Jan Decleir
| Jan Decleir | |
|---|---|
 Jan Decleir in 2003 | |
| Born |
Jan Amanda Gustaaf Decleir 14 February 1946 Niel, Belgium |
| Notable work |
"Priest Daens" in Daens; "Dreverhaven" in Character; "Angelo Ledda" in The Memory of a Killer |
| Awards |
Best Supporting Actor 2007 Wolfsbergen Culture Prize 2003 Lifetime Archievement Grolsch Film Award 1997 Character |
Jan Decleir (born 14 February 1946) is a prolific Belgian (Flemish) movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium).
He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers Mira (1971). Since then, he has appeared in countless Flemish and Dutch films and TV productions. He starred in Academy Award winning movies including Karakter and Antonia and the Oscar-nominated social drama Daens. More recently he turned down roles in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (due to commitments to other projects) and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. Decleir is also Belgium's national performer of Sinterklaas since 1993.
In 2003 he had the starring role in the critically acclaimed thriller The Memory of a Killer (The Alzheimer Case) of which the leading American critic Roger Ebert wrote in his review: "Jan Decleir never goes for the easy effect, never pushes too hard, is a rock-solid occupant of his character. Everything he has to say is embodied, not expressed. Talks are under way for a Hollywood remake, but this performance will not be easily equaled. Gene Hackman, maybe. Morgan Freeman. Robert Mitchum, if he were alive. Decleir is the real thing."
For his role in The Barons, he received the Magritte Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Filmography
- Heeft geleden onder Pontius Pilatus (1966)
- Geboorte en dood van Dirk Vandersteen jr. (1968)
- Het huis met de maskers (1968)
- De meeuw (1968)
- Klucht van de brave moordenaar (1969)
- Koning Lear (=King Lear) (1969)
- Het Helleschip (1969)
- Zeven miljoen molekulen (1970)
- De Familie Tot (1971)
- Mira, aka Mira of de teleurgang van de waterhoek (1971)
- August, August, August (1971)
- Rolande met de bles (1972)
- De Loteling (The Conscript) (1973)
- De Vrek (1974)
- Verloren maandag (1974)
- Verbrande burg (Burned bridge) (1975)
- Pallieter (1976)
- De man in de rok en de man zonder (1976)
- Niet alle dieven komen ongelegen (1976)
- Als schilders konden spreken (1976)
- Une page d'amour (=one page of love) (1978)
- Doodzonde (=Mortal Sin) (1978)
- De proefkonijnen (1979)
- Grueten broos (1979)
- Le Grand Paysage d'Alexis Droeven (1981)
- Twee vorstinnen en een vorst (=Two contessas and a count) (1981)
- Tijd om gelukkig te zijn (=Time to be happy) (1982)
- Het verleden (1982)
- Toute une nuit (=A Whole/Entire Night) (1982)
- Maria Danneels (of het leven dat we droomden) (1982)
- Zware jongens (1984)
- De Loteling (1984)
- John The Fearless (1984)
- De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (= the Flemish lion) (1985)
- Het gezin van Paemel (=The Van Paemel family) (1986)
- De Tijger (1988)
- Het eerste mirakel van kindeke Jesus (1988)
- Het Sacrament (1990)
- Koko Flanel (1990)
- Dilemma (1990)
- Anchoress (1993)
- Daens (1993)
- Beck - De gesloten kamer (1993)
- Antonia (=Antonia's line) (1995)
- Camping Cosmos (1996)
- Karakter (=Character) (1997)
- S. (1998)
- Taming the Floods (1999)
- Retour Den Haag (1999)
- Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (aka Molokai: the forbidden island) (1999)
- Shades (1999)
- Kruimeltje (=Little crumb) (1999)
- Running Free (2000)
- Lijmen/Het Been (=The publishers) (2000)
- Mariken (2000)
- De omweg (2000)
- De verlossing (=Closure aka The other life) (2001)
- Villa des Roses (2002)
- Hop (2002)
- Brush with Fate (2003)
- Rosenstrasse(2003) (=Rosenstraße)
- SuperTex (= Supertex - Eine Stunde im Paradies)
- Till Eusterspiegel (=Jester Till) (2003)
- Vlucht der verbeelding (2003)
- De Zaak Alzheimer (2003)
- L'Autre (=The missing) (2003)
- De passievrucht (=Father's affair) (2003)
- Edelweißpiraten (=Edelweiss pirates) (2004)
- De kus (=The Kiss) (2004)
- Off screen (2005)
- Een Ander Zijn Geluk (2005)
- Verlengd weekend (2005)
- Het Paard van Sinterklaas (2005)
- Crusade in Jeans (=Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek) (2005)
- Wolfsbergen (2007) - see Nanouk Leopold
- Man zkt vrouw (A Perfect Match) (2007)
- Blind (2007)
- Loft (2008)
- The Barons (2009)
- De schaduw van Bonifatius (2010)
- Nova Zembla (2011)
- Flying Home (2014)
- The Surprise (2015)
He is also known from Flemish TV series such as:
- Keromar (1971)
- Sil de strandjutter (1976)
- Adriaen Brouwer (1986)
- Klein Londen, Klein Berlijn (1988)
- Moeder, waarom leven wij? (1993)
- Dag Sinterklaas (1993)
- Ons geluk (1995)
- Gaston Berghmans Show (1995)
- Kulderzipken (1996)
- Diamant (1997)
- Grote boze wolf show (2000)
- Stille waters (2001)
- De 9 dagen van de gier (2001)
- Meiden van De Wit (2002)
- Koning van de wereld (2005)
- Als 't maar beweegt (2005)
- De kavijaks (2005)