Paul Verhoeven

President of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival in 2017.

Directed one Oscar-nominated performance: Isabelle Huppert in Elle (2016).

Member of the jury at the 'I've Seen Films International Film Festival 2011', founded by Rutger Hauer.

Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 64th Venice International Film Festival in 2007.

In 2004, Paul Verhoeven finished at number 97 in the election of ''De Grootste Nederlander'' (The Greatest Dutchman).

Says he declined the offer to direct three back-to-back sequels to The Fast and the Furious (2001) and 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003).

Was slated to direct a sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), but the film got shelved for a while. When the project was finally revived, Verhoeven left due to disagreements over the script. The film was ultimately never made.

Of all his films, claimed that Starship Troopers (1997) was the only one he would be interested in revisiting for a true sequel (the 2004 Phil Tippett directed Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) did not involve him) but at one point he wanted to do Minority Report (2002) (directed by Steven Spielberg) as a follow-up to his Total Recall (1990).

Became the first nominee ever to actually show up at the Razzie Awards. He personally accepted the 'Worst Director' and 'Worst Picture' awards for Showgirls (1995).

Was offered the chance to direct The Silence of the Lambs (1991), but declined, thinking that there would not be an audience for a movie which such a dark tone. He regretted the decision after the movie proved to be both a critical and commercial success.

He briefly considered directing Robocop 2 (1990), but could not agree with the studio on the storyline. He ultimately did Total Recall (1990) instead.

Was offered the chance to direct The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), but did not accept, as he was unsure how to handle the social and political aspects of the movie. He later commented that he liked Philip Kaufman's version of the movie, but felt no regrets over passing on the project.

In his book Jesus of Nazareth, published by Seven Stories Press, Verhoeven cites Robocop (1987) as his "Jesus movie".

His first US film was Flesh+Blood (1985) in 1985, but it was Robocop (1987) and, especially, Total Recall (1990) that made him a big box office success. Sometimes accused of portraying excessive violence in his films, Verhoeven replies that he is only recording the violence of society.

He also directed an episode of the HBO The Hitchhiker (1983) TV series.

Considers Das Boot (1981) to be the best war movie ever made. One of his reasons for this is the innovative photography by Jost Vacano, who also shot many of Verhoeven's Dutch and American movies.

When his films, especially Soldier of Orange (1977) and The 4th Man (1983), received international recognition, Verhoeven moved to the US.

Verhoeven has co-scripted two of his films: Soldier of Orange (1977) and Flesh+Blood (1985).

However, it was his second, Turkish Delight (1973), with its combination of raw sexuality and a poignant story-line, that gained him great popularity in the Netherlands, especially with male audiences.

Verhoeven's first feature, Wat zien ik (1971) (trans.

"What do I See?"), was released in 1971.

Paul Verhoeven graduated from the University of Leiden, with a degree in math and physics. He entered the Royal Netherlands Navy, where he began his film career by making documentaries for the Navy and later for TV. In 1969, he directed the popular Dutch TV series, Floris (1969), about a medieval knight. This featured actor Rutger Hauer, who has appeared in many of Verhoeven's later films.