In retrospect, Jan Kooijman is very unhappy that he was reduced to a body in a towel at the beginning of his career. He really doesn’t like that. “You created a monster.“
Nowadays he is no longer so important, but when he was still in Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden he was very famous: Jan Kooijman. He is now 43 years old and a bit more mature, but at that time he was still a real soap hunk. And he initially enjoyed it immensely, but soon the pleasure was gone and he mainly experienced disadvantages.
Body in towel
Jan found it difficult that at a certain point it was only about his appearance, he says in the LINDA. “To be honest, I was the one who initiated that. When we at the Scapino Ballet received applause after a performance, I noticed that young girls screamed extra loudly when I bowed.”
He continues: “At one point I said to my girlfriend Henna: maybe I should do something with that. And yes, then GTST came and I became a body in a towel, walking down the stairs and then frowning into the camera.”
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At first it was fun, but then it really wasn’t anymore, says Jan. “As a child, becoming famous seemed like something to me, but when it actually happened, I thought it was really funny for three weeks and then I thought: oh god, you created a monster.”
He was one of the most popular men in the country, the former soap opera remembers. “Certainly when So You Think You Can Dance was added, which became a mega hit in both the Netherlands and Belgium, it was all over the place. I was chased on the highway and sometimes there were fans in the window at home.”
New hunks
It all had a terrible impact on Jan’s life. “I haven’t left home for almost two years. Until I had a child and thought: I can’t stay indoors forever, can I?
“That was a long time ago, fortunately new hunks have emerged.”