Top 20 Scandinavian Actors
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Peter Stormare was born in Arbrå, Gävleborgs län, Sweden, to Gunhild (Holm) and Karl Ingvar Storm. He began his acting career at the Royal National Theatre of Sweden, performing for eleven years. In 1990 he became the Associate Artistic Director at the Tokyo Globe Theatre and directed productions of many Shakespeare plays, including "Hamlet". In 1993 he moved to New York, where he appeared in English productions. He continues to work in both the United States and his his homeland of Sweden. He resides in Los Angeles, California, USA, with his wife.- Actor
- Soundtrack
He started acting school in Malmö and went from there to the Skånska Teatern in Landskrona, performing in plays by Shakespeare or Brecht. He made a breakthrough as Puck in William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer's Night Dream'. He also met his wife Birgitta there. The 1990s meant a lot of work in front of the camera, playing a string of policemen, most notably Kurt Wallander from Henning Mankell's crime novels.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Aksel Hennie is a Norwegian actor, writer and director. He has acted in a number of successful Norwegian movies, and has received several awards. Hennie grew up in Lambertseter in Oslo. In his late teens he was sentenced for tagging, and became an outcast in the community for confessing to the police. This personal story contributed much of the background for the movie Uno. The conviction against Hennie was in fact one of the first such cases in Norway. Hennie was admitted to the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre after applying four times. He graduated in 2001, and has since acted both at Teatret in Molde from 2001 to 2002 and at Oslo Nye Teater from 2002 till now where he has been in plays such as Hamlet, and The woman who married a turkey. His main success, however, has been as a film actor. He made his debut starring in the feature film Jonny Vang in 2003. Though the director, Jens Lien, originally thought Hennie was too young for the role, the actor convinced him he was the right man for the film. The same year he also acted in the movies Buddy and Ulvesommer, and the next year he made his debut as a director and writer with the movie Uno, in which he also acted.[5] For this film Hennie, and his co-star Nicolai Cleve Broch, went into hard physical training for six months to perform convincingly as bodybuilders. He won the Amanda Award (the main Norwegian film award) for "The Best Direction" (for the movie Uno in 2005), and that same year he was also among the nominees for "Best Actor" and "Best Film". He also won an Amanda award as "Best Actor" for the movie Jonny Vang in 2003. He was named one of European films "Shooting Stars" by European Film Promotion in 2004. In 2001 he was also named "Theatre talent of the year" by the newspaper Dagbladet. In 2008 Hennie starred in the movie Max Manus, where he played the role of the Norwegian war hero by that name. The movie had a large budget by Norwegian standards, and was met with great expectations.- Actor
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Atle Antonsen was born on 11 August 1969 in Lillehammer, Norway. He is an actor and writer, known for Dag (2010), The Trip (2021) and Norske byggeklosser (2018).- Actor
- Director
Trond Fausa was born on 2 December 1972. He is an actor and director, known for The Bothersome Man (2006), Alene menn sammen (2006) and Gone with the Woman (2007). He has been married to Lena Kristin Ellingsen since 16 August 2014. They have two children.- Actor
- Producer
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Stellan Skarsgård was born in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden, to Gudrun (Larsson) and Jan Skarsgård. He became a star in his teens through the title role in the TV-series Bombi Bitt och jag (1968). Between the years 1972-88 he was employed at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, where he participated in "Vita rum" (1988), August Strindberg's "Ett drömspel" (1986) and "Mäster Olof" (1988). Simultaneously Skarsgård did outstanding film roles, notably in The Simple-Minded Murderer (1982) by Hans Alfredson and with Fred Ward in Noon Wine (1985). The fantastic performance gave him both a well-earned Guldbagge and Silver Berlin Bear. He portrayed the Skagen-painter Sören Kröyer in Hip hip hurra! (1987) and the Swedish ambassador Raoul Wallenberg in God afton, herr Wallenberg (1990), both directed by Kjell Grede. Codename Coq Rouge (1989) and The Democratic Terrorist (1992) he played Jan Guillou's Swedish superagent Carl Hamilton. He also had the leading part in the Oscar nominated The Ox (1991) directed by the world-famous cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Skarsgård did his first (but small) role in an big American film with The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). The role of Captain Tupolev in The Hunt for Red October (1990) was at supposed to be biggest part in a Hollywood-film, but unfortunately it was cut down. His breakthrough instead came with Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) opposite newcomer Emily Watson. After that Skarsgård got several supporting roles in American films, such as in My Son the Fanatic (1997), Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting (1997) and Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997).- Per Christian Ellefsen started his impressive stage career at Sogn og Fjordane's Theatre at the age of 23. In 1980 he became an employee of Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo's New Theatre) where he soon met friend and colleague Sven Nordin. Through the 1980s Nordin drifted into success in television while Ellefsen remained a respected stage actor, well known to the theater-going public, but far from a household name.
Ellefsen proved himself to be a cheerful comic actor in comedies and musicals, turning in some memorable performances in children and family plays such as the title role in Oslo Nye Teater's 1988 version of "Karlsson på taket", based on Astrid Lindgren's popular childrens book. His portrayal of Karlsson was hysterically funny sending kids and adults alike screaming with laughter.
Despite rave reviews on stage, some supporting roles in TV and films, it wasn't until 1999's Absolutt blåmandag (1999) he made a mark for himself on the big screen, with a scene-stealing supporting role as an accident-prone hairdresser in one of that years most popular Norwegian movies.
In 2000 success on the small screen followed, as the retarted 'Trosten' in the popular drama-series Soria Moria (2000). Then, to finally seal his fate as one of Norway's best loved actors, the same year he co-starred with his old friend Sven Nordin on stage in "Brødre i blodet" (Brothers in Blood), playing the mentally handicapped Elling opposite Nordin's somewhat dim-witted oaf Kjell Bjarne. The show was based on a successful series of books by Ingvar Ambjørnsen, and the huge stage success made the public cry out for a Elling/Kjell-Bjarne-movie.
The movie-version, titled Elling (2001), premiered in 2001 with Ellefsen and Nordin re-creating their roles for the big screen. "Elling" quickly turned into a wide-spread phenomenon! Seen by 800,000 Norwegian moviegoers (in a country with just 4.2 million people) it also became the most successful Norwegian film in neighbouring Sweden and Denmark ever!
As if this wasn't enough, the charming audience-pleaser "Elling" in 2002 received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, sending Ellefsen, co-star Sven Nordin, director Petter Næss and producer Dag Alveberg on a (in Norway) highly publicized trip to Hollywood celebrating the movies success. Per Christian Ellefsen had finally hit the big time, not only becoming a household name in Norway but also one of it's most recognizable and loved actors. - Actor
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This Norwegian actor is an employee of Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo's New Theatre) since 1981. On stage he has starred in everything from Shakespeare to modern drama like Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie, and musicals like Guys and Dolls.
Got his big breakthrough as a Norwegian resistance fighter in the suspenseful WWII mini-series Röd snö (1985). In 1993-97 he starred as Nils in Mot i brøstet (1993), if not the best, certainly one of the most popular Norwegian sitcom's of all time, even resulting in him getting a snack named after his character!
On the big screen he also got the chance to act opposite Robert Mitchum and Cliff Robertson in the Norwegian movie The Sunset Boys (1995) in 1995. In 2001 he played an arctic explorer opposite Kenneth Branagh's Ernest Shackleton in the large-scale TV-production Shackleton (2002).
2001 also saw his biggest success on screen yet, when he starred as the slightly retarded Kjell-Bjarne in Elling (2001). The movie was seen by over 800,000 Norwegian cinema-goers (in a country with just 4.2 million people) and also became the most successful Norwegian film ever shown in Sweden and Denmark. In 2002 Nordin joined his co-star Per Christian Ellefsen, director Petter Næss and producer Dag Alveberg on a trip to Hollywood, celebrating the movie's Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.- Robert Gustafsson was born on 20 December 1964 in Katrineholm, Södermanlands län, Sweden. He is an actor and writer, known for The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013), Fyra nyanser av brunt (2004) and The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared (2016). He has been married to Lotta since 1988. They have two children.
- Actor
- Music Department
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One of Swedish theater's most well known actors. Järegård is appreciated for his extrovert and at the same time controlled style of acting, of which he gladly characterized comic or morbid characters. He played the title role in Moliére's "Tartuffe" as well as Orgon (The Royal Dramatic Theatre, 1971) with great success, and before that he had earned very high critical acclaim for his portrayal of Estragon in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting For Godot" (The Royal Dramatic Theatre, 1966), which was later adapted for television in 1971. Among his foremost stage roles were also Hjalmar Ekdal in Ibsen's play "The Wild Duck" (The Royal Dramatic Theater, 1972) directed by Ingmar Bergman. Järegård also appeared in several popular TV-series such as "Skånska mord" (1986), Frida och hennes vän (1970) and De tre från Haparanda (1974), and no one can forget his creepy boss in the TV theater adaption of VD (1988).
Järegård's relatively few appearances on film show a great range from his debut in Ragnar Frisk's Swedish Punks (1962) and the singing prisoner Harald Hansson in Släpp fångarne loss - det är vår! (1975) to a supporting role in Lars von Trier's Europa (1991) and the leading part in von Trier's series The Kingdom (1994), which led to international attention. Since the late '60s Järegård has been very popular in Sweden. With his role as the Swedish doctor Stig-Helmer on "The Kingdom" he also gained popularity in Denmark, despite the fact that his character hates Danes. In Cheek to Cheek (1997), as the old and discarded drag queen Ragnar Rönn who falls in love with an undertaker, Järegård made his final TV appearance and said a grand farewell to the Swedish viewers: The TV-theater adaption of Jonas Gardell's celebrated black comedy/drama play aired in Swedish Television in the autumn of 1998, just after Järegård's passing.- Actor
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Søren Pilmark was born on October 16, 1955 in Copenhagen, Denmark as Søren Louis Pilmark. He is an actor and writer, known for Flickering Lights (2000), Downsizing (2017) and Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013).
Søren Pilmark (born 16 October 1955) is a Danish actor and director who has gained both national and international success throughout his long and professional carreer. After graduating from Aarhus Theatre School back in 1977 Søren contracted with multiple theatres and gained high recognition for his participation in 'Hamlet', 'Richard 3.' and as The Engineer in 'Miss Saigon'. His most known work internationally is the TV series 'The Killing II', and the films 'Kon-Tiki' and 'Blinkende Lygter' / Flickering Lights, directed by Anders Thomas Jensen, and the mini-series 'Riget' / 'The Kingdom', directed by Lars von Trier. In 2007, Søren was nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Short Film" for the film 'Helmer & søn'. Furthermore, Søren also starred as 'Bahnsen' in commercials for DSB, together with 'Harry', a purple puppet with red hair. He has also written and starred in comedy productions: first in the "Pallesen-Pilmark Show" in 1984, and then in the "Ørkenens sønner" series. He has also dubbed Rocky in 'Chicken Run' and O'Malley in 'The Aristocats' in Danish. With Natasja Crone, he did an amazing job hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001, by doing so in a seemingly endless string of rhyming couplets. In 1997, 2001, 2005, 2008, and 2012, the group Ørkenens Sønner performed as a comedian quartet, made up of Søren Pilmark, Niels Olsen, Henrik Koefoed and Asger Reher.- Actor
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Tobias Santelmann is a Norwegian actor who was born in Freiburg, Germany. His family moved to Norway when he was one year old. He grew up in the far south of Norway (Lindesnes) and moved to Oslo when he was 16 years old.
Tobias Santelmann graduated from The Oslo National Academy of Dramatic Arts (KHiO) in 2006. Since graduating he has been employed at The Norwegian Theatre in Oslo (Det Norske Teatret). During his years at the theatre he has played many different roles, such as Yang Sun in "The Good Person of Szechwan" (Brecht), K in "The Castle" (Kafka), Torvald Helmer in "Nora" (Ibsen) and Nick in "The Woods" (Mamet).
In addition to his stage work, Tobias has in the past year starred in movies like Kon Tiki, Jag Etter Vind, Flukt and Jeg Er Din.- Actor
- Producer
Dennis Storhøi was born on 15 July 1960 in Fredrikstad, Norway. He is an actor and producer, known for Troll (2022), A Storm for Christmas (2022) and The 13th Warrior (1999). He has been married to Mona Storhøi since 1997.- Jan Sælid was born on 16 May 1970. He is an actor, known for Etaten (2006), Izzat (2005) and Aber Bergen (2016).
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Kristoffer Joner is a Norwegian actor born in Stavanger, Norway. He is best known for Villmark (2003), The Wave (2015), and The Revenant (2015).
His film debut was Detektor (2000). In 2005 Joner received an Amanda Award for best male actor in the movie Naboer and again in 2012 for his role in The Orheim Company.- Actor
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- Soundtrack
Peter Mygind was born on 28 August 1963 in Frederiksberg, Denmark. He is an actor and writer, known for Flame & Citron (2008), Nikolaj og Julie (2002) and The Kingdom (1994). He has been married to Lise Mühlhausen since 10 August 1996. They have two children.- Bjørn Floberg was born on 12 September 1947 in Oslo, Norway. He is an actor, known for Out Stealing Horses (2019), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and I Am Dina (2002).
- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
David Dencik was born on 31 October 1974 in Sweden. He is an actor and producer, known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), No Time to Die (2021) and The Homesman (2014).- Actor
- Writer
Jon Øigarden was born on 31 May 1971 in Oslo, Norway. He is an actor and writer, known for 22 July (2018).