How does he do it? At 16, Jonas Smulders (1994) made his acting debut; five years later he already received a Golden Calf for his role in the short film No kings in our blood, and now he gets to introduce himself to the international film world in Berlin as one of the so-called Shooting Stars. The ten most promising European acting talents, selected by an international jury for the EFP (European Film Promotion).
Anyone who sees his already rather impressive list of roughly 24 feature and short films and television productions will soon say it was high time for that Shooting Star. His wonderful lead role in the coming-of-age film Brothers (2017), the jury called "an extraordinarily subtle portrayal" and praised the way he gives his character warmth and heart.
Speed dating
On the Saturday morning of the Berlin presentation, before he plunges back into the networking sessions, I have a chance to meet Smulders more closely.
Exciting, to be Shooting Star?
"Definitely, because a lot comes your way. Tomorrow, for example, speed dating with international casting directors. Showing yourself and what you do. The personal impression is important, can you work with someone or not. Are you prepared to put a lot of time into auditions. Those things I want to emphasise. Apart from that, it's also great fun to exchange experiences with contemporaries about filmmaking in different parts of Europe."
Actually, you rolled into acting by chance.
"It started when I was 16 with the television film Tunnel vision and shortly afterwards came Cowboys also whine (Mees Peijnenburg's graduation film, LB). That was when I first felt that I was taken seriously, that I was given respect for what I was doing. I think I was a difficult adolescent who flouted the rules, did what he felt like and didn't think school was that important. But now I suddenly discovered something that was a lot of fun and suited me. I worked with nice people and felt seen. That feeling was very contagious."
Experiment
And that's without acting training. Now do you see that as an advantage or a disadvantage?
"I think it was an advantage for me. Because instead of going to drama school, I was now able to put a lot of time into my roles. That worked very well for me. That's also how I developed my interest in film. I can put a lot into acting, but I also like writing and I noticed that I am also visually inclined. I like to realise my own productions and my ideas. That is why I am now at the Film Academy, majoring in directing. There, together with my friend Gijs Blom, I have already made the short film Tex made. Playing in it myself I didn't dare yet, but I will."
"I want to immerse myself more in film, also in film history for example. I also see the Film Academy as a kind of playground where you can experiment without being immediately judged harshly for it. I also have the ambition to star in my own films. The academy is a perfect place to try that out."
Few words
At Brothers you play a fairly introverted character. Is that role close to yourself, or is that facial illusion?
"Yes, that's sight gags. I am more extroverted, and that helps with acting. When you're very much inside yourself, it's also harder to communicate something. That's important in filmmaking because you work with a lot of different people. Especially when you go international, you have to be there, I think."
The game in Brothers is quite physical, with quite few words. Is that something that suits you?
"I am a fan of mime actors Jakob Ahlbom and René van 't Hof. I find that I always try to play from the movement. It's more interesting to show something rather than say it. You can make a character more layered with that."
Examining yourself
You have since made a film in the series NTR Kort! To exist is to go.
"This is about a group of young friends who have suddenly lost someone in their midst. On the night after the funeral, they get together and spend a night. To fill the vacuum together and say goodbye. I wrote and made it with a group of friends. I play in it and Shady El-Hamus directed it."
"It didn't really happen that way with us, but we noticed that the theme really affects us all. That it's actually about realising your own mortality. My mother lost a friend at a young age, and so there were other cases in that group. It felt very urgent to make something about that."
For you, is acting something close to yourself?
"I do think acting is a kind of investigation into yourself, almost a psychological investigation. At first I drew a lot from my own life. Now I'm trying more and more to play something completely from a character's point of view. If something happens to the character, to play the emotion from there instead of secretly taking it from my own life. Which also requires higher concentration to do it well. At first, I was basically myself, with a different name and in different clothes. Now I am trying to immerse myself more and more in a role and really play from that role. That's a step I'm taking now."
Soon Jonas Smulders will be seen in Nobody in town, the feature film debut of Michiel van Erp.
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