Willem Nijholt

Acting

Willem Nijholt

Born — Died

1934-07-19 — 2023-06-23

Place of birth

Gombong

Known for

Acting

Credits

42 titles

Willem Adrianus Nijholt (1934-2023) was a Dutch actor, dancer and singer who has been immensely successful in Dutch theatre, film and tv. In his later career he would frequently act as jury member, teacher and trainer of young talent.

Known for

Film credits

2000s · 6 titles

Peter Bell II: The Hunt for the Czar Crown poster
5.2

Peter Bell and his Black Hand gang tangle with evil newspaper tycoon Stark once again, as the latter schemes to steal a priceless royal crown with his two cronies.

Peter Bell II: The Hunt for the Czar Crown

2003

Peter Bell poster
5.6

Peter is a cheerful -- but not very obedient -- boy from a very ordinary family in pre-war Rotterdam. His many pranks amuse some and cause a lot of trouble to others, even making the front pages of the big city newspapers. His growing popularity brings him many new friends, but also some very powerful enemies.

Peter Bell

2002

Nederland leest Oeroeg poster
NR

Reading relay of the novel 'Oeroeg' by Hella Haasse by eighty well-known and lesser-known Dutch people. Each person reads a page aloud, after which the book is passed on to the next reader. Philip Freriks, news anchor and ambassador for Nederland Leest, opens the reading relay. Director Shireen Strooker concludes it. 'Oeroeg' is Hella Haasse's debut novel from 1948. Haasse tells the story of the friendship between an Indonesian boy and the son of a Dutch administrator at a tea plantation in the Dutch East Indies before the Second World War. Gradually, the two boys grow apart. When the narrator, the Dutch boy, returns to the Indies—which has not yet quite become Indonesia—after studying in Delft, their estrangement turns out to have grown into a chasm. The final sentence reads: "Am I forever a stranger in the land of my birth, on the soil from which I do not wish to be uprooted? Time will tell."

Nederland leest Oeroeg

2009

Muziek: Harry Bannink poster
NR

This documentary explores the life and life of Harry Bannink, an important Dutch composer for theatre and television.

Muziek: Harry Bannink

2000

Gruesome School Trip poster
5.5

The sensitive Onnoval is the best student in his class and he loves Liselore, who was the girlfriend of the bully Gino. His teacher Meester de Vriend believes he is a promising writer and poet. Gino picks on Onnoval all the time, but Onnoval does not fight against Gino because he believes he is a werewolf. When the successful writer of horror tales Nol van Paulo comes for a lecture in his class, he advises Onnonval to never write a story for the evil Ferluci. However, Onnoval is humiliated by Gino and very upset and jealous he writes a story about a class excursion in a horror bus to a horror park, where Gino is killed by a vampire, and gives his story to Ferluci. Later he regrets, but Nol van Paulo tells him that the only way to fix the situation would be stealing his note book and rewriting the conclusion.

Gruesome School Trip

2005

Friendship poster
6.4

Two friends meet again in the autumn of their lives. They have not seen each other for years, but soon find their renewed friendship put to the test when one of them falls ill and the other loses his newfound love.

Friendship

2001

1990s · 7 titles

The Betrayed poster
4.4

It seems that misdeeds by inhabitants of the Dutch provinces make for believable stories, whether they are mysteries by Willem van de Wettering, or psychological thrillers by Simon Vestdijk, who wrote the book this film is based on. In the story, set in the 1950s, Hendrik Grond (Gijs Scholten van Aschat) has a good law practice, and a happy marriage which has produced a son. He is so contented that his world is completely shattered when, undetected, he catches his wife in bed with his law firm's senior partner. In fact, he has become quietly unhinged, and he arranges a series of "accidents" to ensure his revenge - becoming involved in the local underworld in the process. Will he succeed in committing a series of "perfect" crimes, or will the police inspector (Johan Simons) investigating these incidents get wise?

The Betrayed

1992

Respect poster
4.3

Young journalist has an interview with a succesfull gay playwright who likes to write frankly about sex. At first the interviewee responds cynical and distant, but after a while the tone of the conversation changes. This is because the playwright notices the journalist more than admires him.

Respect

1994

De nietsnut poster
9.0

For all his life Frank Goudvis has tried not to follow in the footsteps of his father. When his father is mysteriously murdered, Frank loses his alibi for his cherished passivity and decides to travel to the crime scene.

De nietsnut

1994

Under the Palms poster
8.0

This film was shot entirely in Rotterdam and shows the German couple David (Helmut Berger) and Tanya (Sheri Hagen) who are kept by Ludwig (Udo Kier), David's half-brother. Ludwig has some dubious business to do and so he is staying in the port for a while. David and Tanya have followed him and are staying in a hotel. They pass the time committing robberies. When David finds a photo of an attractive young man among the booty of a robbery, his life is turned upside down. He will have to close the door on a suffocating past.

Under the Palms

1999

Last Call poster
5.0

Old entertainer gets a last chance to play a serious role.

Last Call

1995

Wie aus Weiter Ferne poster
9.0

At the invitation of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Dutch conductor Jules Coulée returns to the Netherlands to conduct a one-off performance of Third Symphony by Gustav Mahler. Coulée is unpleasantly surprised when he sees that the Concertgebouw is under construction and that the renovations continue during rehearsals. In addition, the acoustics of the hall are terribly bad and the balcony too close, so that the post horn solo in the third movement cannot possibly come from afar, as the score prescribes. For Coulée, the entire implementation stands or falls with this detail.

Wie aus Weiter Ferne

1994

No artwork available
7.0

October 1997. Paul Winters (35) is deputy public prosecutor in Arnhem and is working on his first major case: an investigation in to the allegations of a Bosnian girl that she was raped by three soldiers in the Dutch UN contingent and whose brother is alleged to have been killed by them. Winters suspects that the girl is telling the truth, but he can't prove it and the case is adjourned. Then one of the men gives a revealing statement that throws a different light on the case. Winters argues in favour of reopening the case, but faces opposition from an unexpected quarter.

Mates

1999

1980s · 6 titles

Havinck poster
7.0

When his wife Lydia commits suicide, succesful attorney Robert Havinck is freed from his unhappy marriage. Unfortunately, it turns out she took a complete stranger along with her, and a feeling of guilt and curiosity about her motives lead Havinck to team up with his fifteen-year old daughter to explore Lydia's final days.

Havinck

1987

Ciske the Rat poster
6.6

Lovable Amsterdam street urchin, 11 year old Ciske is nevertheless much in need of love as the Dutch 1984 title suggests. He is a scamp with a heart of gold. He causes havoc in the classroom pouring ink over his teacher yet when a polio-crippled boy joins the class Ciske is one of the only children to befriend him and is bullied as a result. His mother works in a bar and Ciske helps out often late into the night - his father is at sea and his mother supplements her income with prostitution. Ciske is also a very angry young man and he smoulders with rage at life's injustices.

Ciske the Rat

1984

Kinderen voor Kinderen 1 poster
NR

Registration of the first Kinderen voor Kinderen-concertshow. In this annual event, the Dutch children's choir 'Kinderen Voor Kinderen' performs 12 songs based on ideas sent in by children. The songs make up an album from which the proceeds go to a good cause, namely collecting toys for children in Third World Countries.

Kinderen voor Kinderen 1

1981

Kinderen voor Kinderen 2 poster
NR

Registration of the second Kinderen voor Kinderen-concertshow. In this annual event, the Dutch children's choir 'Kinderen Voor Kinderen' performs 12 songs based on ideas sent in by children. The songs make up an album from which the proceeds go to a good cause, namely collecting toys for children in Third World Countries.

Kinderen voor Kinderen 2

1981

Hans, Life Before Death poster
6.8

Filmmaker Louis van Gasteren reconstructs the life of Amsterdam poet, composer and actor Hans van Sweeden, who took his own life at the age of twenty-four in 1963. Through interviews with friends, relatives and contemporaries, alongside archival material, the film becomes both an intimate portrait of Van Sweeden and a broader account of a young generation searching for freedom, identity and new ways of living in Amsterdam during the 1950s and 1960s.

Hans, Life Before Death

1983

Alaska poster
7.0

A slaughterhouse worker appears to be romantically involved with his boss's wife. They plan to leave the country together, but at the airport she waits for him in vain. Slowly but surely the three of them get entangled in a fateful web of betrayal, jealousy and revenge.

Alaska

1989

1970s · 5 titles

Series credits

De Wereld Draait Door poster
5.1

Talk show hosted by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk containing a mixture of news, information, television bloopers and general entertainment.

De Wereld Draait Door

2005

Pauw & Witteman poster
5.0

Pauw & Witteman is a Dutch late-night talk show, hosted by Jeroen Pauw en Paul Witteman. It is generally focused on current affairs and politics. It is broadcast every weekday at 11 pm on Nederland 1. It is produced by Dutch public broadcasters NPS and VARA. During summer Pauw & Witteman are replaced by Knevel & Van de Brink, a talk show hosted by Andries Knevel and Thijs van den Brink, produced by the dutch evangelical broadcasting company, the EO.

Pauw & Witteman

2006

Penoza poster
7.8

Carmen, the daughter of a notorious Amsterdam drug lord, reluctantly takes charge of the family's smuggling business in order to clear her husband's debts.

Penoza

2010

De TV Show poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

De TV Show

1981

Knevel & Van den Brink poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Knevel & Van den Brink

2007

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Wedden, dat..?

1986

Willem van Oranje poster
4.6

Willem van Oranje tells the remarkable life story of our Father of the Fatherland. Although loyal to the Spanish crown, Willem van Oranje-Nassau has moral objections when he hears Philip II's plans. Bloody inquisitions are being planned against the Protestants in Europe, which will not spare the Dutch people either. Although Catholic, William was absolutely opposed to any form of infringement on religious freedom. Friendship and love, but also intrigue and betrayal, were all part of the fascinating life of the founder of the current Dutch Royal House.

Willem van Oranje

1984

No artwork available
NR

Op zoek naar Evita was a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the AVRO in the Netherlands. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Eva Peron in the 2008 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita. The show was hosted by Frits Sissing who announced Brigitte Heitzer as the winner of the final public telephone vote on 21 October 2007 and masterminded by Willem Nijholt. It became the first of a series of the Dutch themed talent contests to be produced by the AVRO in collaboration with Willem Nijholt. Op zoek naar Joseph followed in 2008 to find a new male lead for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and in 2009 it will be followed by Op zoek naar Mary Poppins searching for a new lead to play Mary Poppins in a production of the musical Mary Poppins.

Op zoek naar Evita

2007

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Weltevreden op 10: Percy's Place!

2003

Bij Nader Inzien poster
9.5

Six friends from college in post-war Europe form a bond. Thirty years on, one of them writes a book on it, calling it the tombstone to their friendship, exposing their bond, analyzing, then totally destroying the false imprints of their alleged connections. A final get-together brings it all out into the open. Based on J.J. Voskuil's novel "Bij Nader Inzien".

Bij Nader Inzien

1991

Ciske de Rat poster
6.2

No synopsis available yet.

Ciske de Rat

2001

The Hidden Force poster
7.0

In the sweltering Dutch East Indies, the European colonizers are plagued by a hidden force; a combination of tropical magic, Eastern inscrutability and mutual incomprehension. Blind and deaf to the slumbering powers of the East Indian people, resident Van Oudyck, his son, daughter and seductive wife slowly but surely fall prey to this mysterious force...

The Hidden Force

1974

De Kris Pusaka poster
8.5

Ben van Rooyen buys a kris at an antique auction in Amsterdam. He suspects it is a genuine Matamaram Kris, a sacred kris with secret powers. This is confirmed by Professor Smit of the Tropical Institute. Because such a kris is of great value to the family to whom it belongs, Ben, together with his younger brother Mark, wants to go to Indonesia to find the owner. But Ben is not the only one interested in the kris.

De Kris Pusaka

1977

Ciske de Rat poster
7.0

Separated from his father and neglected by his mother, Ciske spends most of his time getting into scrapes on the streets of Amsterdam.

Ciske de Rat

1986

Pleisterkade 17 poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Pleisterkade 17

1975

No artwork available
NR

Op zoek naar Mary Poppins was a 2009 talent show-themed television series produced by the AVRO in the Netherlands and broadcast on AVRO. It premiered in late August 2009. The show searched for a new, unknown lead to play Mary Poppins in a Dutch production of the Dutch musical Mary Poppins. The show was hosted by Frits Sissing with Willem Nijholt again overseeing the programme. In the final, on 24 January, Noortje Herlaar was announced as the winner of the series.

Op zoek naar Mary Poppins

2009

No artwork available
NR

In this annual event, the children's choir 'Kinderen Voor Kinderen' performs 12 songs based on ideas sent in by children. The songs make up an album from which the proceeds go to a good cause, namely collecting toys for children in Third World Countries

Kinderen Voor Kinderen

1980

No artwork available
NR

Op zoek naar Joseph was a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the AVRO in the Netherlands. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a 2009 Dutch revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The show was hosted by Frits Sissing, who announced Freek Bartels as the winner of the final public telephone vote on 26 October 2008. It was the second Dutch talent show to be produced by the AVRO/Willem Nijholt, after Op zoek naar Evita. A third talent show, this time called Op zoek naar Mary Poppins has since aired in full and Op zoek naar Zorro will air in late 2010. A similar format has been used as well in the United Kingdom in 2007, with the show Any Dream Will Do taking an unknown singer and placing the winner in the lead role for the 2007 performances in the West End. On June 9, 2007, Lee Mead was announced the winner of this show. It is speculated that a Canadian Edition will be produced in the wake of Mirvish Production's Production of the same musical.

Op zoek naar Joseph

2008