As a young Dutch actress with numerous internationally acclaimed films under her belt and whose work has been twice Oscar nominated, Thekla Reuten is an undeniable front-runner in the new wave of European actresses lauded on the international stage and screen.
Thekla first came to wide international attention with her captivating role of Lotte in the Oscar nominated film Twin Sisters / De Tweeling, which went on to be a hit with critics and film lovers worldwide.
Her reputation as one of Europe’s hottest properties is being further established by a string of starring roles alongside the coolest young male leads, including Gael Garcia Bernal and Daniel Bruhl.
Thekla recently wrapped two major English-language roles set for release in 2006. Early this year she spent two months in the chill of St Petersburg where she filmed In Transit alongside rising German star Daniel Bruhl, the legendary John Malkovich and Hollywood regular Thomas Kretschmann. In the cinematic debut from British director Tom Roberts she plays Russian woman Elena who is caught up in the return of female prisoners and refugees at the end of the Second World War.
Immediately prior to that, she was in Lithuania to film the female lead opposite British actor Adrian Paul in Highlander: The Source, directed by Brett Leonard (Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity). This new adventure in the tales of the immortal Scottish swordsman concerns the Immortals’ quest to locate their Grail, the Source of Immortality. Twenty years on, the Highlander series is regarded as one of the most successful independent film and television franchises. It returns here in an action packed story of love, kinship… and the quest.
Late in 2005, acclaimed Dutch director Alex van Warmerdam signed Thekla to appear in his anticipated movie Ober (Waiter). This is the latest film project from Holland’s celebrated movie-making Van Warmerdam brothers: Director and screen-writer Alex (Grimm, The Northerners), producer Marc and composer Vincent. Thekla plays the part of Suzie in the comedy about a 50-year-old waiter called Edgar, who works in a restaurant that has seen better times. Edgar becomes tired of his existence and realises that there must be more from life. He wants a girlfriend, he wants new neighbours; he wants to be happy.
Festival audiences worldwide have also been watching Thekla further stretching her boundaries in front of the cameras in British helmer Mike Figgis’ experimental documentary about the process of acting, CO/MA.
Last summer critics praised Thekla’s starring turn opposite Mexican headliner Gael Garcia Bernal in the sell-out run of Lorca’s Blood Wedding on the London stage. Reviews uniformly declared Thekla’s dramatic lead performance as Gael’s forbidden love interest in the Rufus Norris production as a triumph.
This acclaim further cemented Thekla’s growing credibility with international audiences, building on her various European film awards and the title of 2004 Dutch Shooting Star bestowed on her by the Berlin International Film Festival.
In the summer, Thekla was brought to a wider audience in the US/UK with the DVD release of her Oscar-nominated movie Twin Sisters (De Tweeling) (2003), a provocative and critically revered big screen adaptation of the best selling novel from Holland’s Tessa De Loo. Cast as Lotte, one of the eponymous sisters, Thekla was applauded for her emotional and heartfelt portrayal of a young woman torn from her twin both physically and emotionally by the wounds of war in Europe and the horrors of the Nazis.
Twin Sisters was the second time Thekla’s output had been spotlit by the Academy. Previously Everybody’s Famous (2000) had received a nomination for Best Foreign Film.
Speaking five European languages (Dutch, English, Italian, German and French) and with an Italian mother made her a natural choice for the Italian film Una Bellezza Che Non Lascia Scampo (2000), building on the success of Everybody’s Famous to become a hit across Europe. By the time of shooting, her previous film Little Crumb (1999) had brought home more than ten international festival awards.
Graduating from Amsterdam’s Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1997, Thekla quickly came to the recognition of stage and screen directors to garner roles in significant productions, debuting with leading Dutch TV series Wij Alexander.
Thekla Reuten is now firmly established as one of Europe’s leading actresses. An actress whose work is without borders.
