Frans van Deursen is born in Amsterdam, on October 31, 1962. And he is still glad he was. He is raised in a Catholic family, so he gets acquainted with show and theatre at an early age.

His acting career starts when he is 12 years old. He seems to come in handy whenever the Dutch Opera is in need of a cheeky brat as an extra in their productions. And so he plays all the mayor theatres before reaching puberty. It will take him little over 18 years to get there again, and Patience is a virtue he will come to value at a later stage.

At 15, he plays his first television part in the children series Zolder. In high school, his achievements on the stage of the old gym surpass his achievements in the classroom and he spends more time behind the drumset or the microphonestand than behind books. He nevertheless finishes school without much trouble, and decides to go to college, studying Theatre Science at the University of Amsterdam.

This turns out to be his first career mistake.
After one year of theorizing he is fed up with Mass Communication or Studies Into Audience Behaviour, and so he throws his books to the winds. He leaves the bench and goes out into the field to do some Serious Art making.

He tries to familiarize himself with as much aspects of the theatre he can get his hands on. He works in the fringe as a sound engineer, playwright, lyricist, composer, assistant director and, indeed, as an actor. The pay is lousy but the experience is for free, and Social Security obliges, though not willingly...

Just when he starts asking himself if starving is worth the cause, a Famous Casting Director recognizes his talent for comedy, and he is casted for the part of 'Frits' in the sitcom In de Vlaamsche Pot. It's The Big Break. The series becomes a huge succes, and the part haunts him still...