July 15, 2023 at 12:14 p.m
Your face on lunch boxes and duvet covers from one day to the next: it happened to the cast of youth series ZOOP. Nineteen years later there is a reunion. NU.nl spoke to the actors about the consequences of fame at a young age.
“I did not realize at all that you could also just say no,” Monique van der Werff, Taffie in the series, tells NU.nl.
In 2004, the first season of ZOOP broadcast on Nickelodeon. The zoo series became a big hit with 500,000 viewers per episode. The cast, whose ages were between 18 and 26, lived in a hotel in Wageningen during the shooting in Ouwehands Dierenpark.
In three years, 325 episodes and three cinema films were made. The actors had to work long hours for this. And it didn’t stop with the recordings: fan days were organized in the zoo where they signed autographs to rows of children for hours.
The period was intense for young actors such as Nicolette van Dam, Ewout Genemans and Jon Karthaus.
‘There appear to be six loops in that roller coaster’
“It was all very overwhelming. You just keep going, despite the high workload,” says Van der Werff. “Shooting days sometimes lasted fourteen hours and then it wasn’t done yet. We had photo shoots, interviews, acting lessons and fan days. It was really a rollercoaster. Only when you’re down on the ground and you look up, you see that the roller coaster had six loops.”
Van der Werff has had a difficult time. “It also felt quite lonely. People react to an image they have of you. Nobody knows who you really are.” Wherever she went: fans recognized the actress. That was fun, but also tough. “I found it difficult to talk about those feelings. The term burnout is now much more familiar, I now think I had that during that period.”
Monique van der Werff as Taffie. Photo: ANP
‘It was indeed just work’
Van der Werff is after ZOOP stopped acting for television. For many other cast members, the series was just the beginning. Juliette van Ardenne played Sira and then in, among other things Doctor Tuna in Smeri played.
“ZOOP has brought me a lot. It was actually my training as an actress. When I think back on it now, it was indeed just work. We were super young, so we were happy all the time with the opportunity we got.”
“Everyone handled the workload differently. I enjoyed doing fun things. But Monique preferred to withdraw to get some rest. Her character was also quite extroverted. That’s why people spoke to her in a certain way. I think It’s also hard to be yourself.”
‘It was a very nice family’
Nicolette van Dam and Patrick Martens, Bionda and Mike in the series, look back with a warm feeling ZOOP. “We worked really hard, but there was also time for parties and fun,” says Van Dam.
Martens agrees. “It was a very nice family. We were there for each other when someone was having a hard time. It was, and is, just a very special club.”
It was a shock that Van der Werff looks back on that time very differently. “We did not know that this was so deep. You are with each other all the time, so we must have talked about it together,” says Martens.
“We were all young and you are also in your own development. I think it’s very good that Monique talks openly about this. You can also feel very lonely, even though you are in a cozy and nice bubble,” Van Dam adds. On.
The cast of ZOOP in 2005. Photo: ANP
Wild fantasies about a new movie
Whether there will indeed be a fourth film, as director and former cast member Jon Karthaus would like, is the question. Both Van Dam, Martens and Van Ardenne are surprised when we ask them about it. “These are all wild fantasies, created because we really enjoy being together. If I can go on an adventure with this group of people again, I will certainly not say no. It must be a great script, it has to match the series,” says Martens.
Van der Werff does not completely rule out her participation in the new film. “Acting is an old love that never dies. I now have a lot of people in my private circle who can support me. But I would be very excited if it brought that same fame again. I don’t know if I still want a second round on that roller coaster.”
ZOOP: The Reunion can be seen on Videoland from July 15.
2023-07-15 10:14:43
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