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Famke Janssen sat down with Kyle Meredith to talk about her new Netflix series Amsterdam Empire — a stylish revenge thriller set in her native Netherlands. The GoldenEye and X-Men star steps into the role of Betty, a former pop singer out to dismantle her husband’s weed-fueled coffee shop empire after a very public betrayal. The show marks Janssen’s rare return to acting in Dutch, as well as her first time serving as an executive producer and co–costume designer. “It’s one of those rare moments where everything came full circle,” she tells Meredith. Listen above or wherever you get your podcasts.
For Janssen, Betty was far more than a scorned wife. “I didn’t want her to just be this angry whirlwind of a person,” she explains. “We’ve all seen that before. I wanted the anger to be rooted in real hurt and devastation.” As executive producer, Janssen helped shape Betty into a complex, unpredictable force — one whose pain feels lived-in, not scripted. “You think she’s crazy, but she’s actually just heartbroken and trying to survive in her own eccentric way,” she says.
Janssen also threw herself into the visual side, co-designing Betty’s flamboyant wardrobe and even performing a full-blown pop video for her character’s fictional one-hit wonder. “Betty had one hit 20 years ago, and she’s been stuck there ever since,” Janssen says. “She still dresses like that girl — colorful, loud, a little childish, but full of heart.” That aesthetic wasn’t just a look; it became part of Betty’s psyche. “She wants to be seen and remembered. There’s something both tragic and wonderful about that.”
Listen to Famke Janssen talk about Amsterdam Empire, acting in Dutch, and the creation of Betty’s wild wardrobe in the new episode above or by watching the video below. Keep up on all the latest episodes by following Kyle Meredith With… on your favorite podcast platform; plus, check out all the series on the Consequence Podcast Network.
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