Jan Decleir

Who is Jan Decleir?

Jan Decleir is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp.

He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers' "Mira" and has since then appeared in countless Flemish and Dutch films and tv productions. He starred in Academy Award winning movies as Karakter and Antonia and the Oscar-nominated social drama Daens. More recently he turned down roles in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.

In 2003 he had the starring role in the critically acclaimed thriller The Memory of a Killer of which the leading American critic Roger Ebert wrote in his review: "Jan Decleir never goes for the easy effect, never pushes too hard, is a rock-solid occupant of his character. Everything he has to say is embodied, not expressed. Talks are under way for a Hollywood remake, but this performance will not be easily equaled. Gene Hackman, maybe. Morgan Freeman. Robert Mitchum, if he were alive. Decleir is the real thing."

For his role in The Barons, he received the Magritte Award for Best Supporting Actor.