Willems was attached to theatrical company Theatergroep Hollandia. He could be seen in
La Musica (1991), the solo show
Twee stemmen (from 1997 on) and
La Musica Twee (2003). He also played with other companies, including Het Zuidelijk Toneel/Hollandia, het Nationale Toneel, and the Flemish company De Tijd. With Oostpool, he played in the musical stage production
Brel, de zoete oorlog. In the show, he also sang a couple of songs of
Jacques Brel, translated to Dutch. In April 2010 he had the leading role in a performance of
Louis Andriessen's opera
La Commedia at
Carnegie Hall in New York. He also could be seen in many film and television productions. In 1991, he played David Grobben in the TV series
Bij nader inzien, based on the novel of
J.J. Voskuil. Other TV series include
Tijd van leven (1996),
Wij, Alexander (1998), as Dutch cabaret star
Wim Sonneveld in
Bij ons in de Jordaan (2000),
Bellicher (2010), and
Lijn 32 (2012). In 2007, he had the leading role in
Stellenbosch), a drama series about a South African wineyard at the end of the
apartheid. In 2010, he played
King William II in the
AVRO TV series
De Troon. Film roles include
Nynke (2001) as Dutch socialist
Pieter Jelles Troelstra,
De passievrucht (2003), ''
Ocean's Twelve (2004), Simon (2004), Summer Heat (2008), Stricken (2009), and as Prince Claus in Majesteit
(2010). In 2012, he played the role of criminal Mirko Narain in the TV film Cop vs Killer''. Two TV series will be released posthumously. In January 2013, the
VPRO broadcast the TV series
De ontmaskering van de Vastgoedfraude, in which Willems has the leading part. Three movies were released in 2013. Willems appeared in
Tula: The Revolt, and
Boven is het Stil.
De wederopstanding van een klootzak opened the 2013
International Film Festival Rotterdam. ==Death==