“The dolls start dancing”: Ron Cornet shows up in ‘Thuis’ as Dirk, Simonne’s charming crush | showbiz

A few weeks ago, Simonne (Marleen Merckx) enjoyed a relaxing holiday on a cruise without Frank (Pol Goossen) but with Tania (Katrien De Becker). There she met a certain Dirk, who gave her a coup de foudre. She met him for the first time on Thursday. Dirk is played by Ron Cornet (63), best known for his roles as the mayor from ‘Wittekerke’ and colonel Vandesype from ‘FC De Kampioenen’.

“Why was I asked for this role? Perhaps because of my charming appearance,” laughs the actor. “After all, I only got one real direction from the director on the set: ‘Be charming’. The viewer must especially find Dirk sympathetic. For an actor, fine characters are usually not that interesting, because often also boring. There’s very little meat in it. Still, I’m happy with this offer, because Dirk becomes the crush of Simonne, the primal character of the series. My arrival makes the dolls dance. And so it suddenly becomes a roll with a lot of meat on it. (laughs) Will Dirk also be the spoilsport in Frank and Simonne’s marriage? I hope so, because that’s the only way it gets exciting. And I suspect that the ‘Home’ viewer feels the same way. Although it is of course not Dirk’s intention to create a storm. He just wants to be sympathetic.”

And so Simonne experiences a coup de foudre in the late summer of her life. “When people over sixty fall in love again, it always has something double,” Ron continues. “On the one hand, it is a beautiful victory for love, because the message is then: great feelings really don’t have an age. There is even something touching that it can still happen to you at a later age. But falling in love again in the late summer of your life usually also has a downside. Those feelings can cause more problems. Much more than, for example, in teenagers or in their twenties. At a later age, both partners always have a filled backpack, which they have to take into account. In that case, other partners, children and the like are usually involved. They must therefore be taken into account. That makes it all more complicated.”

Ron is very happy with Marleen Merckx as his regular opponent. “She was an extra reason for me to commit to this role,” he emphasizes. “Marleen and I have been following each other since our student days, because we are peers. In addition, I know her quite well in private, because my wife (ed.: actress Anne-Mieke Ruyten) is currently touring Flanders with her with ‘Between sisters’, a performance by Paljas Productions. This is the first time we are together in front of a camera. Marleen is a generous woman and actress. A gift to work with. As an actor you always have to expose yourself a bit and there has to be confidence, but thanks to Marleen it was there from the first moment. Not that I’m so insecure otherwise, but if it’s right, you’ll see that in the acting too. If, like me, you are almost at the end of your career, you mainly hope to be able to pick up some raisins in your currant bread. Being able to play Dirk in ‘Home’ is such a delicious raisin.”

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