Johan Heldenbergh, a 55-year-old Belgian actor and director, was born in Gent, Belgium, with a childhood dream of becoming a movie director and actor. However, it was not until his education at the prestigious StudioHerman Teirlinck acting school in Antwerp in the late eighties that he discovered his true passion for theatre.
Flanders' lack of a vibrant movie and television culture at the time, combined with the creative freedom he found as a theatre actor, led him to pursue a career in the performing arts. He worked with renowned directors and actors, including Alain Platel, Luc Perceval, Raven Ruell, and Arne Sierens.
In 2001, Heldenbergh began writing and directing his own plays, and in 2005, he co-founded the theatre company "Compagnie Cecilia" with Arne Sierens and Marijke Pinoy. His plays, such as "Massis the musical" and "The Broken Circle Breakdown", have become iconic in Flemish theatre history.
Heldenbergh's work often explores themes of suicide, politics, social issues, and religion. Despite his true vocation being cinema, it was not until he collaborated with director Felix Van Groeningen on the film "Steve and Skye" that he began to consider a career in Belgian cinema.
Since then, Heldenbergh has continued to work with Van Groeningen, appearing in films such as "De helaasheid der dingen/La merditude des choses" and the Oscar-nominated adaptation of his own play "The Broken Circle Breakdown/Alabama Monroe".
In addition to his work in film, Heldenbergh has also starred in French and international movies and television series, including "The zookeepers wife" alongside Jessica Chastain, "55 Steps" with Hilary Swank and Helena Bonham Carter, and "The hummingbird project" with Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard.
He has also been involved in community projects, including a 2009 initiative in the village where he lived for 13 years. The project, which involved 600 non-professionals, resulted in the film "Schellebelle 1919", which received a professional distribution and won the "Ensor for special merit" award from the Flemish academy.
In his free time, Heldenbergh enjoys playing the five-string banjo, mandolin, and acoustic guitar, as well as tap dancing. He is a father of four children.
