Merlijn Kamerling received a concrete offer from Good Times Bad Times to come and audition, but the son of the late Antonie Kamerling consciously declined.
Antonie Kamerling, together with Reinout Oerlemans, among others, belonged to the first generation of soap actors in the Netherlands. He became famous in the early 1990s for his role in Good Times Bad Times. He chose to take his own life in 2010. Now, more than ten years later, his son Merlijn Kamerling has also been approached by the soap makers.
No to GTST
Merlin isn’t very excited about it. “Yes, I’ve been asked to audition, but I’ve decided not to. Mainly because I don’t feel the need to act at the moment,” he says in the Weekend.
Yet Merlin doesn’t rule it out. “I used to say, ‘Never in my life.’ Now I realize that with that I wanted to rebel against everything my parents ever did. I’m a bit more open to it now, but taking acting lessons doesn’t appeal to me at the moment.”
Dutch celebrity status
Why not? “I’m busy with other things. Besides, I don’t mind being in the picture if it is of some use to me, but with a role in GTST, for example, you really become such a celebrity. I don’t get harassed on the street every day and I feel like I am if you’re known. “
What kind of career would Merlin like to have? “I like to build something and make money. I find it very interesting to do business and everything that has to do with it. I can’t do one thing very well, I’ve never been able to work for one boss.”
Structure
That would be difficult at GTST, where Merlin would come to work for one boss who also expects you to appear early on the set every day.
Merlijn: “I get bored of things quickly, I find things boring very quickly. I’m not very good at structure, haha! Being able to fill in my days myself and be busy whenever I want, that suits me much better.”
Merlin with his mother Isa Hoes: