Carice Van Houten Teases Her ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ Character’s ‘Trauma & Secrets’ (Exclusive)
Carice van Houten reveals why she was so ‘intrigued’ by her character and talks those Melisandre rumors.
Carice van Houten is one of the dazzling members of the Dangerous Liaisons ensemble cast. She plays Jacqueline de Montrachet, one of the most pious women in Paris. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Carice about what’s hiding behind Jacqueline’s righteousness.
“What intrigued me was mostly the fact that she’s very suppressed. Even though she’s high society, she’s up there, she lives in good conditions, she lives in a loveless marriage,” Carice said. “She’s devoted herself to the church, and there’s a lot of unlived emotions and trauma and secrets that she carries.”
She continued, “I think that tension of someone trying to keep it together is something that attracts me apart from the fact that, of course, the show is so well written. It took a female perspective, and the cast and the two main characters are so radiant. They have had a ripple effect on everyone else.”
Prior to taking on the role of Jacqueline, Carice had not read the 1782 novel on which the show is based. However, she had seen the 1988 film version starring John Malkovich and Glenn Close.
As for the STARZ series, Carice pointed out that it has “a very modern vibe to it and it’s very inclusive. Of course, we have never seen people of color in these kinds of shows. I mean, Bridgerton of course, it’s all coming now. But, in fact, there’s a lot of research that it was actually true. White people have sort of forgotten about that. We’ve never really portrayed it in an authentic way, so that is definitely new, plus the fact that it’s so authentic. It feels very modern to me, even though it’s the olden days, and there’s a great weight to it.”
Carice is best known for her role as Melisandre in Game of Thrones. During the first season of House of the Dragon, which became one of the biggest hits of 2022, many fans hypothesized that a young version of Melisandre could be in the show.
“I understand that it is sort of a satisfying thing to marry those two worlds together. But personally, as much as I would love to come back, I think it might be more interesting to see a child version of my character, to see her as a child, because there’s a whole slavery history there that we never touched upon,” Carice told HollywoodLife. “I mentioned it once. So if at all, I think that would probably be the way to go. And again, as much as I would like to put the wig on again and dress up reds, I think that might be the way to go more than putting me back in.” Dangerous Liaisons will air Sundays on STARZ.