During the 2000s, the X-Men franchise came along and kickstarted the comic book movie craze that has been dominating the box office for years on end. The MCU owes a debt of gratitude to these movies, and now that Disney owns Fox, mutants will be making their way to fight alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes in no time.
In those excellent X-Men movies, Famke Janssen was the actress tasked with playing Jean Grey. She did a great job with her character in those films, and since those movies became smash hits, Janssen has remained as busy as ever.
Let's take a closer look at Famke Janssen and see what she has been up to.
'X-Men' And 'GoldenEye' Made Her A Star
Before taking a deeper dive on what Famke Janssen has been up to, it is important to get a look at the films that helped establish her name in Hollywood. The actress had done plenty of modeling back in the day, and once she got the right opportunities on the big screen, she would waste no time in becoming a star.
After getting some acting roles in the earlier 90s, Janssen got a huge break in 1995 when she starred as Xenia in GoldenEye. That film marked Pierce Brosnan's first time playing the iconic spy, and Janssen wound up delivering a solid performance in the film. After it became a hit at the box office, a new generation of film fans had their James Bond, and Famke Janssen's career was off to the races.
Prior to really kicking things into high gear, the actress found plenty of work after GoldenEye became a hit. She had roles in movies like Dead Girl, Rounders, The Faculty, and more before X-Men hit the box office and kicked comic book movies into high gear.
As fans got to see, Janssen was a brilliant Jean Grey in the original X-Men movies. Yes, they botched the Dark Phoenix story, but that original trilogy was massively important to getting the genre to where it is now. Needless to say, Janssen reaped the rewards of playing Jean Grey. Since those movies, the actress has done quite a bit of film and television work.
She Starred In The 'Taken' Trilogy
Two years after X-Men: The Last Stand, Famke Janssen, who had plenty of other films sandwiched between her X-Men movies, landed a role in a little film called Taken. Starring Liam Neeson, that first Taken film was a smash hit at the box office, and just like that, the actress was involved in another film franchise.
In total, she would appear in three Taken movies, marking another trilogy for the performer. Any actor would be lucky to get a single trilogy of films, and it is amazing to see that Janssen has done this more than once.
As impressive as it is that Janssen has been in multiple franchises, that's not all she's done since X-Men: The Last Stand. Janssen has appeared in movies like The Wackness, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, and plenty more. They aren't always major projects, but the actress has stayed working since the 90s, which is no easy feat. Janssen has certainly done well for herself on the big screen, but it is important to take a look at her television work, as well.
She Was Featured On 'How To Get Away With Murder'
During her time in the X-Men franchise, Janssen was able to land a role on shows like Ally McBeal and Nip/Tuck, and once she had a little more free time, she was able to land roles on other shows, ultimately boosting her television credits. From 2013 to 2015, Janssen had a main role on the show Hemlock Grove, which aired 33 episodes over the course of 3 seasons. The same year that her time on the show ended, she started a recurring role on How to Get Away with Murder, and her 9 appearances on the show took place from 2015 to 2020.
In more recent years, Janssen has appeared on shows like The Blacklist, even getting her own short-lived spin-off project, The Blacklist: Redemption. She also had a role on both When They See Us and The Capture. Yeah, she makes sure to stay busy with her acting, and this is a huge reason why she has maintained such a successful career for so long.
Famke Janssen has seen and done it all during her years in Hollywood, and she still has plenty left in the gas tank.