Carl Destoop (De twaalf)

This page is about the character from De twaalf (The Twelve''). For other characters named Carl, see Carl (disambiguation)''

Carl Destoop is a main character in the Dutch-language Belgian television series De twaalf (The Twelve).

Biography
Carl Destoop is elected as one of the twelve jurors on a large murder case. He is married and has a teenage daughter, Juliette, who is also autistic.

Autism
Though never explicitly stated in-universe, it is implied by his autistic daughter that they are extremely alike. The actor confirms this character is autistic in an interview.

Carl is a serious man who takes his task as a juror very seriously. He is very strict when it comes to rules and can be very stubborn in following them, sometimes bordering on unreasonable and butting heads with the other jurors. On the other hand, his attention to detail and keen eye for spotting contradictions gives him an edge when considering the evidence that is laid out.

Relationship with Juliette
Juliette gets diagnosed with autism over the series, which Carl resists at first. He considers his daughter's struggles and antics to just be due to puberty, and struggles with her need to be let loose. After Juliette babysits the children of another juror, the juror remarks to Carl that her kids found Juliette to be odd. Carl discloses that Juliette has autism, but is surprised when the other juror asks what Juliette thinks about the diagnosis, since he had never considered that before. He goes to ask his daughter what she feels about it and they bond over the shared experience of everything being too much at times, with Juliette stating "mom says we're the same that way."

Adaptation
The series received an Australian adaptation in 2022, also titled The Twelve. Carl is loosely adapted into the character of Simon Kavanaugh (played by Nicholas Cassim), though Simon is not autistic.