It's hard work to think away all those 200 people or 40 people, whatever the crew is, that are around behind the camera. To also think about, 'Whatever I'm doing now is going to be seen by a million people,' it doesn't really help my performance.
— Michiel Huisman
I think the hardest accent for me to do is what I end up trying a lot of times, and it's like some sort of a general American sound. So not Southern and not east-coast or west-coast, but just a general American sound that no one really speaks, actually.
It's really fun to think about what it would be like to see Walter Davidson step onto a modern-day motorcycle. He'd probably go insane! But motorcycles were such a part of him.
I hoped that I could learn how to combine an education with acting. But I was unhappy with the direction I chose, so I decided to take on a six-month tour for a musical theater performance, thinking that I'd go back to university in a year. That became two years, then three years, until I really realized I am already doing what I love doing.
All I know is that I'm a warrior in 'Game of Thrones,' where all men must die, so it might happen at one point. But I feel like they're going to take the story where they think they need to go, so I'll wait, and I'll gladly do whatever they write.
You never just do a scene once; you do it an insane amount of times.
I enjoy watching movies that are high concept or science fiction or have supernatural elements, like '2:22' has.
I'm becoming more and more of a backwoodsman. I always used to be more of a city guy, and more and more, I'm starting to enjoy being in nature. Just to sit and slow down a little bit.
The great actors, like Cary Grant, and the gentlemanliness that they portray in the movies is something that I try to keep in mind.
Rutger Hauer is a very famous Dutch actor who did quite a lot internationally. Another Dutch actress who is working a lot is called Famke Janssen. There's a few more.
I guess I was a child actor. Acting was one of the things I did alongside going to school: I'd be playing guitar, I'd be playing soccer, and I would be acting in movies.
I know that James Brown recording where he sings about Chicago. I think he sings, like, 'Chicago, my hometown!' That's what I think of when I think of Chicago. And I think of Chicago Bulls.
I respect motorcycles so much.
New Orleans could not be further removed from where I am from. I come from Holland, where everything is perfectly arranged - it's neat; there's no real crime. There's a very strong middle class. Then you get dumped in New Orleans - just the funkiest city, crazy problems, but also street culture unlike anywhere in the States.
You would have to go really crazy on me before I throw a punch.
It sounds so weird, but I'm totally pro-aging. If you look at the film industry, it's so funny how it's so much more accepted that actors begin their prime in their forties or fifties, and for women, it's so different. I think it's time to change that. Aging is a beautiful thing.
Old Vespas are very appealing to me. I love the way they feel. I love the way they smell. I love the curves on them. I have one of the earliest Vespas ever made, from the 1950s.
Usually when I'm on a plane, I try to enjoy the fact that I have to be still for eight hours and read a book.
The funny thing is, whenever I'm working on something, I kind of forget there's a lot of people watching. It makes it easier to be in the moment and to tell a story as well as possible.
Growing up in Holland, I always thought my name was boring, but in the U.S., all of a sudden I have a very cool name.
The Dutch film industry is a pretty small community, so within Holland, I think most actors know each other and have worked with each other.
To play different characters on a TV show where you're working every day, playing multiple characters every day, it's so ridiculously intense.
I think I always wished I could play guitar as well as Jimi Hendrix.
I think nothing I've done has impacted my life as much as working on 'Treme,' because it was the first project that I worked on in the United States after being an actor in the Netherlands my whole life, basically.
I had my first stereo when I turned 12, and every two weeks, I would save up money and buy one CD.
Being part of 'Game of Thrones,' you're always expecting your character to die. You're not mentally preparing yourself for a very long haul.
The 'Age of Adaline' was very special because it marks for me the first male lead on a proper Hollywood production.
I have this old speaker set with amps and a record player from the 1970s. And I'm slowly collecting vinyl again.
I think it will be great if we have more female directors in the world.
I love doing scenes with two actors in an elevator, but sometimes I'm a little boy, and I like swinging a sword with 800 soldiers around.
One of the fun things as an actor is to really spread your wings as wide as possible and do a variety of roles. I've been really lucky in that sense, I think.
I learned English at school, or at least that's how it started. Also, in Holland - as opposed to some other European countries - we don't dub anything, so as a kid growing up, always watching English and American movies in their original language really helped.
TV has gotten perhaps better than your average film script, but at the same time, it's fun to give it all you've got for a few months and produce a story.
