Ingrid Bergman, Dolph Lundgren and Max von Sydow are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Nordic actors that are carving a niche in Hollywood. Here are the latest exports from the Scandinavian nation
Mission: Possible
Despite being nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2013, for her portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville in BBC’s The White Queen, Rebecca Ferguson Sundström is the current favourite for her role as a double agent in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. Born and raised in Vasastaden, near Stockholm, Ferguson has three siblings. She moved to England at the age of 25 (her mother is British), but moved back to the Swedish south coast, where she now lives with her boyfriend, and her six-year-old son. Her next film to hit the screens is English director Shamim Sarif’s Despite the Falling Snow, a tale of deceit, love and espionage, set during the Cold War.
Unstoppable
Noomi Rapace, originally from Hudiksvall, Sweden, may not be a familiar name, but is surely a familiar face. After her role as Lisbeth Salander in the film adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Millenium Series, Rapace was suddenly being chased by Hollywood. Soon, the multi-lingual actor (she speaks Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English), found herself in Prometheus, The Drop, Child 44 and even Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows as gypsy psychic Madame Simza Heron. Up next, Rapace will be seen in the spy thriller Unlocked with Michael Douglas, John Malkovich and Orlando Bloom. She will also be playing legendary opera singer Maria Callas in a biopic.
Pure blood
Alicia Vikander shot to international fame when she played Kitty in the Oscar-nominated Anna Karenina. The 26-year-old quickly followed it up with a role in the Julian Assange biopic The Fifth Estate the following year, and now has signed up for plenty of Hollywood films, the most notable one being a part in the 2016 Bourne 5. Having won critical acclaim for the Swedish film Pure, which saw her play a troubled secretary, Vikander is also a trained ballet dancer and has graduated from the Royal Swedish Ballet School.
Ruling Skarsgård
Alexander Skarsgård drew attention for his portrayal of the suave vampire, Eric Northman, in True Blood. Born in Stockholm to actor Stellan Skarsgård, he bagged his first role when he was only seven. After serving in the Swedish army for nearly two years, he moved to England, and then to New York to pursue acting. He also starred in Battleship with Rihanna and Taylor Kitsch; his next lead role will see him as Tarzan, alongside Margot Robbie (Jane), in the 2016 film of the same name. Incidentally, his brother Gustaf, and his five other siblings are actors as well.
First Joel
Joel Kinnaman was born and raised in Stockholm, though only his mother is Swedish. Needless to say, he’s rather fluent in the language. Kinnaman started his acting career in 2002 with a thriller called The Invisible. He drew so much attention that he did nine films in 14 months in Sweden before making his Hollywood debut in 2010 in The Darkest Hour. Since, there’s been no stopping this action hero who impressed in his role as Detective Stephen Holder in The Killing and as the titular character in RoboCop last year. He now takes on the task of playing Rick Flag in the upcoming Suicide Squad alongside Jared Leto and Will Smith. The film is slated for release in August 2016.