Born in Maarheeze, Netherlands, Sylvia Hoeks became an Elite model at 14 and later attended the Maastricht Theatre Academy. She appeared in the film, “Duska” for which she won a Golden Calf (Dutch equivalent of Oscars). This was followed by key roles in two Dutch TV series, “The Adulterer” and “Bloedverwanten.”
Sylvia also played the lead in the box office hit, “The Storm,” which garnered her the best actress award in the Festroia International Film Festival (Setubal, Portugal). She subsequently starred as “Tirza” in the feature Tirza, which won the Best Film award at Festroia International Film Festival in Portugal.
In 2011, Sylvia was presented at the Berlinale as a Shooting Star, the unique Pan European initiative. Other films included “The Gang of Oss,” “The Girl and Death,” and “The Best Offer,” which was nominated for Best Film at the 2013 European Film Awards. Most recently, Sylvia starred in “Blade Runner 2049” as Luv, reprising Rutger Hauer’s leading replicant role.
In the post-apocalyptic drama, “SEE,” Sylvia is Queen Kane, a tribal ruler in a survivalist world where everyone is blind and sight is considered a forbidden heresy.
You took ‘evil’ a step further in “SEE” than you did with your Luv character in “Blade Runner 2049.” What attracted you to the role of Queen Kane?
Sylvia Hoeks: Everything about her attracted me to the role. One reason I wanted to be an actress was my fascination with the dark side. To make the invisible, visible and to make the misunderstood more understandable.
Sylvia Hoeks as Queen Kane
Many actors have a love-hate relationship with auditions. Did you audition for this role? If so what was that like?
Sylvia: Yes, I sent in a self-tape. I had quite an ‘out there’ idea for the character. I thought, maybe they’ll like it and maybe they won’t, but it was how I wanted to play her. It was my voice and the weird aspect of the role. But they ended up liking it. I felt that the character really deserved and awkwardness about her.
Jason Momoa as Baba Voss
What did you find most challenging about the role and being in this series?
Sylvia: The stunt scenes. It wasn’t so much dangerous as it was daring. I did my own stunts. We had to use our ears and our sense of touch instead of our eyes, which was new for everyone. During episode 6, I hit my head on an iron table and sustained a mild concussion. They kept it in the scene and when I see it, I go, ‘that’s where it happened.’
You shaved your head for the role. What was it about Queen Kane the drove you to go to such extremes?
Sylvia: I thought, they’re blind and have been for hundreds of years. I didn’t want to be a queen with long curly hair. I thought of her as a warrior. After she lost her sister and father, she was the only one left and I felt that she would have removed her hair to start over in the manner of a warrior. It’s also powerful and vulnerable. When she’s with her people, she wears a crown to let them know that the queen is coming. But alone in her room, her shaved head makes her vulnerable, almost like an Asian monk. There was just something metaphysical about it.
The WitchFinders
The locations looked unbearably cold. How did you keep your teeth from chattering while delivering your lines?
Sylvia: It was very cold and I wasn’t wearing a lot. One crazy day, we were shooting next to a river. It was ice cold and the river had turned to ice. The wind was so cold and strong that little pieces of ice would fly into our eyes. Before shooting began, we were covered with seven coats. I put sticky warm patches all over my body.
You were bound and brutally kicked with a tight gag over your mouth. Can you go into that scene and your thoughts?
Sylvia: Sometimes I feel like more of a guy when it comes to fight scenes. I wasn’t hurt during that scene. I kept yelling ‘harder.’ As I said, the only time I got hurt was when they dragged me and I hit my head on that iron table. Even the stuntwomen were challenged because they didn’t have a lot of training in acting blind. I love really going for it and I think those physical scenes are great. When they pounded on the queen, it was a way to make her vulnerable. And I really needed that for the character.
What did you draw from in real life to play such a deliciously convincing cruel queen?
Sylvia: I was always a very shy kid. I’d watch movies and TV shows, and even in books, I was always drawn to these kinds of characters. I’d often re-enact them when I was young.
What were you like in high school? The girl most likely to…?
Sylvia: I was quite a loner, doing my own thing. I didn’t belong to a poplar group or nerd group. I had friends everywhere in different groups but I didn’t want to belong to any particular group. I just wanted to finish school quickly.
What do you see as the core message this series seeks to impart?
Sylvia: I think we treat the environment poorly right now. It’s something we’re trying to show in the series. And I think we’ll try to do more in Season 2. What the queen and her people believe is that when people had sight, they took too much from the Earth. Being sightless forced people to live closer to nature and let nature take over. People in groups became much more loving of each other. So nature and family became more important. I’ve learned that people who are blind have heightened hearing and touch skills. Some blind nature-path doctors that treat patients better than some sighted doctors. They see people differently through touch and sound.
Any advice for aspiring models eager to pursue an acting career?
Sylvia: I went to theater school for four years, so they should start with training. They should also ask themselves why they want to be an actor because it’s not an easy journey. If you love to tell stories, if you couldn’t be happier with another job, if you feel it from your heart, you need to ask yourself these questions. Ask yourself: why do you want to make art? You’ll hear ‘no’ a thousand times but you have to keep going. Because there will be a ‘yes’ one day. Keep learning and reading as much as you can. Connect with friends and don’t be distracted by those who say you can’t do it. Do it for the craft and not the fame or fortune.
“SEE” is now on Apple TV
