer and talented performer Carice van Houten has released a new music video, Emily.  This is part of an album, See You on the Ice, that’s being released and will be available very soon on ITunes.   

Van Houten, a multiple Golden Calf award winner simply owns her audience on everything she does.  She’s mastered her native language Dutch along with impeccable English and German.  I discovered her multiple talents in the fabulous Paul Verhoeven film, Black Book.

She is a regular performer in the Game of Thrones.  She can also be seen with Holly Hunter in a new film called Jackie.  

Carice is considering a film project right now that I’m involved with but, Carice is in demand everywhere.  The America audiences will soon be discovering her simply because she’s fearless and unstoppable! 

I hope to be able to interview that great lady on video soon for this blog.