He trained to be an actor at Studio Herman Teirlinck in Antwerp and made his breakthrough in Belgium with his role of serial killer Stef Tavernier in the TV-series Wittekerke. He played the role from 1995 until 1996.
In 2003 he was the protagonist in the thriller The Alzheimer Case. In 2005 De Bouw played the main character in movies as De Indringer en Verlengd weekend. In the same summer he left to Cuba for three months for the takes of Koning van de wereld. From January 2006 on the actor worked at the cinema movie Stormforce and Dossier K., the successor of The Alzheimer Case. In 2008 he featured in the original version of the movie Loft (with scenario written by Bart De Pauw and Erik Van Looy). In the meanwhile in Germany he cooperated in Love Hurts and Falling Rocks directed by Peter Keglevic.
Apart from acting, De Bouw also presented the gardening programme Groene Vingers on vtm from 2007 till 2011.
