Michiel Huisman (born 18 July 1981)[1] is a Dutch actor, musician, and singer-songwriter, recognized for his roles in Dutch and international film and television projects.

Michiel Huisman
Huisman in 2015
Born (1981-07-18) 18 July 1981 (age 43)
Amstelveen, Netherlands
Occupation(s)Actor, musician
Years active1995–present
Spouse
(m. 2008)
Children1

Born in Amstelveen, Huisman's music career began as the singer and guitarist for the Dutch band Fontane, which released singles and was featured on movie soundtracks in the early 2000s. After the band split, he pursued a solo music career, releasing an album and singles.

His acting career started with roles in the Dutch soap opera Goede tijden, slechte tijden (1998). He later appeared in Dutch films including Costa! (2001), Phileine Says Sorry (2003) and Black Book (2006), and in the Dutch TV series De co-assistent (2007–10) and Bloedverwanten (2010).

Huisman's first international acting experience came in 2006, when he guest-starred in the British TV series Dalziel and Pascoe. Huisman played Sonny in HBO's Treme and replaced Ed Skrein as Daario Naharis in Game of Thrones, joining as a series regular. His filmography includes roles in films such as Wild (2014), The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018), and the Discovery Channel's miniseries Harley and the Davidsons. He appeared in The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Flight Attendant (2020) and in 2022, he starred in the black ops military series Echo 3.

Personal life

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Huisman was born in Amstelveen. He is the brother of former professional football player Dustin Huisman.[2] Huisman is fond of table tennis, which he has played since childhood.[3] He was raised Jewish.[4][5]

Huisman is married to Dutch actress Tara Elders,[6] and they have a daughter who was born in 2007.[7] The couple formerly lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, US;[6] and now reside in New York City.[3]

Career

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Music career

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Huisman was singer and guitarist in the Dutch band Fontane, which he formed together with Roland van der Hoofd, Gilles Tuinder, Bas van Geldere, and Donny Griffioen.[8] The band released the singles "1+1=2" (2001), "Slapeloos" (2002), and "Neem Me Mee" (2003).[9] The first single was on the soundtrack of the film Costa! (2001) and the second was on the soundtrack of Full Moon Party (2002), both in which Huisman played a starring role. The band also recorded a version of Willeke Alberti's song "Telkens weer" for the soundtrack of the movie Love to Love (2003).[10]

After two members left the band, Fontane split up and Huisman decided to pursue music on his own.[10] Huisman released the singles "Deel Van Mij" (2005) and "Geef Je Over" (2006), and the album Luchtige Verhalen (2005) as a solo artist.[11] Huisman said in interview about his solo career: "It doesn't feel like a new start, but as if I've started just now." and "It is personal and closerby. Also the sound of the album."[10]

Acting career

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Huisman began his acting career with a supporting role on Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden – the longest-running soap opera on Dutch television – where he played Rover, a 14-year-old model who accuses his employers of engaging in child pornography. He was then cast in the made-for-TV films Suzy Q and Uitgesloten.

He played supporting roles in the Dutch films Costa! and Volle Maan, both of which were directed by Johan Nijenhuis and aimed at a teen-aged audience. At the same time, he also had a recurring role on the Dutch police series Spangen. Huisman moved into leading-man territory in 2003 with the film Phileine Says Sorry, which was an adaptation of Ronald Giphart's book of the same title. He also starred as medieval knight Floris in the film Floris, based on the Dutch TV series.

In the years that followed he played a leading role in the football comedy Johan, recurring guest roles in the comedy series Meiden van De Wit and the first season of the drama series Bloedverwanten, and the leading role in the medical drama series De Co-Assistent. He also played a small supporting role in the 2006 film Zwartboek by Paul Verhoeven, which became the most successful Dutch film of all time.[12]

In 2006, Huisman made his first foray into the international acting world with a supporting role in an episode of the British TV series Dalziel and Pascoe. He followed this with a role as Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in The Young Victoria, and the BBC made-for-TV drama Margot in which he portrayed Rudolf Nureyev. He then joined the main cast of the HBO series Treme, as Sonny, a Dutch busker who plays keyboards and guitar. He was taught New Orleans piano by Davis Rogan.[13] During his time on Treme, Huisman also played a small supporting role in the apocalyptic action film World War Z and started recurring as Liam McGuinnis on Nashville.

Huisman replaced English actor Ed Skrein in the role of Daario Naharis for the fourth season (2014) of Game of Thrones.[14] Huisman was promoted to series regular for the fifth season (2015) of the series.[15] Huisman also recurred on seasons 2 and 3 of Orphan Black, portraying Cal Morrison, a rugged outdoorsman who crosses paths with the clones.[16]

In 2014, Huisman appeared in the Academy Award-nominated biographical drama film Wild[17] and starred in the advertising campaign for Chanel No.5's The One That I Want, which was directed by Baz Luhrmann.[18] In 2015, Huisman co-starred in the thriller The Invitation,[19] and played the leading role in the fantasy romance film The Age of Adaline.

In 2016, Huisman was cast as the lead role in the war-drama The Ottoman Lieutenant which tells the story of a Turkish officer (Huisman) who falls in love with an idealistic American nurse, played by Hera Hilmar, during World War I. The film also stars Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley. The film was released for an Oscar-qualifying run in December 2016 before wide release in March 2017.[20][21]

Also in 2016, Huisman played Walter Davidson in the Discovery Channel limited series Harley and the Davidsons which told the origin story of Harley-Davidson Inc.[22] The three-part series premiered in September 2016 and gained reasonable[specify] reviews from critics[23] and from Harley-Davidson themselves.[24]

Huisman starred in the thriller film 2:22 which was released on 30 June 2017.[25][26] That year, Huisman was cast as Sam, the male lead in the romantic drama Irreplaceable You.[27] The film co-starred Gugu Mbatha-Raw as his childhood sweetheart, and later fiancée, who is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Steve Coogan and Christopher Walken also appear.[28] The film was released on 16 February 2018 on Netflix. Also in 2018, Huisman starred opposite Lily James as Dawsey Adams, the male lead in the romantic drama The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, based on the 2008 novel of the same name.[29]

In 2018, Huisman starred in the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House, which is based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel of the same name. The 10-episode drama, released on 12 October 2018, is a modern re-imagining of the original story, now about a family of seven. Huisman plays Steven Crain, the oldest sibling, who becomes a published writer of supernatural books, including a memoir about his family's time living at Hill House. Mike Flanagan wrote, directed and executive-produced the series.[30] In 2019, Huisman had a lead role in the Netflix film The Red Sea Diving Resort, as an Israeli agent.

Discography

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Singles with Fontane
  • "1+1=2" (2001)[9]
  • "Slapeloos" (2002)[9]
  • "Neem Me Mee" (2003)[9]
Solo singles
  • "Deel Van Mij" (2005)[11]
  • "Geef Je Over" (2006)[11]
Solo albums
  • Luchtige Verhalen (2005)[31]

Filmography

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Film

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Key
Denotes works that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Costa! Bart
2002 Exit Renate's friend Short film
2002 Full Moon Party Bobbie
2003 Phileine Says Sorry Max
2004 Floris Floris
2005 Johan Johan Dros
2006 Black Book Rob
2007 Funny Dewdrop Orpheus Short film
2009 Unmade Beds X Ray Man
2009 The Young Victoria Prince Ernest
2009 Winterland Francis Young
2010 First Mission Wout
2013 World War Z Ellis
2013 The Woman in the Dress Tom Short film
2014 Wild Jonathan
2015 The Invitation David
2015 The Age of Adaline Ellis Jones Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Kiss (shared with Blake Lively)
2017 The Ottoman Lieutenant İsmail Veli
2017 2:22 Dylan Branson
2017 Indian Horse Father Gaston Leboutilier
2018 Irreplaceable You Sam
2018 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Dawsey Adams
2018 State Like Sleep Stefan Delvoe
2019 The Red Sea Diving Resort (also known as Operation Brothers) Jacob "Jake" Wolf
2019 The Other Lamb Shepherd
2019 The Last Right Daniel Murphy
2021 Kate Stephen
2021 A Boy Called Christmas Joel
2023 Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire Gunnar [32]
2024 Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 Voor hete vuren Episode: "Prettige feestdagen"
1998 Goede tijden, slechte tijden Rover
1998 Kees & Co Errand Boy Episode: "Sonja's trouwdag"
1999 Suzy Q Palmer Television film
1999–2002 Spangen Pelle 4 episodes
2001 Dok 12 Frederik van Kemenade Episode: "Geen lijk, geen dader"
2001 Costa! Bart 10 episodes
2001 Uitgesloten Coen Television film
2005 Meiden van De Wit Boudewijn Peuts 9 episodes
2006 Dalziel and Pascoe Back-packer Episode: "Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Part 1"
2006 't Schaep met de 5 pooten Freddy Episode: "Het zal je kind maar wezen"
2007–2010 De co-assistent Hugo Biesterveld Starring; 41 episodes
2009 Margot Rudolph Nureyev Television film
2010 Bloedverwanten Martijn Zwager 12 episodes
2010–2013 Treme Sonny Starring; 35 episodes
2012–2014 Nashville Liam McGuinnis Recurring; 13 episodes
2013 The Sixth Gun Drake Sinclair Television film
2014–2015 Orphan Black Cal Morrison Recurring; 6 episodes
2014–2016 Game of Thrones Daario Naharis Recurring (Season 4; 5 episodes)
Starring (Season 5–6; 13 episodes)
Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2016, 2017)
2016 Harley and the Davidsons Walter Davidson TV Mini-Series
3 episodes
2018 The Haunting of Hill House Steven Crain Main role
Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor in Streaming Presentation (2019)[33]
2020 The Flight Attendant Alex Sokolov Main role
Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2021)
2021 Angela Black Olivier Meyer
2022–2023 Echo 3 Prince Main role
TBA The Abandons TBA Recurring role

References

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  1. ^ "Famous birthdays for July 18: Vin Diesel, Kristen Bell". United Press International. 18 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019. Actor Michiel Huisman in 1981
  2. ^ (in Dutch) Michiel Huisman filling in for Dirk Kuijt in Footvolley tournament organized by younger brother Dustin, De Volkskrant, 2005. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Michiel Huisman Isn't Spooked by Table Tennis". New York Times. 12 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Vol Beloften: Dustin Huisman". www.ajax.nl. 27 November 2006. Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Michiel's brother Dustin, "Geloof/Bijgeloof: Bijgelovig ben ik niet. Wat geloof betreft ben ik joods. De vrijdag is daarom een echte familiedag."/"Belief / Superstition: I am not superstitious. As for religion, I'm Jewish. Friday is therefore a real family day."
  5. ^ Bloom, Nate (30 December 2020). "Jews in the News: Mayim Bialik, Alicia Silverstone and Michiel Huisman". jewishtampa.com.
  6. ^ a b (in Dutch) "Zo woont Michiel Huisman in de VS", De Telegraaf, 2015. Retrieved on 22 April 2015.
  7. ^ Tara Elders – Game Of Thrones Actor Michiel Huisman's Wife, Daily Entertainment News, 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  8. ^ (in Dutch) Fontane, Festivalinfo.nl. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d Fontane, Discogs. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
  10. ^ a b c (in Dutch) "'Luchtige verhalen' van Michiel Huisman", Trouw, 2005. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
  11. ^ a b c (in Dutch) Michiel Huisman, Who's Next Records. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
  12. ^ Byrnes, Paul (7 July 2007). "Film Reviews: Black Book". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Publications.
  13. ^ Reilly, Dan (4 June 2010). "'Treme' Creator David Simon Crafts a Love Letter to New Orleans' Musical Culture". Spinner. AOL. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  14. ^ Lesley Goldberg (28 August 2013). "'Game of Thrones' Books 'Treme' Alum for Season 4". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  15. ^ 'Game of Thrones': Michiel Huisman's Daario upped to Season 5 series regular from 8 January 2014
  16. ^ 'Orphan Black': 3 new spoilers for Season 3 from 16 October 2014
  17. ^ ComingSoon.net Production Begins on Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon from 11 October 2013.
  18. ^ A Conversation with Baz Luhrmann on Chanel No. 5's The One That I Want, Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  19. ^ "Gather Around For 'The Invitation' SXSW Poster -". bloody-disgusting.com. 4 March 2015.
  20. ^ Busch, Anita (9 September 2016). "'The Ottoman Lieutenant' To Be Released For Oscar-Qualifying Run". Deadline. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  21. ^ "The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017) Release Info". IMDb.com. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  22. ^ Cynthia Littleton (7 January 2016). "'Game of Thrones' Actors to Star in Harley-Davidson Miniseries". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  23. ^ "Harley and the Davidsons: Miniseries - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  24. ^ Kathy Mykleby (6 September 2016). "Bill Davidson talks about Harley-Davidson miniseries". Wisn.com. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  25. ^ 'Game of Thrones' Star Michiel Huisman Gets Call for '2:22′ from January 2015
  26. ^ "2:22 (2017)". IMDb.com. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  27. ^ Justin Kroll (23 February 2017). "Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michiel Huisman to Star in 'Irreplaceable You'". Variety. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  28. ^ "Christopher Walken, Steve Coogan Join 'Irreplaceable You' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 December 1969. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  29. ^ "'Game of Thrones' Star Michiel Huisman Joins Lily James in 'Guernsey' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  30. ^ "'Game of Thrones' Favorite to Star in 'Haunting of Hill House' Series for Netflix (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  31. ^ (in Dutch) Michiel Huisman, Muziekencyclopedie. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
  32. ^ Kit, Borys (8 April 2022). "Cary Elwes, Corey Stoll Join Zack Snyder's Sci-Fi Fantasy 'Rebel Moon' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  33. ^ Mancuso, Vinnie (16 July 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame', 'Game of Thrones' Lead the 2019 Saturn Awards Nominations". Collider. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
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