Michiel Huisman (born 18 July 1981) is a Dutch actor, musician and singer-songwriter born in
Amstelveen
Amstelveen () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands, with a population of 95,996 as of 202 ...
, recognized for his roles in Dutch and international film and television projects.
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
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
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
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
's
Treme and replaced
Ed Skrein as
Daario Naharis in ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
'', 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
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
'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
Huisman is the brother of former professional football player Dustin Huisman. Huisman is fond of table tennis, which he has played since childhood.
He was raised
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
.
Huisman is married to Dutch actress
Tara Elders,
Zo woont Michiel Huisman in de VS
, '' De Telegraaf'', 2015. Retrieved on 22 April 2015. and they have a daughter who was born in 2007. The couple formerly lived in
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, US;
and now reside in New York City.
Career
Music career
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. The band released the singles "1+1=2" (2001), "Slapeloos" (2002), and "Neem Me Mee" (2003).
[Fontane](_blank)
''Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
''. Retrieved on 20 April 2015. 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).
'Luchtige verhalen' van Michiel Huisman
, '' Trouw'', 2005. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
After two members left the band, Fontane split up and Huisman decided to pursue music on his own.
Huisman released the singles "Deel Van Mij" (2005) and "Geef Je Over" (2006), and the album ''Luchtige Verhalen'' (2005) as a solo artist.
[Michiel Huisman]
Who's Next Records. Retrieved on 20 April 2015. 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."
Acting career
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.
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
Ernest II (; 21 June 181822 August 1893) was Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 29 January 1844 to his death in 1893. He was born in Coburg to Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. His father be ...
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
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
series ''
Treme'', as Sonny, a Dutch busker who plays keyboards and guitar. He was taught New Orleans piano by Davis Rogan. 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
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
''.
Huisman replaced English actor
Ed Skrein in the role of
Daario Naharis for the
fourth season (2014) of ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
''. Huisman was promoted to series regular for the
fifth season (2015) of the series. Huisman also recurred on seasons 2 and 3 of ''
Orphan Black'', portraying Cal Morrison, a rugged outdoorsman who crosses paths with the clones.
In 2014, Huisman appeared in the
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 ...
-nominated biographical drama film ''
Wild'' and starred in the advertising campaign for Chanel No.5's ''The One That I Want'', which was directed by
Baz Luhrmann. In 2015, Huisman co-starred in the thriller ''
The Invitation'', 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.
Also in 2016, Huisman played
Walter Davidson in the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
limited series ''
Harley and the Davidsons'' which told the origin story of
Harley-Davidson Inc. The three-part series premiered in September 2016 and gained reasonable reviews from critics and from Harley-Davidson themselves.
Huisman starred in the thriller film ''
2:22'' which was released on 30 June 2017. That year, Huisman was cast as Sam, the male lead in the romantic drama ''
Irreplaceable You''. 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. The film was released on 16 February 2018 on
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. 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.
In 2018, Huisman starred in the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
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. In 2019, Huisman had a supporting role in the Netflix film ''
The Red Sea Diving Resort'', as an Israeli agent.
Discography
;Singles with Fontane
* "1+1=2" (2001)
* "Slapeloos" (2002)
* "Neem Me Mee" (2003)
;Solo singles
* "Deel Van Mij" (2005)
* "Geef Je Over" (2006)
;Solo albums
* ''Luchtige Verhalen'' (2005)
[Michiel Huisman]
''Muziekencyclopedie''. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huisman, Michiel
1981 births
20th-century Dutch male actors
21st-century Dutch male actors
Dutch expatriate male actors in the United States
Dutch male child actors
Dutch male film actors
Dutch male television actors
Dutch musicians
Dutch Jews
Living people
People from Amstelveen