After studying at the Academy of Theatre and Dance at the Amsterdam University of the Arts, Carice van Houten made her professional acting debut. She played the role of Emily in the film ‘3 Ronden’ in 1997 and appeared in a minor role in ‘Ivory Guardians’ the following year. She bagged her first leading role in 1999 and portrayed Suzy in Martin Koolhoven's TV film ‘Suzy Q.’ This role won her a Golden Calf Award.
In 2001, Carice van Houten played a kitten that becomes a woman in the Dutch children’s film ‘Undercover Kitty.’ Her performance was much appreciated and she received another Golden Calf Award for this role. The same year, she also starred in Koolhoven's ‘AmnesiA’ which received a small theatrical release in the United States. She appeared as Monika in the Dutch drama film ‘Father's Affair’ in 2003. In 2005, she acted in the drama film ‘Black Swans’ as Marleen. She then played Miss Broer in the children’s film ‘Lepel’ in the same year.
She portrayed Rachel Stein in the drama film ‘Black Book’ in 2006. Her performance was appreciated by critics and she was awarded another Golden Calf Award.
Carice van Houten appeared in the non-commercial short movie ‘Zingen in het donker’ in 2008. It was a drama shedding light on domestic violence. The same year, she also appeared in the psychological thriller ‘Dorothy Mills’ as Jane van Dopp and the political war thriller ‘Valkyrie’ as Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg. The following year, she acted in two drama films, ‘Stricken’ and ‘From Time to Time’ portraying Carmen and Maria Oldknow, respectively.
The year 2010 was a good one for the actress. She starred in the science fiction action film ‘Repo Men’ as Carol and the family drama film ‘The Happy Housewife’ as Lea. She also appeared in the action horror film ‘Black Death’ playing the character of Langiva.
She was chosen to play the priestess Melisandre in the second season of HBO's fantasy TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ in July 2011. She went on to have a remarkably successful stint with the show and received three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014, 2016, and 2017.
In the early 2010s, Carice van Houten also appeared in many films, including ‘Intruders’ (2011), ‘Black Butterflies’ (2011), ‘Jackie’ (2012), and ‘Family Way’ (2012). She portrayed Icelandic activist and politician Birgitta Jónsdóttir in the biographical thriller film ‘The Fifth Estate’ in 2013.
In 2016, Carice van Houten appeared in three films ‘Race,’ ‘Incarnate,’ and ‘Brimstone.’ Her latest movies include ‘Domino’ (2019), ‘Instinct’ (2019), and ‘Lost Girls & Love Hotels’ (2020).
During the time of the Second World War, a girl named Rachel joins the Dutch resistance after Netherlands is occupied by German forces. Eventually, she tries to flee to Southern Netherlands, along with a local man named Rob.
Looking at an inevitable defeat in WWII, a group of senior German officers recruit Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg to hatch a plan to end Adolf Hitler's rule so that Germany could honorably surrender. He proposes executing Operation Valkyrie, a state of national emergency, but the plan goes awry after Hitler survives the explosion at the Wolf's Lair.
Jesse Owens becomes a track and field sensation during his university days, and gains national recognition after he breaks several records. Now he must prove himself at the 1936 Olympics in Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, and show the world that he is the fastest man alive.
Liz must save herself and her family from the Reverend, who wants to punish her, after she is wrongly accused of a crime.
Black Death is a mystery horror action film, which takes us to the time of the first outbreak of the bubonic plague in England. After the plague kills hundreds of people, there is a report that some people are being brought back to life. A young monk is given the task to investigate the matter.
Based on the novel The Repossession Mambo by Eric Garcia, the film Repo Men is set in a future era where scientists have perfected bio-mechanical organs. However, these organs are expensive and the customers who are unable or unwilling to pay for them are killed off by a group of “Repo Men".
The film documents the quest of Julian Assange and his associate Daniel Domscheit-Berg to expose the deceptions and corruptions amidst power-lobbies. With meager resources they create WikiLeak, an anonymous platform for the whistle-blowers to uncover dark secrets hidden in classified government information and corporate data. Then they receive most confidential intelligence documents of some of the powerful governments, raising number of ethical questions.
Intruders is a supernatural horror film which tells the story of two children, a boy living in Madrid, and a girl living in London, who are visited by a faceless ghost known as Hollowface, who seems to want to take possession of them.
A single mother feels that her 11-year old son might be possessed by a demon. Eventually, a wheelchair- bound scientist named Dr Seth Ambers is called to investigate. He tries to enter the boy’s mind, where he confronts a demon with powers he has never seen before.
