Famke Janssen
Famke Janssen
Famke Beumer Janssen]; born c. 1964) is a Dutch actress, director, screenwriter and former fashion model. She played Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye, Jean Grey/Phoenix in the X-Men film series, Ava Moore on Nip/Tuck and Lenore Mills in Takenand its sequels, Taken 2and Taken 3. In 2008, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Integrity by the United Nations. She made her directorial debut with Bringing Up Bobby in 2011. Janssen is scheduled to star in an upcoming NBC crime thriller, The...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth5 November 1964
CityAmstelveen, Netherlands
In studio films, everything has to be boxed in, everybody needs to know beforehand - this is comedy, this is sci-fi, this is drama - and what's the point of independent film if you don't get to experiment?
I know Dark Phoenix is a huge part of the X-Men saga, so I'm assuming they're at least going to want to touch on it, but I don't know and I don't know whether I would want to be involved. That depends on many different things.
I like to go from mainstream movies to more artsy films. I don't sign on for the money. Maybe I should, but I don't. There's always a good reason for doing something.
I personally like to do independent films.
I love scary movies. The Shining and Don't Look Now are two of the best.
I try not to have high expectations of people because it just sets you up for disappointment, but it's great to work with actors who are that talented and accomplished.
It's never been important to be a huge star or to have some breakout role. If you're the lead, you get a lot more screen time and you get a lot more chances to develop that character more thoroughly than you would if you do it in a little supporting part.
Jean Grey, the Phoenix … she finds a way to reincarnate herself constantly, so one never knows.
There's certain things I try to avoid, as an actress, just to keep my world from being as narrow as it could be.
I'm trying to fight typecasting as hard as I can, while I have time.
I'm 5' 11" as I proudly say - just so I don't have to say six feet.
The biggest challenge is how you get money for independent films, in these ever-changing times when most people don't really want to invest in that anymore.
Film has played such a big part in my life, in my impressions of the United States.
Triple tonguing? It was sort of invented. It wasn't in the script. It was something that I came up with.