Famke Janssen’s five favourite songs of all time: “There are so many”
People have attempted to kill James Bond in all manner of ways over the last 60 years or so, from Goldfinger trying to laser him in half on a table to being folded into a stowaway bed and shot with a machine gun in You Only Live Twice.
But few compare to being crushed to death by Famke Janssen and her super-strong thighs, as Pierce Brosnan will confirm.
That was in 1995’s Goldeneye, and it was the movie that brought Janssen to the attention of global film fans, many of whom thought “honestly if you’re going to go then there are worse ways…”
She took that newfound fame but did something quite interesting with it. Aware of the ‘Bond curse’ that had befallen so many actors before her, she instead went for completely different roles, appearing in neo-noirs, a Woody Allen film, and eventually landing a part in the X-Men franchise as superhero Dr Jean Grey. She ended up appearing in five of the Marvel movies over 15 years, finishing up with a cameo in 2013’s The Wolverine.
In her latest role on Netflix’s Dutch production Amsterdam Empire, Janssen plays Betty Jonkers, a former 1990s pop singer turned drug dealer’s wife who plots to steal his ill-got gains from under his nose after she discovers he’s been having an affair. She went to the extent of professionally singing and recording her own throwback pop single for the role, complete with a music video.
The song, called ‘Forever Pours Toujours’ was even released on Spotify to provide an authentic backstory for the character and Janssen said: “I never thought I would ever sing a song myself, let alone dance in a music video. I’ve always been incredibly intimidated by singing.”
When you hear about Janssen’s quality taste in music, it probably comes as no surprise that she wanted to make the song and video as convincing as possible. Asked by Country & Town House to name her favourite songs of all time, she replied: “Impossible. There are so many: ‘For The Love Of You’ by The Isley Brothers, ‘As’ by Stevie Wonder, ‘Show You the Way to Go’’ by The Jackson 5, ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ by Gladys Knight & The Pips, ‘Knee Deep’ by Funkadelic…”
A veritable smorgasbord of funk and soul in those picks from Janssen, with basslines aplenty and some outrageously good vocals – Gladys Knight standing out in particular. The Jackson 5 were of course known for their choreography as well as their tunes, and Janssen had to get her own teacher for Amsterdam Empire.
In learning moves like ‘The Running Man’ for the show, she said: “We started doing it on a slower speed in the beginning. Just try to do the Running Man. Do it at normal speed and then do it at the speed of the song It was a challenge, but I did it.”
Famke Janssen’s favourite five songs:
- The Isley Brothers – ‘For the Love of You’
- Stevie Wonder – ‘As’
- The Jackson 5 – ‘Show You the Way to Go’
- Gladys Knight & The Pips – ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’
- Funkadelic – ‘Knee Deep’
