---
name: "Ben van Os"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ben-van-os"
fi1m_id: "ben-van-os"
imdb_id: "nm0651470"
tmdb_id: 33444
wikidata_id: "Q816651"
roles: ["Production designer"]
born: "1 December 1944"
died: "2 July 2012"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-10-04T21:07:23.024624+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ben van Os

## Identity

Ben van Os

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ben-van-os
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ben-van-os
- **IMDb ID:** nm0651470
- **TMDB ID:** 33444
- **Wikidata ID:** Q816651
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Van_Os, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q816651, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0651470/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/33444

Production designer. Born 1 December 1944 in The Hague. Died 2 July 2012.

## Details

- **Work:** Production designer
- **Born:** 1 December 1944, The Hague
- **Died:** 2 July 2012
- **Active:** 1988–2004
- **Frequently works with:** [Jan Roelfs](https://film.one/person/jan-roelfs.md), [Kees Kasander](https://film.one/person/kees-kasander.md), [Peter Greenaway](https://film.one/person/peter-greenaway.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 78 (1), 1990s 81 (1), 2000s 56 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 72 to 61 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Crime 1, Fantasy 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $24m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Van_Os, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q816651, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0651470/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/33444

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Libertine*](https://film.one/film/the-libertine.md) (56)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Ben van Os (1 December 1944 – 2 July 2012) was a Dutch production designer and art director. Born in The Hague, he trained at the Royal Academy of Visual Arts there and initially worked as an interior architect before entering film in the early 1980s.

He collaborated extensively with Jan Roelfs and director Peter Greenaway on films including *A Zed & Two Noughts* (1985), *Drowning by Numbers* (1988), *The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover* (1989) and *Prospero's Books* (1991). Van Os received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction for *Orlando* (1992), on which he worked with Roelfs, and *Girl with a Pearl Earring* (2003). The latter also earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Production Design.

His other credits include *The Baby of Mâcon* (1993), *Max* (2002), *It's All About Love* (2003) and *The Libertine* (2004). He was active in film from 1985 until 2004.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nl.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *The Libertine* (2004), Fi1m 56, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-libertine.md)
- *Orlando* (1992), Fi1m 81, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/orlando.md)
- *The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover* (1989), Fi1m 78, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-and-her-lover.md)

## Complete filmography (31)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Dark Blood* (2012), Production Design
- *The Libertine* (2004), Production Design — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/the-libertine.md)
- *Girl with a Pearl Earring* (2003), Production Design
- *It's All About Love* (2003), Production Design
- *Max* (2002), Production Design
- *The Triumph of Love* (2001), Production Design
- *Arabian Nights* (2000), series, Production Design
- *The Gambler* (1997), Production Design
- *All Men Are Mortal* (1995), Production Design
- *Affair Play* (1995), Production Design
- *Last Call* (1995), as Art Direction
- *1,000 Roses* (1994), Production Design
- *The Baby of Mâcon* (1993), Production Design
- *Orlando* (1992), Production Design — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/orlando.md)
- *A Walk Through Prospero's Library* (1992), as Art Direction
- *M Is for Man, Music and Mozart* (1991), as Art Direction
- *Not Mozart: WAM! Limited* (1991), as Art Direction
- *Tadzio* (1991), as Art Direction
- *Keep It for Yourself* (1991), Production Design
- *Prospero's Books* (1991), Production Design
- *Eline Vere* (1991), as Art Direction · Production Design
- *Amazing Grace* (1990), Production Design
- *The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover* (1989), Production Design — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-cook-the-thief-his-wife-and-her-lover.md)
- *Sailors Don't Cry* (1989), as Art Direction
- *Drowning by Numbers* (1988), Production Design
- *The Belly of an Architect* (1987), Production Design
- *Blonde Dolly* (1987), as Art Direction
- *A Zed & Two Noughts* (1985), Production Design
- *A Strange Love Affair* (1985), as Ben, Art Direction, Decorator
- *Mathilde* (1985), Production Design
- *Naughty Boys* (1984), as Art Direction

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 2004: Best Production Design (nominated), for *Girl with a Pearl Earring*
- 1994: Best Production Design (nominated), for *Orlando*

### Other awards — 1 won, 1 nominated

- Ouborg award 2005: Ouborg award (won)
- European Film Award for Best Production Designer 1990: European Film Award for Best Production Designer (nominated), for *The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ben-van-os