Maarten Claeyssens

Maarten Claeyssens was born on December 24th, 1975 in Ghent, Flanders, Belgium. He graduated magna cum laude from the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp (the Academy of Dramatic Arts) in 1999 and became a well-known face on Belgian TV. Before graduating he was already active in professional theatre (a.o. at the Royal Dutch Theatre, Ghent) and in the final year of his training he was casted as the title role in Nicolas, a film by Erik Lamens about a troubled young man wandering the streets of Brussels, filming people with a hidden camera. After graduating, Claeyssens was immediately immersed in professional theatre. He performed parts at The Royal Dutch Theatre, Ghent and Het Zuidelijk Toneel, Eindhoven. His acting career took a flight when in 2000 he became a member of the ensemble of Toneelgroep Amsterdam, the internationally acclaimed Dutch theatre company under the guidance of Ivo van Hove. At TA he worked with renowned directors such as Pierre Audi, Ivo van Hove and Gerardjan Rijnders