C.V.

Thomas Ryckewaert (1979) studied Biology and Philosophy at KU Leuven before training as an actor at the Antwerp Conservatory under Dora van der Groen, graduating in 2006. During his studies, he interned with Ivo Van Hove on Opening Night and later collaborated with him on Children of the Sun. He subsequently performed in productions by directors including Eric De Volder (Au Nom du Père), Lucas Vandervost (Nietzsche’s Tears), and Thibaud Delpeut (Medea, Nora).

In addition to his work as an actor, Thomas is also a writer and director. His creations include Golem, Move 37 (in collaboration with cosmologist Thomas Hertog), and CHAOS. Making Sense of an Ending. His scientific background strongly informs his artistic practice: research phases and collaborations with scientists often serve as the starting point for performances that evolve into immersive sensory and spatial experiences. His work explores the relationship between the human and the alien, the strange and the intimate, biology and technology, reality and fiction. It has been described as poetic, radical, visual, and ritualistic. He is currently developing a trilogy inspired by Jeff VanderMeer’s New Weird thriller Annihilation, where horror, science fiction, and ecology converge.

Alongside his theatre work, Thomas has collaborated with numerous international television and film directors, including Hans Herbots on the Emmy Award-nominated series The Spiral and on the international Netflix series The Serpent. He played the lead role in Martijn Maria Smits’ film Waldstille, earning a nomination for Best Actor at the 2017 Golden Calf Awards of the Netherlands Film Festival. Other directors he has worked with include Nathalie Teirlinck (Venus vs. Me, winner of Best European Short at the Berlinale), Urszula Antoniak (Magic Mountains), and Teodora Mihai (Traffic). More recently, Dutch audiences could see him in the NPO series Ik val niet, ik dans directed by Simone van Dusseldorp and in the feature film Hokwerda’s Child directed by Boudewijn Koole.