Meet Arnold Vosloo, the Actor Who Plays Jost Van Der Byl in 'Jack Ryan'

Leila Kozma - Author
By

PUBLISHED Nov. 1 2019, 4:00 p.m. ET

UPDATED Apr. 27 2020, 11:43 a.m. ET

arnold vosloo jack ryan season
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Arnold Vosloo makes a fleeting appearance on Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, yet he succeeds in stealing the show. 

In the past, he featured in cult-classic horror movies like The Mummy — playing Imhotep, the former high priest who wreaks havoc on the town of Hamunaptra in a bid to take revenge on its people for having buried him alive — and The Harrowing, a hair-raising flick about the darkest secrets of a hospital. 

Ready to find out more about Arnold Vosloo, Jack Ryan Season 2's best side character?

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Jack Ryan revolves around a CIA agent determined to save his country, and Arnold Vosloo is a Season 2 standout in the plot.

Now, the topic of choice might lead you into thinking that Arnold is playing one of the bad guys. He has a solid record in bringing some of the most heinous, gut-wrenchingly repulsive characters to life — he showed us just what an annoyed mummy is capable of, after all —  which makes him the most-suited candidate to portray the No. 1. threat to national security.  

arnold vosloo jack ryan season _ explainer
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However, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan sheds light on Arnold's lesser-known side. As the professional soldier, Jost Van Der Byl, he is quick to develop a close friendship with the protagonist of the series, Jack Ryan (John Krasinski). Brought together by a particularly unfortunate cause, the sudden disappearance of Jack's boss, James Greer (Wendell Pierce), the two men come up with the pitch-perfect plan to break into a prison complex where James is kept. 

Despite the careful planning, thorough research, and well-detailed strategy, Jack and Jost's rampant attempts are to remain futile. Unable to track down James, the two have to readjust the plan and search elsewhere. 

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In the course of five episodes, we are to discover Arnold's caring side. This comes as a particular surprise for an actor who earned a reputation as the go-to bad guy of action movies, the scarily incalculable, vicious character who's able to inject a hefty amount of drama into any narrative, posing a serious threat to the main characters. Take his role in G.I. Joe: Retaliation: as Zartan, he shows us just how crude an antagonist can be. 

arnold vosloo jack ryan season _ explainer
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Season 2 of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan plunges us into the Venezuelan oil crisis. 

While Season 1 of the Amazon Prime series revolved around the secret's agent's relentless fight against the high profile terrorist cells operating in Yemen, Season 2 chronicles Jack's unparalleled attempts to publicly name and shame the businessmen and oil tycoons whose shady dealings left the country in a state of economic meltdown. 

Best classified as a spy thriller, an action movie, and a mockumentary rolled into one, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan offers a unique form of entertainment. The agent's adventures are just as entertaining to watch as they are thought-provoking. It challenges the conventions of popular entertainment by inviting us to consider the personal dimensions of political affairs. 

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