Michiel Huisman: ‘I like to play heavy roles, but then I want something completely different’

Actor Michiel Huisman likes to keep things exciting: first play a cult leader, then participate with full enthusiasm in a sugary Christmas film. His tips for you are equally eclectic.

Floortje SmitJanuary 13, 2022, 4:00 pm

First a confession. The fact that Ajax missed the Champions League final in 2019 is the fault of Michiel Huisman. The debacle started, the actor tells via Zoom from his home in New York, in a pub in Prague. Together with the British boy who plays his son in the film A Boy Called Christmas, Henry Lawfull, he watched the Tottenham Hotspur-Ajax match there during the shooting period.

‘I had an incredibly nice relationship with him. We played a lot of table tennis in between scenes, as a ‘sports class’ – he wasn’t very keen on his schoolwork. As it happens, he is a huge Spurs fan, I am a fanatical Ajax supporter. It seemed like a good idea to watch that match together.

‘But I become a monster when football is on. A monster. I can’t contain myself: I scream, I scream, I scold the referee. And this was an important match, eh, Champions League semi-final. So I’m going for it. Those Czechs didn’t know what hit them.’

Match finished, Ajax won 1-0. Huisman looks aside in delight. There stands a crestfallen boy of 12 in the smithereens of his shattered dreams.

“I saw that Henry was really devastated. And I felt so guilty. So through my brother (former professional football player Dustin Huisman, red.) managed to arrange a Spurs shirt, signed by the entire team, as a parting gift after the run. Henry overjoyed of course. Yes, and then came the return match a week later… I think that shirt gave Henry again the belief that Tottenham could qualify. And then something like that happens – Ajax lost, legendary, by a goal in the last minute. My dream of my team being in the Champions League final was shattered because Henry went to watch that game in that Spurs jersey I gave him.”

Good story, and relevant too. Because it is an important message from the last film in which he appeared, Huisman says: if you believe in something, then it is possible. The Netflix Production A Boy Called Christmas is about an elf village that is only visible if you believe it is there. A Christmas movie? Because it was still missing from Huisman’s international filmography?

‘I thought: this has the potential to become a real Christmas classic. I loved the script, with the British humor and the references to today’s society.’ But there was another reason. “The timing was really funny. I just finished The Other Lamb, a rather gruesome art-house film in which I play a cult leader who kills his own children. A friendly Christmas movie like this is the exact opposite – I like to choose my projects that way. I like to play heavy roles, but once you’ve lost yourself in that for two months, I want something completely different afterwards.’

That is perhaps why Huisman’s CV looks so eclectic. After Dutch films like Costa! and Full moon he left for America in 2019, for the series Treme and stayed there. Since then, he has developed into one of the internationally best-known Dutch actors, thanks to series and films such as The Haunting of Hill House and The Guernsey Literary Society. But especially by Game of Thrones of course, the fantasy series in which he played Daario Naharis. “It’s amazing how many new doors that has opened. But I’ve only done that for three seasons, haven’t I? Personally, I really like that, if series don’t go on indefinitely. After a few seasons of a show, you get it as an actor. Then you have to move on.’

After a period in which the United States was in lockdown, Huisman is now back on the set for the Apple series Echo 3. In it, a woman goes missing in the Colombian jungle and her brother and husband, both ex-servicemen, go looking for her. ‘Because I think it’s so very American, I really wanted to play an American soldier one day. in such a Band of Brothers-like production, which I like to watch myself. But I already know: I’d rather no more uniforms after this. Don’t shoot for the next film.’

Movie: Ladri di biciclette (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)

My favorite movie is Ladri di biciclette. I like films and series with a complex narrative structure, but it can also be simple. This film shows that like no other. A father with little money goes with his son in search of his stolen bicycle, because it is indispensable for his work. Come to think of it, there’s also an overlap with A Boy Called Christmas. In both films, a father makes a bad choice because he wants the best for his child. Because when that father in Ladri di biciclette really, really distraught, he decides to steal one himself, in front of his son. If things go wrong, it results in a heartbreaking scene.’

Book: The Overstory (Richard Powers)

‘The most impressive book I’ve read during the pandemic. I started to look at the trees around me completely differently. What exactly is the book about? So, uh, trees. These form the common thread: they connect nine stories that span different generations. This underlines the continuity, the enormous power and the beauty of nature.

I’ve always kind of taken trees for granted, I realized through this book. Never did I think about the complex functions they have, and how they are interconnected. Through The Overstory I realized that I couldn’t really name a tree in our garden in the Netherlands. Yes, I recognized the magnolia and the chestnut tree, but nothing else. So then during the lockdown I took a large piece of paper, made a map and then identified each tree on it. I had an app for that: PlantNet. I also recommend the app: you can use it to take a picture of a leaf, and then it will tell you which tree it is. It was a wonderful pandemic project.’

Documentary: Paper and Glue

‘A documentary by and about the French socially engaged artist and photographer JR, who hangs his huge black and white photos all over the world. I recently watched the movie with Tara (Elders, his wife, red.) seen here in New York in the cinema – afterwards he walked into the room as a surprise. That was really cool.

What I find so cool about his work is that he establishes a connection with the place where he exhibits his work. Because he reasons: if I want to put my work on houses in a favela, I can ask the government, but if I don’t have permission from the residents of those houses, it won’t happen. Through those conversations, his work literally brings communities together.’

Plate: Moses Allison Sings

‘A fantastic record for these dark days, as a kind of blanket, that is Moses Allison Sings. I love Allison’s voice. He doesn’t work too hard for it, everything about him is relaxed. I like to listen to that kind of music. Another record on repeat here is Chet Baker Sings. It’s music like a warm bath.’

Music: Gypsy jazz

‘I used to have musical ambitions, but I’ve let them go now. What I do miss is playing. Recently I’ve been messing around with my guitar a lot. I try gypsy jazz to master. In New Orleans, where we lived for a number of years, there is a huge scene where this type of music overlaps with Dixieland. I’ve always watched those guitarists with great admiration – how they play tjak-tjak-tjak guitar, almost as if they were replacing the drum. It’s so rhythmic, so fast, so raw and in your face.

I’ve been practicing with a metronome every day for a month now and I think I’m going about half as fast as I should be. But there is no other way. That’s how you have to learn it: build up slowly.’

Store: Hardware stores

‘hardware stores are my favorite stores. I’m very clumsy, but I love tools. Recently the toilet was a bit loose – well, then I need a new socket set. Then I go to my local tool shop, where I discuss at length with the gruff old owner whether I should buy the cheaper set or the DeWalt. Yes, I will definitely go for the DeWalt of course. Of course I managed to tighten the toilet seat myself, just like with that gypsy jazz I will continue until I have it, but I do need the best tools for that.’

Thing: Massage gun

“I hate carrying a lot of things with me when I travel. One suitcase is enough. Nowadays, what always has to be in there is such a massage device. That thing that vibrates, you know? I have two. A little one: a theragun. I can recommend it anyway. And I have a bigger one: a hypervolt.

My current role requires a lot of training to stay fit and I started running during the pandemic. So I have chronic pain in my calves. One of those massage things has a kind of two-toothed claw. Then I push it into that muscle. The pain will drive you crazy at first, but after half an hour it starts to loosen up a bit. A miracle cure.’

Food: Korean BBQ

Fixed price: When we’ve traveled, we order from a Korean barbecue restaurant the night we get back to New York. I love kimchis, fermented vegetables. Actually, it’s even better if you go there yourself: then you barbecue yourself at the table, in company. It is a tasty, healthy and cozy way of dining.

I am now home for a week for the first time since May, with my wife and daughter. But when I work, we try to see each other every four, six weeks at most. It used to be easier: Hazel is now 14 and goes to a high school here. She can’t do that so easily anymore.’