Lotte Verbeek, the Netherlands' new coming lady takes her fame in stride

Actress Lotte Verbeek has already bagged numerous European prizes. The 27-year-old, who has been described as 'Garboesque', is the Netherlands’ great hope at the Berlin Film Festival in February.

Debutante actress Lotte Verbeek first swooped onto the European stage last year, playing not one, but five lead roles in Links, a movie by director Froukje Tan about a young man who is diagnosed with a rare medical condition rendering him unable to distinguish faces. To him, all young women suddenly look like Verbeek.

But this year truly marked her breakthrough. For her lead role in Nothing Personal, Verbeek was named Best Actress at the Locarno film festival. The movie, about a woman who has decided to turn her back on humanity until she meets an Irish hermit, won four prizes at the Dutch Film Festival in Utrecht this year. Director Urszula Antoniak and her cast even took home the top honour, Best Feature Film. Verbeek may soon add another notch to her belt. At the Berlin film festival in February, she will be competing with ten other young actresses for the title of European Film Talent of the Year.

Why did the directors of Links and Nothing Personal take such a big chance on the then relatively unknown Lotte Verbeek? For one, the pale-skinned, delicately built actress is a real eye-catcher. But that was not the director's main motivation, he said.

"In big productions, you are often under a lot of pressure to pick a big name. But since I was operating under the radar I got to pick whoever was best for the part," is how Froukje Tan explained her choice.

Antoniak's heart was stolen when she first saw a picture of Verbeek. "I saw a Garboesque quality, a mystery lurking behind the mask of her face. Very cool and powerful, and constantly changing, like a cloud in the sky," Antoniak said.

Another thing that makes Verbeek unique is her lack of Hollywood ambition. While many actresses dream of American stardom, Verbeek has her eye solidly on the European scene.

"Italian and French films if at all possible," she said. "In Europe there is so much diversity and attention to detail. I would rather play a couple of roles where I can make a difference than a lot of mediocre ones."

You were a dancer and played in musicals three years before going on to acting. Does your dance background still come in handy?

Verbeek: "Ballet is physical, acting is text-based. Dancers are action-oriented; they just copy exactly whatever moves the choreographer shows them. Acting is exactly the opposite. The more personal a performance is the better. Actors are supposed to think, to analyse their characters. I have really become an actor in that respect. I love talking on and on about a character."

In Links you played five different roles simultaneously. How did you do it?

"Make-up and costume help. Also body language varies. Here my dance background really made a difference."

As preparation for her part in Nothing Personal, director Antoniak showed Verbeek the movie Sans toit ni loi by Agnès Varda. The lead actress in this 1985 French film, Sandrine Bonnaire, lived on the streets for weeks, practising her part as a homeless person. While Antoniak did not go quite that far, she did ask Verbeek to prepare for her part as a loner in a manner reminiscent of Stanislavsky's method acting system. She had to spend three weeks without music, mirrors, or human company. Verbeek also wasn't allowed to see footage of her own performance during the shoot.

How did you like method acting?

"Urszula [Antoniak] sent me out into the woods for a few weeks. I was wandering around, surrounded by nothing but nature, to get a sense of what it is like to seclude yourself; a feel for what it's like to be silent all day and then suddenly be spoken to. Other days I tried staying at home all day without using the internet, TV or telephone."

Tried?

"I wasn't entirely successful. I just got too plain bored, so I allowed myself to check my text messages and email in the evenings. But it did help me grow into my role. I didn't wash my hair or look in the mirror for weeks either. That was hard for me, since I love my high heels and my make-up. I even put on my face before I start cooking. And all that underarm hair… I felt very unfeminine. But it can also be liberating to let yourself go like that."

You are currently playing a part in a Rai Uno miniseries. I assume the demands made of you there are quite different.

"In Rome I am surrounded by artists hailing from the Commedia dell’Arte tradition. They don't consider laughter laughter unless you are practically roaring. Crying means weeping inconsolably, and you aren't really surprised unless your eyebrows are raised all the way up to your hairline. The sets are magnificent: enormous 30s-style, art deco-type constructions. Quite unlike the Irish mud and rain we had for a backdrop in Nothing Personal."

When you were nominated for a prize at the Dutch Film Festival, people practically had to drag you onto the stage.

"I'm not really good at drawing attention to myself. In Utrecht I was named as one of twenty actresses that would determine the future of Dutch cinema. Quite an honour, but it made me feel self-conscious. I am not constantly trying to become famous, even though fame does get you nice parts."

A prize like the one you won in Locarno doesn't hurt your market value either I assume.

"The premiere for Nothing Personal in Locarno was overwhelming. Imagine, a huge theatre, beautiful weather outside, and still the place was sold out. Everybody was inside just to see our movie. What was wrong with these people? It was dead quiet. That felt great. But I don't want to get carried away just yet. It's not like offers are pouring in either. To be honest, I am not really on top of things at the moment. I am doing this Italian miniseries and just can't be bothered with anything else."