Jan Decleir (born as ''Jan Amanda Gustaaf Decleir'' on 14 February 1946) is a prolific Belgian

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and stage

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

born in Niel,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Career

He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers's ''

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–300 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

'' (1971). Since then, he has appeared in countless Flemish and Dutch films and TV productions. In the world of theater he gained his fame by acting at the International New Scene for the play

Mistero Buffo ''Mistero buffo'' ("Comical Mystery Play") is Dario Fo's solo ''pièce célèbre'', performed across Europe, Canada and Latin America from 1969 to 1999. It is recognised as one of the most controversial and popular spectacles in postwar European ...

by Dario Fo. To the larger audiences of television he became known through his role of ''Sil de strandjutter'' in 1976 in the equally named TV series. He starred in

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winning movies including '' Karakter'' by Mike van Diem and '' Antonia'' and the Oscar-nominated social drama '' Daens''. More recently he turned down roles in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

's ''

Eyes Wide Shut ''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Dream Story'' () by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's setting from earl ...

'' (due to commitments to other projects) and the James Bond film ''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...

''. Decleir was also Belgium's national performer of

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' (derive ...

from 1993 until 2019. 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 Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

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 underway 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 several years he also led the Studio Herman Teirnlick where he brought in many new teachers: actors from various theater companies (e.g., de Blauwe Maandag Compagnie, STAN, etc.).

Personal life

Jan Decleir has been married to Brechtje Louwaard since 1 April 2006. He was previously married to Caroline van Gastel with whom he has 3 children (Sofie, Jenne and Flor). Both his siblings – sister Reinhilde Decleir (died in 2022) and brother Dirk Decleir (died in 1974) involved in acting, too.

Honors and awards

Over the lifespan of his career, Jan Decleir has received several prizes for his acting. He was awarded the Best Actor Award for his role in ''Off Screen'' (directed by Pieter Kuijpers) at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Golden Calf Culture Prize (Dutch: ''Gouden Kalf'') and in 2007 a Golden Calf for Best Supporting Actor for the movie '' Wolfsbergen'' at the

Netherlands Film Festival The Netherlands Film Festival () is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht. During the ten-day festival, Dutch film productions and co-productions are exhibited. Besides feature films, the prog ...

. In 2008 he was awarded the best actor prize at the Tiburon International Film Festival for his role in '' Man zkt vrouw (A Perfect Match)''. For his role in ''

The Barons ''The Barons'' () is a 2009 Belgian comedy film directed by Nabil Ben Yadir. It was written by Yadir, Laurent Brandenbourger and Sébastien Fernandez. It premiered on 2 September 2009 at the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur. ...

'', he received the Magritte Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2013 he also received the Flemish Culture Prize for General Cultural Merit.

Overview

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF, , French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai'') is the largest film festival in Asia and China's longest-running international cinema event. The first festival was established in Octobe ...

- Golden Goblet: 1993 ('' Daens'') * Nederlands Film Festival ** Grolsch Film Award: 1997 ('' Karakter'') ** Best Actor nomination: 1997 (''Karakter'') ** Dutch Culture Award: 2003 ** Best Supporting Actor: 2007 (''Wolfsbergen'') ** Best Supporting Actor nomination: 2015 ('' The Surprise'') *

Paris Film Festival Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

- Best Actor: 1998 (''Karakter'') * European Film Festival ** Actor of the Year nomination: 1993 (''Daens'') ** Best European Actor nomination: 2003 (''Hop'') *

Joseph Plateau Award A Joseph Plateau Award was an accolade presented by the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent, first awarded in 1985. The awards were given in several categories to honor cinematic achievements in the film industry. They were restricted to ...

- Best Belgian Actor: 1993 (''Daens''), 1998 (''Karakter''), 2004 ('' The Alzheimer Case'') *

Montréal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Off Screen'') * Gulden Mira (nl) Career Prize: 2005 * Tiburon International Film Festival - Best Actor: 2008 ('' A Perfect Match'') * Magritte Awards - Best Supporting Actor: 2010 (''

'') * Golden Film Award: 2011 ('' Nova Zembla'') * Film by the Sea - Grand Acting Award: 2013 * Ostend Film Festival - Best Actor nomination: 2019 (''Niet Schieten'') The movie ''Karakter'' in which Decleir played the leading role, won the

Academy Award for best international feature film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Prior, ''Daens'' was nominated for this Oscar in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Filmography

Decleir appeared in more than a hundred Belgian, Dutch, French and German movies. Jan Decleir - ALL FOR LOVE - Blauwe Maandag Compagnie - 1993

* ''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'' (1969) * ''Het Helleschip'' (1969) * ''Zeven Miljoen Molekulen'' (1970) * ''De Familie Tot'' (1971) * ''

, aka Mira of de Teleurgang van de Waterhoek'' (1971) * ''August, August, August'' (1971) * ''Rolande met de Bles'' (1972) * '' The Conscript'' (1973) * ''De Vrek'' (1974) * ''Verloren Maandag'' (1974) * ''Way Out'' (1974) * ''Verbrande Brug'' (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 is the eighth novel in the 'Les Rougon-Macquart, Rougon-Macquart' series by Émile Zola, set among the petite bourgeoisie in Second French Empire, Second Empire suburban Paris. It was first serialised between December 11, 1877, and April 4, 1878 ...

'' (1978) * ''Doodzonde'' (1978) * ''De Proefkonijnen'' (1979) * ''Grueten Broos'' (1979) * '' Le Grand Paysage d'Alexis Droeven'' (1981) * ''Twee Vorstinnen en een Vorst'' (1981) * ''Tijd om Gelukkig te Zijn'' (1982) * ''Het Verleden'' (1982) * '' Toute une nuit'' (1982) * ''Maria Danneels (of het Leven dat We Droomden)'' (1982) * ''Zware Jongens'' (1984) * ''De Loteling'' (1984) * ''

John The Fearless John I (; ; 28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his assassination in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during the early 15th century, part ...

'' (1984) * '' De Leeuw van Vlaanderen'' (1985) * '' The van Paemel Family'' (1986) * ''De Tijger'' (1988) * ''Het Eerste Mirakel van Kindeke Jesus'' (1988) * '' Het Sacrament'' (1990) * ''

Koko Flanel ''Koko Flanel'' is a Belgium, Belgian comedy movie directed by Stijn Coninx starring Urbanus, Bea Van der Maat, Willeke van Ammelrooy, and Ann Petersen. The movie was released in 1990 and was until 18 February 2009 the most successful Flanders, ...

'' (1990) * ''Dilemma'' (1990) * '' Anchoress'' (1993) * '' Daens'' (1993) * '' Beck – De gesloten kamer'' (1993) * '' Antonia's Line'' (1995) * '' Camping Cosmos'' (1996) * '' 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'' (1999) * '' Running Free'' (2000) * '' Lijmen/Het Been'' (2000) * '' Mariken'' (2000) * '' De Omweg'' (2000) * ''De Verlossing'' ( aka The Other Life) (2001) * '' Villa des Roses'' (2002) * ''Hop'' (2002) * ''Brush with Fate'' (2003) * '' Rosenstraße'' (2003) * '' SuperTex'' (= Supertex – Eine Stunde im Paradies) (2003) * ''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'' (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'' (2006) * '' Wolfsbergen'' (2007) – see Nanouk Leopold *'' Firmin'' (2007) * '' Man Zkt Vrouw (A Perfect Match)'' (2007) * '' Blind'' (2007) * '' Waar is het Paard van Sinterklaas'' (2007) * ''

Loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Sœur Sourire'' (2009) * ''Ob Ihr Wollt oder Nicht!'' (2009) * ''Marieke, Marieke'' (2010) * ''Smoorverliefd'' (2010) * ''De schaduw van Bonifatius'' (2010) * '' Nova Zembla'' (2011) * ''The Spring of César'' (2011) * ''De Sint Danst de Tango'' (2011) * ''Finn'' (2013) * ''Flying Home'' (2014) * '' The Surprise'' (2015) * '' Café Derby'' (2015) * '' Ich und Kaminski'' (2015) * ''Ay Ramon!'' (2015) * ''Wat Mannen Willen'' (2015) * ''Szvo'' (2015) * '' Blind Spot'' (2017) * '' This Magnificent Cake!'' (2018) * ''Niet Schieten'' (2018) * ''Sinterklaas en de Wakkere Nachten'' (2018) * ''Een Verkeerde Toekomst'' (2019) * '' The Claus Family'' (2020) * ''The Claus Family 2'' (2021) * ''The Claus Family 3'' (2022) He is also known from Flemish and Dutch 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) * ''Karakter'' (1997) * ''Retour Den Haag'' (1999) * ''De Grote Boze Wolf Show'' (2000) * ''Stille Waters'' (2001) * ''De 9 Dagen van de Gier'' (2001) * ''Meiden van De Wit'' (2002) * ''W817'' (2003) * ''Sprookjes'' (2004-08) * ''Koning van de Wereld'' (2005) * ''Als 't Maar Beweegt'' (2005) * ''De Kavijaks'' (2005) * ''Stellenbosch'' (2007) * ''Sinteressante Dingen'' (2009) * ''Met Man en Macht'' (2013) * ''Nieuw Texas'' (2015) * ''Den Elfde van den Elfde'' (2016) * ''Tytgat Chocolat'' (2017) * ''De Bever & Co'' (2019)

Theatre

* ''Het Goudland'' (1966-67) * ''De Meeuw'' (1968) * ''Koning Lear'' (1968-69) * ''Koning Jan'' (1969-70) * ''De Familie Tót'' (1969-70) * ''August, August, August'' (1970-71) * ''Een Blijde Gebeurtenis'' (1970-71) * ''Mijnheer Puntila en Zijn Knecht Matti'' (1971-72) * ''De Parochie van Miserie'' (1972) * ''Mistero Buffo'' (1972-73) * ''Ballade voor Grote en Kleine Poppen'' (1974-75) * ''Mezcal'' (1982-83) * ''Obscene Fabels'' (1984–85) * ''Het Offer is te Kort'' (1985-86) * ''Wolfsklem'' (1986-87) * ''DE TIJGER'' (1986-87) * ''Gilles!'' (1987-88) * ''De Meeuw'' (1988-89) * ''Mijn Zoetje Junior'' (1989-90) * ''Dodendans'' (1989-90) * ''Repetitie I'' (1991-92) * ''All for Love'' (1992-93) * ''Vrijen met Dieren'' (1994-95) * ''Meneer Paul'' (1995-96) * ''Edwaar The King'' (1997-98) * ''Richaar Deuzième'' (1997-98) * ''Risjaar Modderfokker den Derde'' (1997-98) * ''Margaretha di Napoli'' (1997-98) * ''En Verlos Ins van het Kwade'' (1999) * ''Lulu'' (2000-01) * ''Bloedarm'' (2002-03) * ''Onder het Melkwoud'' (2009-10) * ''Lucifer'' (2010-11) * ''Bloedarm'' (2002) * ''Onvoltooid Verleden'' (2012) * ''Risjaar Drei'' (2016-17) *''MARX'' (2018) *''Landru'' (2020-21)

References

External links

* *
Jan Decleir on Cinenews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decleir, Jan 1946 births Flemish male television actors 20th-century Flemish male actors Golden Calf winners Flemish male film actors Living people Magritte Award winners 21st-century Flemish male actors Sinterklaas