Famke Janssen has spent three decades consciously sidestepping the predictable path laid out for a former model who broke out as a Bond villain. Now, with her latest role in the Dutch series “Amsterdam Empire,” she continues to define her career on her own terms.
Janssen first gained international attention as Xenia Onatopp in the 1995 James Bond film “GoldenEye.” She recalls actively reshaping the character beyond what was written. “I found the term ‘Bond girl’ demeaning,” she explains. “I decided if I was doing this, I would make her unforgettable.” She introduced the character’s distinctive traits, including her orgasmic reactions to violence, transforming what could have been a one-dimensional role into a memorable part of Bond history.
The success created an unexpected challenge. “Afterward, the only offers were for women with guns or foreign antagonists,” Janssen notes. Instead of accepting these limited roles, she deliberately pursued character parts that went against type, including a supermarket worker in the 1997 film “City of Industry.”
Her career strategy has consistently involved choosing interesting characters over glamorous paychecks. “I used the momentum from Bond to go against type, make less money, and not become famous in the traditional sense,” she says. This approach led to collaborations with directors including Robert Altman and Woody Allen, whom she describes as surprisingly hands-off. “He says very little and lets actors do what they want,” she says of Allen. “If he doesn’t like it, he simply replaces them.”
Now starring in her first Dutch production, “Amsterdam Empire,” Janssen plays Betty, a former pop star fighting her husband’s cannabis empire. “We know nothing about Betty but everything about her husband,” she observes. “I saw an opportunity to create a well-rounded character beyond what was written.”
Reflecting on industry sexism, Janssen acknowledges encountering it throughout her career but maintains she was never personally harassed. “I’m tall and outspoken—people wouldn’t dare with me,” she states, while emphasizing she doesn’t blame victims who experienced different circumstances.
She has also consciously avoided social media, rejecting what she sees as pressure for public exposure. “I wasn’t going to photograph myself half-naked on Instagram screaming for attention,” she says. “That’s just not who I am.”
From her early days leaving the Netherlands at 17 to pursue modeling, Janssen has valued creative independence. “It was only coming to the U.S. that I learned to dream and create what I wanted,” she reflects. That independence continues to define choices more than thirty years into a career built on defying expectations.
