A Field Guide To Carice Van Houten

This week's "Game of Thrones" saw the return of Melisandre('s boobs), and with it, our love of Melisandre (and, of course, the actress who plays her). The Red Woman has cast her spell on us--and it's got us dying to find out everything we can about her.

Carice van Houten (no relation to Milhouse) was born on September 5, 1976, in Leiderdorp, The Netherlands. The daughter of a writer and broadcaster and a member of the board of Dutch educational TV, Carice was clearly destined for TV stardom--a destiny that reinforced by the numerous accolades she received upon her debut in Dutch TV. Carice's first starring role (the eponymous Suzy of TV movie "Suzy Q") garnered her a Golden Calf--which, if we're not mistaken (and we very well may be), is something along the lines of the Dutch Golden Globes.

"Suzy Q" may have established her as a force to be reckoned wiht, but her big break out hit didn't come until 2006, when she starred in the Dutch film "Black Book," a Paul Verhoeven film set during World War II that tells the (apparently true) story of a Dutch Jewish woman who decides to spy for the resistance after a tragic encounter with the Nazis. The award winning film (for which Carice herself received two acting awards and numerous nominations) featured a performance stunning enough to earn Carice international attention, with New York Magazine naming her one of film's women of the year (alongside big names like Tilda Swinton, Laura Linney, and Julie Christie, no less). While it was probably her acting that actually earned her all the praise, we're pretty convinced that her full frontal nudity was at least part of what everyone liked so much about that movie.

Speaking of nudity: Carice van Houten has done quite a bit of it. As a Dutch actress she comes from a place where nudity is, if not de rigeur, than at least more normalized than it is in the states; as such, she's perfectly comfortable shedding her skivvies when the role calls for it. Like, for instance, during a scene where her character is sleeping. As she told IndieWire, "Who sleeps with their bra on?" An excellent point, Carice--and one we will be raising with several actresses who seem to think an authentic sex scene involves always wearing lingerie.

Carice's comfortability with on camera nudity has led to some outspoken opinions on the topic--particularly when it comes to the matter of her current gig with "Game of Thrones." When questioned about the show's naked content, she's made it quite clear that her only problem with the "Game of Thrones" nudity is that there's not enough of it. When asked by reporters if there should be more male nudity on the show, van Houten responded with an emphatic "Hell yeah!", a sentiment that--as fans of nudity for everyone--we most definitely appreciate.

Much as we enjoy Carice's naked acting, we'd be remiss if we didn't address some of the other aspects of her life experience--for as it happens, she's a well rounded lady who's got a whole lot more going on than just her amazing body and ability to act. In addition to her day job, she's a singer and a writer--one who, we should note, just came out with her first book:

I just wrote a book with my friend called "Antiglamour." She's an actress in Holland too. We wanted to show the backside of glamour. It's a very personal book, but we also talk about men, sex, clothing, makeup, death and spirituality -- all kinds of topics. It's very colorful, almost like a big magazine. I've been writing poems in a magazine. I'm trying to write a script; I just started that. I keep myself busy.

(Unfortunately for us English speakers, the book seems to be only available in Dutch, we'll keep our fingers crossed that someone releases a proper translation sooner rather than later.)

Now, if you're anything like us, learning all this awesome stuff about Carice van Houten has only made you want to see more of her--like, maybe in a whole bunch of amazing Hollywood films. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that that's in the cards for Carice: on several occasions, she's made it clear that the American dream of Hollywood stardom holds no interest for her, telling reporters "I will never become an American movie star. I'm a European actress," and, "I have seen Hollywood, and although I have nothing against it, it's not my kind of life. My agent is shocked that I want to stay in Europe... but I just don't want to live [Hollywood]." Truly it's a tragedy for those of us dreamed of seeing her more regularly in American films...but hey, at least we'll always have "Game of Thrones," right? Of course right.

· See all of Carice's nude scenes at Mr. Skin (mrskin.com)