Carel Struycken (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkaːrəl ˈstrœykə(n)]; born 30 July 1948) is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the Giant/Fireman in the television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017), the occasional guest role of Mr. Homn in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1992), and the household butler Lurch in the 1990s Addams Family films. He also appeared in the films Gerald's Game (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019).
Carel Struycken | |
|---|---|
 Struycken at the 2016 Brussels Comic-Con | |
| Born | 30 July 1948 The Hague, Netherlands |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Height | 2.13 m (7 ft 0 in)[1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Peter Struycken (brother) |
| Website | carelstruycken |
Early life
editStruycken was born on 30 July 1948 in The Hague. When he was 4 years old, his family moved to Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles. There, at age 15, he composed several Caribbean waltzes. At 16, he returned to his home country, where he finished secondary school. He graduated from the directing program at the film school in Amsterdam. After that, he spent a year at the American Film Institute, in Los Angeles.
Career
editIn 1978, Struycken was discovered as an actor at the corner of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles by a woman who had abandoned her car in the middle of the street, calling after him: "We need you for a movie!".[2] The film was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Struycken played Terak in the 1985 TV film Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, a spin-off to the original Star Wars trilogy.
Struycken appeared as Fidel, Jack Nicholson's manservant, in the 1987 film The Witches of Eastwick. That same year, he appeared as Mr. Homn in "Haven", an episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role he would reprise in four more episodes until 1992.
In 1991, he starred as butler Lurch in the feature film The Addams Family. He reprised the role in the 1993 sequel, Addams Family Values, and the TV film Addams Family Reunion. Director Barry Sonnenfeld also picked Struycken for a small role in Men in Black.
He portrayed the mystical guide-character "The Giant" in David Lynch and Mark Frost's hit 1990–91 ABC television series Twin Peaks. He also appears in the 2017 sequel series, Twin Peaks: The Return. He appears as the "Moonlight Man" in the 2017 film Gerald's Game.
Struycken collaborated on several projects with writer and director Rene Daalder, including the 1986 punk rock musical Population: 1, which featured Tomata du Plenty, of The Screamers, and which was released on DVD in October 2008.[3]
Personal life
editAt age 20, he was diagnosed with acromegaly, which explains his tall height of 2.13 m (7 feet) and distinctive facial features.[1]
He and his wife have two children. They reside in the Los Angeles area. His brother Peter Struycken won the 2012 Heineken Prize for Arts of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.[4]
Struycken is an avid photographer. He maintains a website devoted to his spherical panoramas[5] and shares a photography blog with Josh Korwin.[6]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978[7] | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | The Brute | |
| 1980 | Die Laughing | Gregor, The Giant | |
| Go West, Young Man | Dr. Struycken | Also co-screenwriter | |
| 1984 | The Prey | The Monster | |
| 1985 | Ewoks: The Battle for Endor | Terak | (TV movie) |
| 1987 | The Witches of Eastwick | Fidel | |
| 1988 | Night of the Kickfighters | Ponti | |
| 1990 | Framed | Jinx | (TV movie) |
| 1991 | Servants of Twilight | Kyle Barlow | |
| The Addams Family | Lurch | ||
| 1993 | Journey to the Center of the Earth | Dallas | (TV movie) |
| Addams Family Values | Lurch | ||
| 1994 | Oblivion | Mr. Gaunt | |
| 1995 | Under the Hula Moon | Clyde | |
| Out There | Mr. Burke | (TV movie) | |
| 1996 | Oblivion 2: Backlash | Mr. Gaunt | |
| 1997 | Men in Black | Arquillian | |
| 1998 | I Woke Up Early The Day I Died | The Undertaker | |
| Addams Family Reunion | Lurch | (TV movie) | |
| 1999 | Enemy Action | "Eyepatch" | |
| 2000 | Tinnef | Kran | (Video short) |
| 2001 | The Vampire Hunters Club | Host Vampire | |
| 2002 | Science Fiction | Strange Man | |
| Fatal Kiss | The Mortician | (TV movie) | |
| 2003 | The War of the Starfighters | (voice) | |
| 2004 | Agavé | J.C / Cowboy | |
| 2005 | The Fallen Ones | High Priest #1 | (TV movie) |
| 2008 | Sinterklaas en het Geheim van het Grote Boek | Dr. Ferdinand | |
| 2014 | Trophy Heads | Brother Humphrey | |
| 2016 | Another Brick in the Wall | Roy | |
| 2017 | Gerald's Game | Moonlight Man | |
| 2019 | Doctor Sleep | Grampa Flick |
Television series
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Hunter | Occult Store Owner | Season 4, Episodes "City of Passion: Part 1' "City of Passion: Part 2" |
| 1988 | St. Elsewhere | The Giant | Season 6, Episode "Fairytale Theater" |
| 1990–1991 | Twin Peaks | The Giant | 5 episodes |
| 1987–1992 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Mr. Homn | 5 episodes |
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | Trader | Season 2, Episode "Soul Mates" |
| 1996 | Star Trek: Voyager | Spectre | Season 2, Episode "The Thaw" |
| 2002 | Charmed | Tall Man | Season 4, Episode "Womb Raider" |
| 2006 | My Name Is Earl | Paul | Season 2, Episode "Sticks & Stones" |
| 2010 | Cold Case | Lester "Gargantuan" Smith | Season 7, Episode 14 "Metamorphisis" |
| 2014 | The Blacklist | Matthew Kincaid | Season 2, Episode 6 "The Mombasa Cartel (No. 114)" |
| 2017 | Twin Peaks: The Return | The Fireman | 4 episodes |
Music videos
edit- 1983 "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo
- 1996 "A.D.I.D.A.S." by Korn
References
edit- ^ a b McLellan, Dennis (27 December 1992). "Shedding Light on a Rare Disease : Woman Hopes O.C. Group Will Increase Awareness of Life-Threatening Effects of Excessive-Growth Illness". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ Carel Struycken tells the anecdote about his discovery as an actor in an interview on the daily Dutch TV show De Wereld Draait Door Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 2 October 2006 (at 41:08 min.)
- ^ "Population: 1". population1movie.com. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ "Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for the Arts: Peter Struycken". KNAW.nl. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ Struycken, Carel. "Spherical Panoramas". sphericalpanoramas.com. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ "Picture Bubbles Blog". picturebubbles.com. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ Source for filmography: Carel Struycken, accessed on 3 October 2006
Further reading
edit- Carel Struycken: Leaning Toward the Paleolithic, by Christopher Nyerges, The Backwoodsman Magazine, July/August 2013, Vol.34 No. 4, published by Backwoodsman Magazine, Fulton, Texas. Pages 26–27