Famke Janssen gets a meaty role in upcoming weed-centered crime drama “Amsterdam Empire,” heading to Netflix later this year. 

“My character, Betty, is a former pop star from the 90s who had one hit called ‘Forever.’ Her husband owns the biggest weed empire. Then she finds out he’s cheated with a younger woman and now, she’s pregnant,” she tells Variety at Monte-Carlo Television Festival. 

“He wants to buy her off with some money, but she won’t come after the money: she’ll come after the whole weed empire. And destroy him in the process.”

Betty has a score to settle, but Janssen says: “She’s not enraged the whole time. I wanted to make sure of that, because it could get a little tiresome. But I also thought: ‘Go and get it,’” she laughs. 

“I wanted to challenge myself, even by doing a music video and learning to dance and sing. We looked at everyone for inspiration, at Paula Abdul and all these other women who were performing at the time. Their fashion, choreography.”

Her character’s complexity is no accident – following “GoldenEye” and “X-Men,” where she played Jean Grey-turned-Dark Phoenix, the industry has seen the Dutch actor as a villain for way too long. 

“I think there are certain actors who get typecast. I don’t know, it might have to do with me being a woman, it might have to do with being a foreigner. I’m a strong woman. I look like a strong woman, at least. But the whole point of doing this job is getting to show different facets of yourself,” she says. 

“People make a career out of playing that one type of role, whether it’s a romantic comedy or big action movies. I constantly veered in another direction. I’d do ‘X-Men’ and then all these small indie films. It means you’re going to make less money and you’re going to be less known, but you need to do whatever your integrity calls for. I chose to be very private, and that also comes at a price. But my privacy is my protection in life.” 

She adds: “I’ve made a career out of turning two-dimensional characters into three-dimensional characters, because I wasn’t given much, you know?”

The show, created by Piet Matthys, Nico Moolenaar and Bart Uytdenhouwen – also behind “Undercover” – will see Janssen return to her native language. 

“All of a sudden, after a whole career of acting in English, I’m acting in Dutch. When you speak English, it’s a different part of you. You’re not the same person. It felt different. And fun.” 

The industry is “much more international now,” she argues. 

“It’s not just about these huge American productions anymore; people are watching anything. I think they’re just drawn to authenticity. I like this very much, and that’s why it was the right time to come back and do something in Dutch. I have Netflix behind me and it’s the kind of foreign-language project people are more interested in than ever before.” 

“I find myself watching these shows and getting so wrapped up in them. You’d think that as an actor, you become so jaded about the business. I’ve certainly seen too much but give me a good story and soon I’ll think these characters are living with me in my house.”

Janssen, who signed up for two seasons, will exec produce “Amsterdam Empire.” 

“It’s about time. As actors, we see what’s happening on set, we deal with every single department and that makes us unique. Most of us, if we pay attention, get a really good education this way. Producing and directing feels like a natural progression. If you want to do it, and if it gives you more control, why not?”