Filmmaker Steven de Jong remembers Maarten Spanjer’s natural humour

Filmmaker Steven de Jong has paid tribute to actor and writer Maarten Spanjer, saying he was “very shocked” to hear of his death on Saturday. Spanjer, who died aged 73 from cancer, played Gerben Zonderland in De Jong’s 2003 film *De Schippers van de Kameleon*.

“He had laughter hanging off him,” De Jong told the ANP, using a Dutch expression for someone naturally funny. “He had something funny and something natural about him that really appealed to me.”

De Jong said he offered Spanjer the role without asking him to audition. “I know what you can do. I know your films, I know what you do,” he recalled telling him. Spanjer was playing a farmhand, despite being from Amsterdam — a contrast De Jong said some people found amusing. But the actor’s performance impressed him. “We will miss him,” he said.

Spanjer was also known for the television programme *Taxi* and the feature film *Spetters*. He published several books, including *Eigen schuld*, *Moedeloos voorwaarts*, *Maarten maakt vrienden* and *Geluk is een herinnering*. [1]