Halina Reijn (Dutch:[haːˈlinaːˈrɛin]; born 10 November 1975) is a Dutch actress, writer and film director.
Early life and education
Halina Reijn was born on 10 November 1975 in Amsterdam, Netherlands,[1] to Fleur ten Kate and Frank Volkert Reijn (1931-1986).[2][3][4] Reijn's parents were both artists.[3][5] She is the middle child of three daughters, with an older sister named Leonora and a younger named Esther.[3][6] Her father was gay despite being in a heterosexual marriage with her mother.[5] Reijn grew up in an anthroposophy household,[7][8] and her parents were followers of the Subud spiritual movement.[5][9] In her early years, she grew up in a "Pippi Longstocking" house with her family in the tiny village of Wildervank,[10][11]Groningen, which attracted many artists.[10] They lived without television and never visited the cinema.[7] Instead they played music, drew and painted. Her father built a theater room with a podium and flats for her.[10]
Reijn developed an interest in acting when her babysitter brought her along for a showing of Annie, a film adaptation of the Broadway musical, at a local theater when she was six. She stated, "When I saw Annie, I thought, I want that too. I was very jealous of her."[7][8][11] With help of her mother, she joined a youth theater in Veendam. Reijn found it inadequate and thought the other children did not take it seriously enough, which led her mother to pursue an audition with the theater collective De Voorziening (precursor to the Noord Nederlands Toneel [nl]) despite being only ten years old.[8][12]
When she was ten years old, and a year after her parents had amicably separated,[5][13] her father died suddenly from suffocation caused by undiagnosed pulmonary embolism.[5][14] Following her father's death, the family moved to a newly built neighborhood of Groningen in order to escape the isolation.[10] From age eleven onwards under the tutelage of Josja Hamann,[15] she attended the Vooropleiding Theater in Groningen, a selective academy where they were giving lessons and had to rehearse every midday.[7][8][16]
Throughout her student years, she had various minor roles on the small screen, and a lead role in Pril geluk [nl],[24][7] a thirteen-part comedy series on the Veronica channel, that ran for a single season.[25][26] She also had a role in a short called Temper! Temper! written and directed by Frank Lammers, which was part of Kort Rotterdams, a five-part series highlighting common elements of Rotterdam's society.[27] In 1998, Reijn branched out into film, with the adaptation of the Jan Wolkers's short story De wet op het kleinbedrijf, where she had a principal role in the television film.[28] The following year she starred in her first in telefilm [nl], an initiative started by the NPO in 1998 to produce films for public television,[29]De Trein van zes uur tien, a Dutch thriller directed by Frank Ketelaar [nl] that was broadcast by AVRO.[30] It was part of the 2000s Cologne Conference, where it was selected among the ten programmes at the TopTen section of the festival.[31] That same year she played a big part as a sex worker in Martin Koolhoven's breakout film, Suzy Q, which featured Reijn's lifelong friend Carice van Houten in the title role.[32][33] Despite its warm critical reception and launching the careers of the people involved, the movie was never released on home video, in theaters or shown outside its home country due to music license issues with artists like The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix among others.[34][33]
Early 2000s and big screen debut
Reijn made her big screen acting debut in De Omweg (also known as "The Detour"), a semi-autobiographical drama directed and written by Frouke Fokkema. It opened in Dutch theaters on 7 November 2000 to little fanfare.[35][36] On 1 January 2001, 3 years after Reijn joined, De Trust would fuse with another theater company named Art & Pro, they would continue under the new name of de Theatercompagnie. The fusion, however, did not prove fruitful in the long term, the newly formed company was steeped in financial difficulties, infighting between the co-founders, overworked actors and in the later years there would be conflict with the government over subsidies.[37][38][39] Further that year, she would star in Nanouk Leopold's directorial debut, tragicomedyÎles flottantes, it follows the dysfunctional lives of three friends who all recently turned thirty.[40] The low budget film was part of No More Heroes, an initiative started in order to produce films from upcoming Dutch filmmakers.[41][42] The film was selected for and first premiered at the 2001's International Film Festival Rotterdam,[43][44] where it was nominated for the Tiger Award.[44][42] Between her two film releases in 2001, she also participated in De acteurs, a seven part weekly series where fourteen young actors were interviewed and paired up with each other to rehearse scenes from a miniseries created by Kim van Kooten.[45] that same year, Reijn gained further notoriety with her role in the tragicomedy, Zus & Zo, alongside De Trust peers,[46] which was written and directed by Paula van der Oest.[46][47] The movie revolves around three sisters trying to stop their gay brother from marrying a woman and in doing so securing the family's seaside estate for his own. Reijn played the unsuspecting fiancée.[46][47][48][49] The movie premiered at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, just before the September 11 attacks.[50] The movie was nominated for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film at the 75th Academy Awards,[51] even though it received mixed reviews.[52][53] She also starred in her second short, Flicka, as the title role, in which she played a computer programme who is in relationship with a lonely building supervisor, it was produced as part of NTRKort! [nl].[54][55] And lastly she appeared in the VARA TV Movie Herschreven vriendschap.[56]
In 2002, Reijn featured in four projects. First she played a minor part in Frank Van Passel's Villa des Roses,[57][58] her first role in an English/French language international co-production, based on the novel of the same name by Willem Elsschot.[59] Her next two projects were on television with the short TV drama De afrekening and the TV Movie Ware Liefde.[60][61] She also had a minor role in Moonlight, Paula van der Oest's follow-up movie.[62] Meanwhile, back on stage she performed her first role for Toneelgroep Amsterdam, with Ivo van Hove as director she took on the role of courtesan Poppea in Con Amore.[63][64] At the time, while she was still connected with De Trust, she got 'loaned out' to TGA.[65] For De Theatercompagnie she returned to the role of Ophelia in Hamlet, a character she played previously, for a new rendition of the Shakespearean classic.[66]
In 2003, she joined the ensemble at Toneelgroep Amsterdam (TGA),[18] under the direction of future long-time collaborator Ivo van Hove.[67] Around that time she also completed her final performance for De Theatercompagnie,[68][69] with a new production of The Seagull, where she played Nina.[69] In her first year, with the Toneelgroep Amsterdam, she starred in two plays: She played Irina in the Three Sisters, based upon the play of Anton Chekhov of the same name,[70] and Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra, a co-production with the Toneelschuur,[71] for the latter performance, in which she played Lavinia, she was nominated for a Theo d'Or for "Best Female Actress" in 2004.[72][71][32] On television she starred in two telefilms, she played Ewouds's girlfriend in Boy Ecury and Hostess Patty in Het wonder van Máxima,[73][74] they were aired on public television on 2 and 9 April respectively.[75]
Reijn had three big screen releases in 2003. Her first appearance was as Polleke's mother, Tina, in the family filmPolleke, a film adaption of Guus Kuijer's children's book. At first, she was bewildered why she approached by director Ineke Houtman for the role of Polleke's mother, at the time she viewed herself too young to play a mother, but later accepted the role when delving into the character's story.[13] It was the opening film of the Cinekid festival on October 11.[76][77] Her next feature film was with director-writer Alex van Warmerdam, called Grimm, in which she had the female leading role.[78] The story is loosely based on Grimm Brothers's Brother and Sister, in which a brother and sister are abandoned by their father in a forest; in a note their mother urges them to go to Spain to meet up with their uncle.[79][80] The movie was first shown at SSIF,[81] before released nationwide in the Dutch theaters in early December.[79] Compared to the directors earlier work, Grimm was a critical and financial disappointment.[82][83][84][85] Dissatisfied with the original cut, director Alex van Warmerdam together with editor Job ter Burg went back to the original and reworked the entire film.[83][84][86] The new cut premiered at 2019's Netherlands Film Festival.[78] Reijn then starred in Maarten Treurniet's directorial debut Father's Affair, where she played Ellen, the girlfriend of Peter Paul Muller's character and best friend of his deceased wife, who is notified by his GP that he is infertile, which leads to a desperate search for the biological father of his fourteen-year-old son.[87][88] For her performance as Ellen, Reijn was nominated for best actress at the Golden Calves.[89][90] In March 2004, both Polleke and Father's Affair, were awarded the Golden Film by the Netherlands Film Festival for having sold 100,000 tickets at the box office.[91]
Later 2000s and brief break
Compared to her previous years, 2004 was a year of rediscovery and recuperation for Reijn. During a production of Mourning Becomes Electra she approached and told Ivo van Hove: "Take me out of everything, remove me from all your plans, because I can't handle it anymore". She started to resent her work and needed a time-out from her work, friends and home. She was granted unpaid leave by Toneelgroep Amsterdam.[92] In April of that year, on invitation of Renée Missel, who she met at the Oscars that spring, she travelled to Los Angeles. While staying in Los Feliz, and with a scholarship of the VandenEnde Foundation and Fonds Podiumkunsten, she attended an actors and directors lab under the guidance of Judith Weston.[93][94][95] The following year, she returned to the stage with Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, where she played the title character.[96] The new interpretation of the play received glowing reviews, Reijn in particular got acclaim for her part as Katherina.[96][97][98] Reijn also took part in Masterclass, a hidden camerafake documentary-style television film written and directed Hans Teeuwen. It follows Pierre Bokma playing as himself giving a master class together with his reclusive former mentor Peer Mascini to six theatre students. In the film, Reijn is one of the actors interviewed about their previous experiences with Mancini, the actors involved, however, aren't made aware that they are secretly being recorded.[99][100] Also in 2005, she starred in Erik de Bruyn's poetry shortLentelied, based upon the poem Frühlingslied by J.C. van Schagen.[101][102][103]
In 2006, she starred in A Thousand Kisses,[104] directed by Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen, the final film before his death.[105] It was released on 9 March in Dutch theaters.[106] That same week, Huis van de toekomst (House of the Future) had its premiere at the Compagnietheater, Amsterdam. The multimedia play, written and directed by Carina Molier, stars a group of actors living in Big Brother-style house playing fictionalized versions of intellectuals, who Molier had previously interviewed, engaging in a science experiment.[107][108] The piece also included video that was recorded prior and the actors could be viewed from every angle by the audience, who were also accompanied by a camera crew.[107][109] Reijn played a media expert named Anna Tabaknikova that was based on Maja Kuzmanovic.[107] She next played as the central character in Hedda Gabler.[110] In contrast with other portrayals, Reijn approached the character in a more messy, unkept way who is more direct and frank in her dealings with others.[111] While her performance received praise, the play itself was viewed less favourably.[112]
Reijn then starred in Black Book, a World War II drama-thriller co-written and directed by Paul Verhoeven and co-starring Carice van Houten and Sebastian Koch. Set in Nazi occupied Netherlands, the film featured her as Ronnie, an opportunist who prioritizes her own luxury and survival during the war in contrast with Rachel Steinn (van Houten), a Jewish woman on the run, who gets involved with the Dutch resistance.[113] She originally auditioned for the lead role, but was passed over in favour of van Houten and was given the part of Ronnie instead; Verhoeven found her appearance a better match for the latter character, they wanted a softer less pronounced look for the protagonist.[114] The international co-production, with a total production cost of 21 million dollars,[115] is the most expensive Dutch film every made.[116] The movie had its world premiere at the 63rd Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion.[117] It was the 2007's Dutch entry for the Academy Awards as Best Foreign Language Film, but was not selected.[118] For her performance, she was nominated for her second Golden Calf and a Rembrandt Award.[32][119] She would return to the stage with Oresteia, where she portrayed the character of Elektra under the direction of Johan Simons.[120][121]Oresteia was collaboration between TGA and the Belgian theatre company NTGent.[120] She would also provide her voice for the short Voor een paar knikkers meer,[122] which became a festival darling that was shown at 200 festivals.[123]
Following a three-year absence of the play, she would reprise her role in Mourning Becomes Electra for a new season in the first half of 2007.[124][125] Also that spring, at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival, Reijn was one of the actors selected by the European Film Promotion for the annual Shooting Stars Award.[126] Her next film role was in Tamar van den Dop's first feature film, Blind. In the film she played a withdrawn albino woman, whose face is fully scarred and who has severe insecurities about her appearance that one day she gets hired to read for a recently blind man. The role was noted to be a departure for Reijn, at the time she was primarily known for portraying extroverted characters.[127][32] In the autumn on the stage, she had a supporting role as Tecmessa in Ajax, together with actors from the Theatercompagnie. It ran until December 2007.[128] She also took on the role of Nadine, in the road film drama of the same name, directed by Erik de Bruyn. The role of Nadine is depicted by three different actors across three stages of the character's life with Reijn appearing in flashbacks as the youngest one who is an ambitious party animal.[129][130] The movie received only a limited release,[131] and was received mostly positive by critics who praised the acting but criticised the poor script.[132][129][133] On television she starred in the two-part mini-series biographical drama, De Prins en het Meisje, that loosely depicts the controversial engagement and its fallout between Mabel Wisse Smit and the late Prince Friso, portrayed respectively by Reijn and Fedja van Huêt.[134] It was first screened at the Netherlands Film Festival, where the two leads won the Golden Calf Special Jury Prize,[135] before it was broadcast on Nederland 2.[136]
In May 2008, Reijn returned to Hollywood for the second time in order to develop her screenplay of her novel, Prinsesje Nooitgenoeg, into a feature film with the intention of directing the project herself.[137][138] Upon her return to Europe, she went back to stage with an adaptation of Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers which had its premiere in German at the Ruhrtriennale festival before coming to Amsterdam following May. In the play she takes on the part of sex worker Nadia, who finds herself caught in a rivalry between the brothers Rocco and Simone.[139][140] Even though Nadia only appears sporadically, she loved playing this type of character which she described as "part strong woman, part almost animalistic".[141] In October, TGA started a new season of The Taming of the Shrew that ran until December.[142] She had supporting role as Margarethe von Oven alongside her Black Book co-star Carice van Houten, in the Tom Cruise vehicle Valkyrie. Both were separately asked to join the cast, after Cruise and Bryan Singer had watched Black Book.[143] The film marks Reijn's first and only acting role in a major Hollywood production.[144] The movie about the 20 July plot received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and was a box office success.[145][146][147] In the wake of Valkyrie's release, she was offered numerous film roles but decided to stick to theater and forgo Hollywood at the time.[148]
Reijn started off 2009 with her first monodrama, Jean Cocteau's La voix humaine.[149] The project was developed for Antwerp-based Arts centre Monty, who asked van Hove to produce a small-scale production for their "Le salon des exilés" exhibition, which was created to challenge its participants to create a scaled-down play.[150][151] At first, Reijn was apprehensive about the role citing poor experiences with solo plays at school, as a solution she became directly involved co-translating the original text. Furthermore, she had adjust her usual intense acting style to be more subdued.[149] It had two additional appearances at the New Island Festival and Polish theatre festival KONTAKT, at the latter she won the Best Actress award.[152][153][154] Before bringing it back for the following season with its Dutch premiere in October of that same year.[155] Reijn earned widespread acclaim for her performance.[156][157][158][154][159] Mick Heaney of the Irish Times described Reijn's acting as "whose performance is remarkable in any language".[159] The drama proved to be a major success, over the course of eleven years, she would perform it 183 times across the world,[160][161] up until her retirement from acting in December 2019.[18] A month later, Cries and Whispers, an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film of the same name, had its debut in Antwerp and a Dutch tour right after.[162] It was also performed at the Next Wave Festival in 2011.[163] In it Reijn starred as the younger sister Maria.[164] The overall reception to it was mostly positive, although it was generally considered inferior to the original film.[164][163][165] Her next project was the Antonioni Project, an adaption that combines the three films, L’Avventura, La Notte and L'Eclisse, of Michelangelo Antonioni into a single script.[166][167]
2010s
With the start of the decade, she returned to the silver screen with Win/Win, a telefilm about the 2008 financial crisis that takes place in Amsterdam Zuidas.[168] Reijn gravitated to the script due to it engagement with current events, and joined the cast despite the fact that her role as receptionist Deniz, described as a "cold formal type", was only secondary. The film has had its debut at IFFR and was later shown in Dutch theaters in April.[169][170] She would also come back to television with the first season of In therapie [nl] alongside van Houten,[171][172] the Dutch version of the Israelian BeTipul,[173] In the show she plays Lara, a doctor, who falls for her therapist.[174] She also starred in the music short film Great Lengths featuring music from Martyn.[175] After a four-year hiatus she reprised her leading role in Hedda Gabler,[176] and would return for another season in the second half of 2011, followed-up by a final show at the Munich Kammerspiele in July 2012.[177] Alongside other famous Dutch actors, she had a cameo appearance in Sterke verhalen.[178]
Reijn provided her voice for another short film, titled Sintel. The English-language animated short was made in Blender in collaboration with the Blender Foundation. The 15 minute long short revolves around a girl named Sintel, voiced by Reijn, and her pet dragon that is voiced by Thom Hoffman. With a budget of four thousand euros, the short was the second-most expensive Dutch animated film at the time and had its debut at the Netherlands Film Festival, before it was released online for free.[179] It was viewed over a million times in less than a week.[180] Her final film role of the year was in the De Eetclub, directed by Robert Jan Westdijk.[181] The movie revolves around an eating club set in the affluent neighbourhood of het Gooi. Reijn was considered one of the few highlights,[182] in a movie that was mostly panned.[183][182] On stage, she was part of another co-production between TGA and NTGent, in a reworking of Maxim Gorky's Children of the Sun where she portrayed Lisa, the sister of the main character.[184] It earned significant acclaim from critics, with particular mentions towards the cast.[185][186][187]Volkskrant's Karin Veraart called Reijn performance as the neurotic sister Lisa "fantastic".[188] The original season ran until February 2011,[189] with a follow-up season in early 2013.[190]
In 2011, she was part of the ensemble cast for De Russen! (The Russians),[191] an adaptation written by Tom Lanoye that rewrites Anton Chekhov's Platonov and Ivanov into a five hour long tragicomedy set in the modern day,[192] that involved the entire emsemble of the company.[193] On television she starred in the episode called "Kortsluiting" of the crime drama anthology series, Van God Los, which were inspired by real events.[194][195] Her single film release in 2011, was in the psychological thrillerIsabelle (2011 film) [nl] as the titular character, a famous and beautiful actress who is abducted and held captive by a disfigured artist. In preparation for the role, Reijn lost nine kilos (18lbs) by sticking to strict diet for nine weeks.[196][197] While filming, she struggled with keeping herself warm during the nude scenes and described the overall experience as intense.[196][198] The film based on the eponymous novel received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics,[197][199][200] and although her effort was commended she was largely viewed as an miscast.[199][201] Despite this, Reijn was nominated for best Dutch actress for the role at the 2012's Rembrandt Awards.[202]
Reijn began 2012 with a supporting role in the television film, De Overloper, that bridges the fifth and sixth season of the police dramaFlikken Maastricht.[203] In it she plays the temporary detective partner of Angela Schijf's character.[204] The premiere was watched by 1.6 million people,[203] making it as of 2015 the most watched Telefilm.[205] Subsequently, she starred in a adaptation of John Cassavetes' Husbands, in it she took on the role of every female character in the play with seven roles in total.[206] The project was created in partnership with the European Union under the Prospero initiative, that made its debut in Rennes and would being played across seven European cities in 2012.[207] It gained a mixed reception with Dutch critics.[206] Reijn's performance was noted as one of the high points.[206][208][209] For the Netherlands Film Festival, Reijn was one of a handful actors involved in a thriller short which was based on suggestions and feedback from Twitter users with only the basic premise prewritten.[210] Following a years long hiatus, she returned as Katharina for the last season of "The Taming of the Shrew",[211][212] Coinciding with it, Reijn was tasked with guiding eight girls with criminal backgrounds, who wanted to clean up their acts by auditioning for rock musical version of the aforementioned "The Taming of the Shrew" in a television special that was part of a television program called, TV Lab, that was broadcast on NPO 3.[213]
2020 saw the release of Red Light, a Belgian-Dutch TV series starring Reijn that follows three women who become entangled in matters of human trafficking after one of their husbands goes missing.[226] The series won the Dutch Golden Calf award for Best TV Show and Best Actress at the Dutch Film Festival,[227] and had its premiere at the Cannes Series festival where it won the Canneseries Student Prize and Special Interpretation Prize.[228] Reijn co-created the series alongside Carice van Houten, writing and producing the show through her and van Houten’s production company, Man Up.[229] Van Houten left Man Up in 2023 to start her own production company, Birdcat, leaving Reijn the sole principal of Man Up.[223]
Reijn's English-language directorial debut, Bodies Bodies Bodies, was released in 2022. It premiered at SXSW in March 2022[230] and had its US theatrical release in August, where it had the second-highest-grossing opening weekend of any limited-release film that year.[231] The film was also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in 2022.[232] Shortly after the release of Bodies Bodies Bodies, A24, the film's distributor, also acquired the rights for Reijn's debut feature Instinct.[233]
Reijn next wrote, produced, and directed the erotic thriller, Babygirl, with Nicole Kidman in the lead role; it follows Kidman as a CEO who starts an affair with a young intern, played by Harris Dickinson. The film, which marks her second direct collaboration with A24, began filming in December 2023.[234][235] The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, while it competed for the prestigious Golden Lion. It will be released by A24 in the United States on 20 December 2024.[236]
Other work
In 2005, she released her first novel, the semi-autobiographical "Prinsesje Nooitgenoeg" (Prometheus),[5][176] which she wrote during her first stay in Hollywood.[237][137] Her second book was a collection of columns, presented as a diary, which she wrote for Viva, called "Halina: doen alsof ik iemand anders ben".[238] She also wrote "Antiglamour" (co-written with Carice van Houten, Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 2013), and "Loos" (Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 2016).[239]
Since 2016, she has provided her voice for the audio tour of the Old Church located in Amsterdam.[240] Writing these film scripts and magazines led her to later to be named one of top 20 most influential people in the Dutch media.[citation needed]
Personal life
Reijn has a close friendship with fellow Dutch actress Carice van Houten, whom she has known since about 1994.[241] They worked together in movies Black Book and Valkyrie.[32]
In 2013, the two published a book together called Anti Glamour, a (mock) style guide and a celebration of their friendship,[242] as well as a candid look into the unglamourous back-stage side of their lives.[243] Although the two occasionally kiss on camera,[244] and have joked about being lesbians, there is no actual romantic involvement.[241]
When Reijn was around six or seven years old, she and one of her sisters wanted to join the Catholic Church, to the shock of their parents.[5][10] After they relented, the children would go to Sunday school,[5] and when Reijn was twelve she was baptised.[10] In a 2007 interview with the NRC, she remarks that she doesn't believe in God, but does in reincarnation.[245]
^Heukels, Robert (11 August 2011). "Halina Reijn - Interview"(PDF). Elegance (in Dutch). Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
^Meijer, Sietse (25 August 2006). "Halina is anders, altijd anders"(PDF). VPRO Gids (in Dutch). Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^Hendriks, Annemieke (November 2000). "De omweg – Review". Filmkrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 20 February 2001. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
^ abVerhaagen, Annelotte (19 May 2001). "De Omweg: entry". Filmjaarboek 2000. By Hans Beerekamp. International Theatre & Film books. p. 136. ISBN9789064036002.
^ abvan der Put, Bart (17 May 2003). "Villa des Roses". Filmjaarboek 2002. By Hans Beerekamp. International Theatre & Film books. pp. 202–203. ISBN9789064036316.
^ abGraveland, Mariska; de Jong, Fritz; Kempers, Paul (2006). De broertjes van Zusje: de nieuwe Nederlandse film 1995-2005 [The brothers of little sister: the new Dutch film 1995-2005]. International Theatre & Film books. pp. 179–180. ISBN9789064036859.
^ abvan Eck, Nathalie (23 October 2007). "Ajax - Review". Theaterjournaal (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ abvan Hoeij, Boyd (22 October 2007). "review: Nadine". European-films. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
^Kooijman, Racheda (31 July 2007). "Ik ben nog geen monnik"(PDF). Avant Garde (in Dutch). Archived(PDF) from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
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