01 · SHOWREEL
02 · SELECTED WORK
CHARACTERS.
WORLDS. STORIES.
Short Movie · 48HFP ARNHEM · 2026
Achter ’t Net
alex van buren
HBO · TELEVISION · 2019
Umbre
AGENT JANSEN
FEATURE FILM · 2020
The Doorman
OFFICER GRIGGS
3CAT · TELEVISION · 2025
Vintage
Expat
03 · BEHIND THE WORK
As a kid, I was constantly inventing stories. With toys, with the neighbourhood kids, on stage at school — it didn’t really matter. I loved creating something that hadn’t existed five minutes earlier.
As a teenager, that turned into comedy. I wrote my own acts, performed them at school and loved making people laugh. And if I’m honest, I loved the validation that came with it too.
Years of training taught me something almost opposite: the strongest work doesn't come from hiding. It comes from finding something truthful in yourself and allowing it to live in the character.
I’m not interested in hiding behind a character. I’m interested in finding the parts of myself that can help bring that character to life.
04 · WHY I ACT
We get to create worlds that didn't exist before and somehow make them real.
I get to give a voice to a character who otherwise would never have existed. To explore parts of myself I might never have discovered without them. To bring something of myself into a new world and, together with the director, the other actors and everyone behind the camera, bring that world to life.
And then someone watches it.
For a moment, that world is real to them too.
Tell me that's not magic.
05 · WHY IT MATTERS
For a long time, I was very good at pushing feelings away. Making people laugh was easier than letting them see what was actually going on.
Acting changed my relationship with that. It taught me that the things we sometimes try hardest not to feel can also be the things that connect us most as human beings.
Anger. Love. Excitement. Sadness. It doesn't really matter what it is. If someone watching allows themselves to genuinely feel something they normally keep away — even if it's only for a moment — then we've made a real connection.
06 · RIGHT NOW
In early 2026, I returned to the Netherlands and started reconnecting with the Dutch film community — meeting filmmakers, expanding my network and, most importantly, acting again.
One of my first projects back was Achter ’t Net, made for the 48 Hour Film Project Arnhem. After being away from acting for quite a while, there was still a small part of me wondering whether I could step in front of a camera again and trust myself to do the work.
I got my answer.
BEST ACTING IN A LEADING ROLE · 48HFP ARNHEM · 2026
Winning that award meant more to me than simply winning something. It gave me confidence at exactly the moment I needed it, but it also introduced me to new filmmakers, collaborations and a growing network within the Dutch industry.
Right now, I'm building from there — performing regularly at Prison Escape Utrecht while continuing to develop my work in film and television and looking for the characters and stories I want to help bring to life.
