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- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Heiða Rún Sigurðardóttir known by her stage name Heida Reed, is an Icelandic actress and model. She is known for playing parts in One Day, Jo (2013), Silent Witness (2014) and the BBC drama Poldark. Reed was born in Iceland, the middle of three children of a music teacher father and a dental hygienist mother. She grew up in Breiðholt, Reykjavík, and attended Ölduselsskóli. Aged 18, she was recruited by an Icelandic modeling agency, and moved to Mumbai to work as a model in India for two years. When she was 19/20, she settled in London, where she studied drama at Drama Centre London, graduating in 2010.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Art Department
Hera Hilmar is an Icelandic actress. She is mostly known, outside of Iceland, for her role as Vanessa in the television series Da Vinci's Demons (2013) (2013-2015), as Varya in Anna Karenina (2012), as Eik in the Icelandic film Life in a Fishbowl (2014), and as Lillie in The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017). She was nominated for an Edda in 2007 for her role in The Quiet Storm (2007). She won the Edda Award for Actress of the Year in 2015 for Vonarstræti (2014) and in 2017 for Eiðurinn (2016). She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Art. She is the daughter of actress Þórey Sigþórsdóttir and film director Hilmar Oddsson.- Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is an Icelandic professional strongman, actor, and former professional basketball player.
On 31 January 2015, Björnsson beat a 1000-year-old record set by Orm Storolfsson at the World's Strongest Viking competition in Norway, where he carried a 10 m (33 ft) long 650 kg (1,430 lb) log for five steps
Hafþór was cast as Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane for the fourth season of the HBO series 'Game of Thrones (2011)' in August 2013. This was his first main acting role, and the third person to depict the character after Conan Stevens played the role in season 1 and Ian Whyte in season 2. He became the first actor to portray Clegane in more than one season with his appearances in season 5. - Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Anita Briem is an Icelandic actress. She is known for her role as Jane Seymour on The Tudors and her role as Hannah Ásgeirsson in Journey to the Center of the Earth. Briem was born in Reykjavík and is the daughter of drummer Gunnlaugur Briem of Mezzoforte and back-up vocalist Erna Þórarinsdóttir. She started acting when she was nine at the National Theatre of Iceland. She moved to England at the age of sixteen in 2014 she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, having received the John Barton award in Stage Fighting. As a child she studied hand-to-hand combat and is trained in a variety of weaponry including the broadsword. She is married to actor/director Constantine Paraskevopoulos.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Ingvar Sigurdsson was born on 22 November 1963 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is an actor and producer, known for Everest (2015), The Northman (2022) and A White, White Day (2019).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Björn Hlynur Haraldsson was born in Iceland on 8 December 1974. His first role was as Guðjón In Reykjavik Guesthouse: Rent a Bike (2002) before landing a leading role alongside Daniel Brühl in King's Road (2010). After playing the lead role as police detective Helgi Marvin in both mini-series The Cliff (2009) & The Lava Field (2014) he gained more fame after his role as Trausti Einarsson in the murder mystery series Trapped (2015). It has perhaps been his portrayal of Eric Odegard in the psychological thriller series Fortitude (2015) that has seen his popularity rise to even new heights.- Actor
- Director
- Cinematographer
Darri Ingolfsson was born on 22 December 1979 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He is an actor and director, known for Dexter (2006), Last Resort (2012) and Money Monster (2016).- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actress
Born in 1965 in the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik, the daughter of Gudmundur Gunnarsson (an electrician) and Hildur Hauksdóttir who divorced before her second birthday, Björk grew up in a hippie-type community with her mother and her seven siblings. She started to study classical music at the age of 5 and released her first album in 1977 (mainly traditional Icelandic folk songs and international hits translated to Icelandic) when she was only 11. During her teenage years Björk became involved in several bands, most of them punk: Spit & Snot (1977), Exodus (1979-80), Jam 80 (1980), Tappi Tíkarrass (1981-83) (featured the documentary Rock in Reykjavik (1982)) and Kukl (1984-86). She then formed the pop group The Sugarcubes with Einar Örn Benediktsson and Sigtryggur Baldursson and eventually other members Þór Eldon (with whom she had a son in 1986), Margrét Örnólfsdóttir and Bragi Ólafsson. The band released its first single in 1986 and its first album, "Life's Too Good", in 1988, and discovered international success, especially in UK. While touring in the US with the Sugarcubes, Björk met Boris Acosta, a music connoisseur and now a film producer and director, who told her she would be very successful in the years to come. She was shocked to hear that and gracefully thanked him for his sweet words. During her Sugarcubes years, Björk also collaborated with the Icelandic jazz group Gudmundar Ingólfssonar Trio for the album "Gling-Glo" in 1990, and featured 808 State's "Ooops", which was the start of her electronic music interest. The Sugarcubes eventually split after a few albums in 1992 and in 1993. Björk released her first solo album, "Debut", in collaboration with producer Nellee Hooper. The worldwide success of the album (nearly 3 million copies sold) made possible her second album, "Post", in 1995, also with help of not only Nellee Hooper but techno gurus Graham Massey (from 808 State), Howie B. and Tricky, followed by the remix album "Telegram" the year after. After some problems in the UK, where she lived, she decided to go to Spain to record her third album, "Homogenic", released in 1997. Her main collaborators were the 'Icelandic String Octet', Mark Bell (from LFO), Mark Stent and again Howie B, and the album may be her most electronic. After Danish director Lars von Trier discovered her in the music video of "It's Oh So Quiet", he asked her to play the main role and to compose the music for his new movie Dancer in the Dark (2000). She won the Best Actress Prize in the Cannes Festival, and said that it would be her only cinema performance (although she'd already acted in the Icelandic movie The Juniper Tree (1990)) because it was too painful for her and because she considered herself a music artist and not a cinema artist. The original soundtrack was re-worked by her before being released as an album under the title "Selmasongs" in September 2000 (including a new version of the duet song "I've Seen it All" with Thom Yorke). Her fourth album, probably the most quiet, "Vespertine", featured a chamber orchestra, an Icelandic choir and harpist Zeena Parkins, and was also a successful collaboration with Matmos. She then successively released a book of photos and texts, series of DVD, a Greatest Hits album and two special boxes ("Family Tree" and "Björk Box"). She also took time to marry artist Matthew Barney, with whom she had a daughter in 2002. In August 2004 she composed and sang "Oceania" for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. This song was featured on her fifth album, "Medúlla", released about two weeks after the ceremony. It is mostly made with vocals and some titles are close to experimental music, featuring choirs, Inuit singer Tanya Tagaq, Japanese artist Dokaka, Robert Wyatt, Rahzel and Mike Patton, but also collaborating again with programmers Matmos, Mark Bell and Mark "Spike" Stent.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Baltasar Kormákur is an actor, producer and director whose work spans theater, movies and television. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, he graduated as an actor from Iceland's National Academy of Fine Arts in 1990. He was immediately signed on by the National Theatre of Iceland, where he worked as one of the leading young performing artists until 1997. During the last two years of his assignment, he also directed several ambitious works, after having produced and directed highly popular, independent stage productions alongside his projects with the National Theatre. In 2000, he wrote, directed, acted in and produced the feature film "101 Reykjavik," which became an international hit and earned the Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Subsequently, Variety selected him as one of the "10 Directors to Watch," along with Alejandro González Iñárritu, Lukas Moodysson, Christopher Nolan and other newcomers at the time.
Soon after, Kormákur started Blueeyes Productions and since then has maintained his focus on feature film writing, producing, and directing. His films "The Sea," "A Little Trip To Heaven," "Jar City" and "White Night Wedding" have all been very successful in Iceland, and won numerous international awards. Kormákur's "The Deep," which eerily captures the tragic real-life story of the lone survivor of a capsized fishing boat off the frigid Icelandic coast, premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to become Iceland's Oscar nominee and was shortlisted for the foreign language Academy Award. It opened in Iceland on September 21, 2012 and took in over 50% of the country's box office receipts that weekend and earned a record number of Edda Awards, 11 in all, including Best Film of the Year, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Kormákur has also directed features in the United States, including "Inhale," an independent film produced by the LA based 26 Films, starring Dermot Mulroney, Diane Kruger and Sam Shepard and "Contraband," starring Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, and Kate Beckinsale, which took first place at the US box office during its opening weekend, early January 2012. Universal Pictures released "Contraband," which was a remake of Oskar Johansson's "Reykjavik Rotterdam," that starred Kormákur and he produced with Agnes Johansen through his Blueeyes Productions, along with Working Title Films.
Kormákur's next film was the thriller "2 Guns," starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, which Universal Pictures will release in August 2013. Other projects include the HBO pilot "The Missionary," a spy thriller he will direct and Mark Wahlberg, Steve Levinson and Malcolm Gladwell will produce; "Everest," the cautionary tale and real life adventure on the mountain in 1996 when eight climbers died in the span of two days, due to a series of horrific mishaps and bad decisions. Working Title Films and Emmett/Furla Productions will produce "Everest" with Kormákur. Also, "Viking," a big budget action adventure set in the world of the famed Norse warriors, which will film in Iceland. Kormákur optioned Iceland's beloved, Nobel Prize-winning book Independent People to develop as a feature film and will produce the American remake of "Jar City" along with CEO of Lava Bear Films, David Linde. He is also producing the Icelandic drama "Rocketman," which acclaimed Icelandic filmmaker Dagur Kari is directing.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Tómas Lemarquis was born on 3 August 1977 in Iceland. He is an actor and producer, known for Blade Runner 2049 (2017), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Snowpiercer (2013).- He was born in Reykjavik, Iceland and moved to the United States at the age of 5. Gunnar lived in Maine till he was 11, his family then moving to Texas, where he went to high school before attending the University of Texas. At the university, he did some theater work and majored in English and mathematics before going on to graduate in English and Scandinavian Studies. Despite graduating in the aforementioned fields, his first job out of high school was as a computer operator.
In the summer of 1973, he heard that Tobe Hooper and others were in town to work on a movie and decided to try out for a part. After interviewing with Tobe Hooper and the writer of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Kim Henkel, he was cast in the role of the disturbed, mentally handicapped killer, Leatherface.
After Chainsaw, Hansen went on to work as a freelance writer for magazines for several years before going on to write books, one later being set in Iceland about purported serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas. He has gone on to write multiple screenplays - one co-written with his partner Gary Jones, director of Mosquito (1994)).
Gunnar also directed a documentary on Greenland and had a stint designing web pages for GTE. - Hlynur Sigurosson and his twin brother Marino were born in Iceland on June 16, 1988. They are both known for playing Bamm- Bamm Rubble in the live action movie, The Flintstones(1994). These two twins substituted in and out of the role of Bamm-Bamm the same way that the Silver twins handled the role of Pebbles Flinstones in the same movie. Though the two twins played the playmate of Pebbles, E.G. Dailey provided the character's voice.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Director
Stefan Karl Stefansson was an Icelandic film and stage actor/comedian, best known for playing the villain Robbie Rotten of Nickjr's popular TV program Lazy Town, that currently airs worldwide in over 103 countries, in all five continents, on [such distinguished] networks as BBC, CBBC, CBS, Discovery Kids, Disney, RUV-Icelandic TV, and Nick Jr.
Stefan Karl was born 1975 into a non-biz working class family in the village of Hafnarfjordur in Iceland. Shortly after graduation from drama school [or: from The Icelandic Academy of Arts in Reykjavík] he signed up with the National Theatre of Iceland, soon to be praised by critics and audiences alike as one of the most individual and versatile actor of the younger generation, introduced at the beginning of a new millennium.
As a lead comedic actor with the NT he was invited to play the leading role in the original theatre production of Lazy Town, in which he created the character of Robbie Rotten and when the play was eventually turned into a Television series, he was the obvious choice for the same part, in recognition of his contribution to its extraordinary success. As the villain Stefan Karl has been instrumental to the series and the success it has achieved, which includes number of prestigious awards and honors, including an EMIL Award, EDDA Award, Emmy Award nominations, and most notably two BAFTA Award nomination in the United Kingdom as well as having won the 2006 BAFTA Award, when LazyTown was specifically awarded for the episode titled "Robbie's Greatest Misses." He has also received the "Thorbjorn Egner Award" for an Outstanding Stage Performance as well as having his one man show, Thousand Island Dressing, selected by the President of the Leipzig Film Festival in Germany, as a showcase of Icelandic theatre, and performed at the festival's 10 year anniversary.
As a star player on repertoire at the National Theatre Stefan Karl also excelled in a variety of classical and contemporary starring- and character parts, such as the title role in Rostand's romantic tragedy Cyrano De Bergerac, as the song and dance man Cosmo Brown in Singin' in the Rain, the sufferable (middle age) stage director Lloyd Douglas in Noises Off and Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream. For one season Stefan Karl was borrowed by the NT's competitor The Reykjavík City Theatre, to star in Little Shop of Horrors as the formidable Dentist (plus playing ten different supporting roles).
In his relatively short career Stefán Karl built up a unique range of hilariously funny and eccentric characters, like the singing gay sheep farmer in the popular Icelandic feature comedy Stella Runs for Office, and a huge gallery of diverse comedic characters for the annual New Years Eve Comedy Hour-Variety Show on RUV-TV in Iceland, although it would be quite appropriate to say these had all rolled together into one, in his definitive interpretation of Robbie Rotten.
Stefan Karl was a founder of the reputable nonprofit organisation Rainbow Children in Iceland, a driving force and efficient charity fund raiser for rallying against child bullying, an organization which has now spread to Canada and is currently being introduced to the American public.
Stefan Karl ran his own TV and film production company in Europe, currently developing projects. He was a keen aviation enthusiast with a solo permit as a pilot, a licensed skipper for fishing boats of 30 tons, and during photography of the latest series of Lazy Town, he spent his entire spare time off set as a featured singer, vocal impressionist and youngest member of the popular rock'n roll band Studmenn, a group of celebrated musicians, all over fifty, who's catchphrase is "Lets embrace the oldest teenage rock band in Scandinavia." In his later years, Stefán Karl resided in San Diego with his wife Steinunn Olína, a renowned actress and novelist, and their three daughters and one son.
In October of 2016 Stefan Karl announced that he had developed Bile Duct Cancer. A GoFundMe campaign to cover his medical costs became popular when a few of the songs from "LazyTown" began receiving parodies and Internet memes. Stefan Karl said in August of 2017 that he was in remission but his condition became inoperable in March 2018. He discontinued chemotherapy in June 2018 and died on August 21, 2018.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Magnus Scheving is a writer, world-class athlete, entrepreneur and producer. He has been the producer and host of popular health-related children's TV shows as well as producing and acting in other TV productions and commercials. Scheving also produced and hosted his own talk show being a well-known comedian and public entertainer in his home country.
Among his many sports awards and trophies he was the two-times European Champion of aerobics in 1995 and 1994 as well as silver medalist in the World Championships of aerobics in 1994 and following that was voted "Athlete of the Year" in Iceland. Furthermore, he was five times the Nordic Champion and eight times the Icelandic Champion. He successfully built up one of the most popular health & fitness clubs in Iceland and was the manager and owner of the club for five years.
Most recently, in 2003, Scheving was voted the Marketing Man of the year 2003 by The Icelandic Marketing Association and Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 awarded by the Channel 2 Broadcaster and the Icelandic Financial Newspaper.
Scheving is in high demand as a lecturer and public speaker both as an entrepreneur, athlete and entertainer. He has traveled worldwide holding over 3800 lectures in workshops and master classes on health. After extensive public speaking around the world, Magnus realized that wherever he went, parents always asked him the same basic questions about exercise and nutrition for children. He created LazyTown in 1991 in response to those questions, to help parents raise healthy kids, and to inspire kids to lead healthier lives.
In the nine years since he introduced LazyTown by writing a bestselling book, Go, Go LazyTown!, Scheving has built LazyTown into a household name in his native Iceland, beloved by kids for its entertainment value and by parents for its healthy message. He has written a series of books for children based on his idea of LazyTown, all becoming bestsellers and selling out; these books have turned into theater musical plays written by Scheving himself.
The Company has been delivering pro-health and positive social messages in an entertaining and nonviolent way and produces only material which can stand up to scrutiny from an artistic point of view as well as an ethical one.
Magnus Scheving is the creator and spirit of LazyTown.- Composer
- Music Department
- Writer
Jóhann Jóhannsson was born on 19 September 1969 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was a composer and writer, known for Last and First Men (2020), The Theory of Everything (2014) and Sicario (2015). He died on 9 February 2018 in Berlin, Germany.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Hildur Guðnadóttir was born on 4 September 1982 in Iceland. She is a composer, known for Joker (2019), Women Talking (2022) and Tár (2022). She is married to Sam Slater. They have one child.- Editor
- Editorial Department
- Producer
Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir was born on 6 July 1965 in Iceland. She is an editor and producer, known for Deadpool 2 (2018), Kate (2021) and Contraband (2012).- Composer
- Music Department
- Producer
Atli Örvarsson (b. 1970) is an acclaimed Icelandic film and TV composer, conductor, and musician. His body of work spans over 40 major studio film productions, countless TV shows, collaborations with a range of artists including RZA, Khalid, Talos, and orchestral conducting, and ambitious solo work.
Atli was born and raised in the town of Akureyri in North Iceland. He lived and worked in Los Angeles for many years, feeling a call to return to his homeland in 2016. The move brought him full circle, and heralded a renewed sense of creative freedom, and an exciting new chapter in his storied career.
Since his return, Atli has worked with the Sinfonia Nord orchestra to put Akureyri on the map as an international destination for recording film scores. He founded the thriving INNI label / studios to help bring talented Icelandic artists to a wider audience, and continued his creative evolution with the release of his expansive 2020 solo debut, 'You Are Here'.
Atli's journey in music began early. At age five, his musical aptitude was noticed by a relative who gave an open invitation for a music lesson, for which he showed up bright and early at 10am the next morning. In his teens, he played in a professional theatre ensemble, and earned several gold and platinum discs with the band Sálin hans Jóns míns.
Setting out to broaden his horizons, Atli undertook a degree at Boston's Berklee College of Music, and felt his calling as a film composer. He explored the synergies and subtleties of composing for the screen, going further during his Masters at the University of North Carolina. A move to Los Angeles was the natural next step. Atli quickly found good company, honing his craft alongside prolific TV composer Mike Post, and Hollywood legend Hans Zimmer.
Since then, Atli has become one of Iceland's foremost screen composers, winning the HARPA Nordic Film Composer Award for his acclaimed score to 'Rams', and several ASCAP and BMI Film and TV Music Awards. In 2009, he was nominated as the Breakthrough of the Year at the IFMCA Awards, and Discovery of the Year by the World Soundtrack Academy. In 2019, his score for 'Ploey: You Never Fly Alone' was nominated for a Public Choice Award.
The path ahead will be an exciting one. The view from the top of the world, just miles from the Arctic Circle, has given Atli a new sense of purpose. With the fertile creative ground he has cultivated, a steady flow of film and TV projects in the works, and the rich possibilities of the INNI organisation, the sky seems the limit.- Marino Sigurosson and his twin brother Hlynur were born in Iceland on June 16, 1988. They are both known for playing Bamm- Bamm Rubble in the 1994 live action movie, The Flintstones. The two twins substituted in and out of the role of Bamm-Bamm the same way that the Silver twins handled the role of Pebbles Flinstones in the same movie. Though the two twins played the playmate of Pebbles, E.G. Dailey provided the character's voice.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Born in Iceland, Peter began running track at a young age. He excelled in this sport and in his late teens was on the Icelandic National Team for the decathlon. He held several national records. While competing in Europe, he met a runner from the United States who was currently attending and competing for USC. After talking, the USC track athlete asked him if he would ever consider coming to the United States to run for USC. Peter said he would love to and after talking to the coach, Peter began attending USC on a full scholarship. He came to the United States with his 3 children (Lisa, Petur Jr., and Kristine). While at USC (being in the right place at the right time) casting for a movie was being done [Journey to the Center of the Earth] and the producer was having a hard time finding someone to play Hans [a tall, strong Icelandic native]. One of the producer's colleagues had a son who went to USC. At a social event the son of the producer's colleague learned about the trouble the producer was having finding someone to play Hans. You can guess what happens from here. The colleague's son was on the track team as well and told the producer "I have the perfect person for the part." An audition was arranged and Peter soon went to try out for the part. He was immediately cast in the role of Hans. After the movie was filmed, Peter was offered a long-term acting contract that he turned down. He felt that after making the movie he had no privacy and did not want to live a life in the public eye. Later on, Peter competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics for Iceland in the 110-Meter Hurdles. Since then he married a Southern California native (of Danish decent) Marie George (now Marie Ronson) and had two more sons, Brian and Stephen. Both are currently licensed physicians in Southern California and are very proud of their father.- Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir (born 2 July 1969 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic actress, TV show host, producer and writer.
Steinunn Ólína grew up in Reykjavík with her mother, the actress Bríet Héðinsdóttir, and her father Þorsteinn Þorsteinsson, a writer and translator of dramatic literature, and first found fame with a starring stage role at the age of fifteen. At seventeen she moved to London, England to study drama at the Drama Centre London, from which she graduated in 1990 along with contemporaries like Helen McCrory and Tara FitzGerald. She subsequently moved back to Iceland to re-launch a career on the stage and television as a mature artist, making her debut at the National Theatre of Iceland in the role of Solveig in Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt.
Television and film work
Steinunn Ólina starred as detective Gabriela in Netflix original show, Case in 2015 and garnered international acclaim for her performance. She received the prestigious FIPA D'OR awards for best actress for her role as well as the Icelandic Edda Film and Television awards as actress of the year. Steinunn played the role of Aldis in series Trapped, season one. Steinunn portrayed Didda in series Fangar AKA Prisoners 2017 which won her best supporting actress Edda awards in 2018. Steinunn played lawyer Edda in season 1 of series, Stella Blomquist in 2017.
Steinunn Ólína produced, wrote, directed and hosted her own live talk show, Over My Dead Body with Steinunn Ólína, on the Icelandic State Broadcasting Television Channel 1. She has also contributed to other television shows as a comedian and writer, such as the RUV-TV's "New Year's Eve Comedy Hour Variety Show" the most preeminent annual event on National Television in Iceland, to which she has rendered her services on several occasions. Steinunn has also appeared in a numerous television plays, sitcoms and feature films, including Vargur in 2018 and Beowulf and Grendel, starring Gerard Butler, in 2005.
National Theatre and elsewhere
Steinunn Ólína was hired after graduation from Drama School as a contracted star player at the National Theatre of Iceland where she spent the next fourteen years, appearing in over 50 productions and portraying a range of leading characters in contemporary and classical plays alike. Her many significant roles at the National include Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady by Lerner and Loewe and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, also contributing to several stage productions of comedy and farce, such Ray Cooney's Two for One and in Michael Frayn's Noises Off as the misfortunate actress Dotty Otley. She has also interpreted many classical characters such as Irena, in Chekhov's Three Sisters, Aglaja in a dramatization of The Idiot by Dostoyevsky and Queen Margaret in Shakespeare's Richard III for which she garnered the prestigious "Grima awards" (The Mask) in 2004.[1] Steinunn Ólína has also been featured in numerous high-profile stage productions with several different acting companies, tackling leading roles in plays by masters of the absurd such as in Eugène Ionesco's The Lesson, her portrayal of Roxy Hart in Chicago by Kander and Ebb as a guest star with the Reykjavík Theatre Ensemble.
Personal life
Steinunn broke into the stratum of novelists with the publishing of her semi-autobiographical novella Parental Guidance which made number one bestseller in Iceland in 2006. Steinunn owns and is editor in chief of WWW.kvennabladid.is (The Women's magazine) an online newspaper in Iceland, originally founded by her great grandmother in 1895. Steinunn married actor Stefan Karl Stefansson of Lazy Town fame in 2002 and has four children. Stefan Karl passed away August 21. 2018 after battling bile duct cancer for two years. Steinunn as of 2018 resides along with their children in Reykjavik, Iceland. - Siddy Holloway was born in Iceland. She is known for Regína (2001), Job Interview (2016) and Close to the Sun (2019). She has been married to Ben Peterson since 19 May 2023.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Joi Johannsson is an awarded Nordic actor born and raised in Iceland. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of Hartford, Connecticut in 1994 with a B.A degree in Theatre and Cinematic Arts.
Joi made his acting debut in 1986 in an international TV mini series called Nonni and Manni. Since then he has appeared in over 40 international films and TV productions. The most recent being Fortitude 2 (UK) where he joins an international cast lead by Dennis Quaid. Other major roles/productions include Clint Eastwoods Flag of Our Fathers (USA) and a lead in Baltasar Kormakurs (Everest, Two Guns) The Deep (Iceland) (Ten Edda Awards and garnered recognition by the Nordic Council, European Film Awards, the Göteborg Film Festival, Les Arcs European Film Festival, and the Mar del Plata Film Festival.) Joi also can be seen in a leading role in the TV mini series The Lava Field (Iceland), a big role in the Danish film The Shamer's Daughter and lead opposite Franka Potente in the German films: Solveig Karlsdottir - The Death in Westfjords and Death of the Elf Woman.
Joi is a multi talented performer and is equally versed in comedy and drama. He is extremely good at languages and has a perfect American and British accent. He speaks German and the Scandinavian languages. He does not speak Finnish. Joi has almost 50 theatre productions under his belt in the USA and Iceland. His credits include Leontes in A Winters Tale, Woof in Hair, Ginger in Jerusalem, Stanley in One Man, Two Guvnors, Man 1 in 39 Steps and Alex in Certified Male. He can now be seen in Icelandic Sagas - The Greatest Hits.
Joi has hosted, produced and written over 200 TV episodes and 150 radio shows.
Latest project was a role in the TV series The Mayor (Iceland) that just finished shooting. Former mayor of Reykjavik, comedian Jon Gnarr writes and stars in the series.
Joi's next premieres are "The Oath" by Baltasar Kormakur September 9th and "The Death in Westfjords" and "The Death of the Elf Woman" on the German TV station ARD in October.
Joi will be presenting his film "The Death in Westfjords" at the Oldenburg Filmfestival in Germany in September.- Maria Ellingsen was born on 22 January 1964 in Reykjavík, Iceland. She is an actress, known for D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994), Agnes (1995) and Foxtrot (1988).
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Location Management
Berglind Icey was born on 4 June 1977 in Iceland. She is an actress, known for The Master of Disguise (2002), The Animal (2001) and The Hot Chick (2002).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir was born on 25 February 1974 in Reykjavik, Iceland. She is an actress and writer, known for Prisoners (2017), Children (2006) and Verbúðin (2021). She is married to Gísli Örn Garðarsson. They have two children.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Rúnar Rúnarsson was born on 20 January 1977 in Reykjavík, Iceland. He is a director and producer, known for Volcano (2011), Sparrows (2015) and Echo (2019).- Camera and Electrical Department
- Special Effects
- Director
Valdimar Jóhannsson was born in 1978 in Iceland. He is a director, known for Lamb (2021), Oblivion (2013) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).- Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir was born in Iceland. She is an actress, known for Fractures (2022), Pity the Lovers (2019) and Stella Blómkvist (2017).
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Hilmir Snær Guðnason was born on 24 January 1969 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is an actor and writer, known for White Night Wedding (2008), Lamb (2021) and 101 Reykjavík (2000).- Anna Bjorn was born in 1955 in Iceland. She is an actress, known for The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), Remington Steele (1982) and More American Graffiti (1979).
- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
Eagle Egilsson was born on 31 August 1966 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Hightown (2020), The Wire (2002) and TURN: Washington's Spies (2014).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Hlynur Pálmason was born on 30 September 1984 in Hornafjörður, Iceland. He is a director and writer, known for A White, White Day (2019), Godland (2022) and Winter Brothers (2017).- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Composer
Sjón is an internationally acclaimed Icelandic author, working in various literary forms and in all genres of film. His most recent work for the screen is the screenplay for the Cannes winning film Lamb, starring Noomi Rapace, that went on to become a top ten grossing film in the US and Iceland's entry for the Best International Film Oscar. Next up is the Viking revenge drama The Northman, co-written with its legendary director Robert Eggers, premiering in the spring of 2022. Currently he is working on a screen adaptation of Hamlet with Ali Abbasi, director of Border.
Sjón's novels and poems have been translated into more than 40 languages. Among his books are The Blue Fox, From the Mouth of the Whale, Moonstone and CoDex 1962, for which he has won international awards and nominations, including the Nordic Council's Literature Prize, The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and the Icelandic Literary Prize. In 2017 Sjón became the third writer to be chosen to contribute to Future Library - following Margaret Atwood and David Mitchell - a public artwork based in Norway spanning 100 years. At the 2001 Oscars ceremony, Sjón was nominated for an Academy Award for his lyrics in Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark. Sjón lives and works in Reykjavík.- Actor
- Music Department
- Stunts
Sigurdur Ingvarsson graduated with a B.A. in acting from the Iceland University of the Arts in 2022. He played the part of Johan Sveinsson in the fourth season of the TV series Killing Eve. His previous roles include Jonas, in Elfar Adalsteins' Summerlight... and Then Comes the Night, Gunni in Maria Reyndal's Manners, which was awarded the best TV show at the 2019 Edda awards, and Jonas in Baltasar Kormakur's Touch.
Siggi has worked on stage as an actor, dancer and co-writer. In 2023 he took part in developing Ian Rowland's play, Aurora Borealis, in Wales.- Actor
- Producer
Eythor Gudjonsson is an entrepreneur by nature. He is a former athlete, two times Icelandic national champion with his team in the popular European sport, team handball. Eythor was the marketing manager for Walt Disney Home video i Iceland for five years, and set the world record withing the Disney Corporation in sales of the Lion King video in 1995. In the year 2000, Eythor was able to obtain the franchise Little Caesars' Pizza, and opened the operation in Iceland which set the world record in first week sales of a new franchise, beating Domino's record at that time by 25%. This record still stands. Born and raised in Iceland, Eythor lives in Reykjavik where he runs several of his own businesses, ranging from animation to real estate projects. Gudjonsson has been in a few television and newspaper advertisements, but appearing in Hostel is his debut performance as a lead character in a movie.- Sirry Steffen was born on 29 May 1938 in Iceland. She was an actress, known for The Crawling Hand (1963), Hitler (1962) and Inter Nos (1982). She was married to Stefán Bjarnason and Porkel Valdimarsson. She died on 1 February 2020 in Selfoss, Iceland.
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir was born on 28 July 1982 in Iceland. She is an actress and director, known for Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), Sjáumst með Silvíu Nótt (2005) and Justice League (2017).- Keiko, a Genus Orca whale, was born in 1976 and captured off the coast of Iceland in 1979. He was sold to the marine park industry, and in 1985 he arrived to Reino Aventura in Mexico City where and lived a normal life for a captive whale until 1993. In that year, he was cast as "Willy" in the movie "Free Willy," capturing the hearts of millions of children and adults worldwide. Afterwards, Life magazine made an article where it showed of the horrible conditions in in which he lived in Reino Aventura so an international pledge was started, and enough money was raised to have him sent to the Oregon Coast Aquarium; before being airlifted back to Iceland in 1998 to prepare him for a return to the wild.
He was trained to survive in the wild and released in July of 2002, but he longed for human contact. He swam 870 miles; eventually ending up in Helsa, Norway in September of 2002, where local residents played with him often; so much so that animal protection authorities banned anyone from approaching him. He was looked after by whale keepers for the last year of life, suddenly coming down with pneumonia on December 10, 2003. He died a day later. - Actress
- Additional Crew
Ylfa Edelstein was born and raised in Reykjavik, Iceland. Her grandparents fled Nazi Germany in 1938, settling in Iceland after her grandfather was offered a position as a cellist with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. From an early age, Ylfa showed a proclivity for performance, in ballet, theatre and music. Her first role came at the age of 6 for Icelandic Television. She came to the United States, as a teenager, to study Theatre and never looked back. She resides in New York City.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Grímur Hákonarson was born in 1977 in Iceland. He is a director and writer, known for Rams (2015), Bræðrabylta (2007) and A Pure Heart (2012).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Fridrik Thor Fridriksson started his film making carrier with a series of experimental films and documentaries in the early 1980s. In 1987, he founded The Icelandic Film Corporation, which has become Iceland's most important production company, producing Fridrikssons films as well as working with other Icelandic directors and producers. Through Fridriksson's international reputation the company has built a network of internationally well-established co-production partner companies, including Lars von Triers Zentropa and most recently, Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope. As a director, Fridriksson gained international recognition and critical acclaim with his second feature _Children of Nature (1991)_ which was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film.
Growing up in Iceland in the sixties, Fridriksson was influenced by American films but his exposure to Kurosawa's works was of crucial importance in his decision to become a filmmaker. Co-writing with two of Iceland's most acclaimed novelists and script-writers 'Einar Már Gudmundsson' (Children Of Nature, Angels Of The Universe, Moviedays) and Einar Kárason (White Whales, Devils Island, Falcons) Fridriksson has been acclaimed for the strong visual style of his films and his gift for stunning images. His films combine a wry sense of humour and genuine solidarity with the characters. Fridriksson's films are both deeply personal and have a strong rooting in Icelandic culture often depicting characters at the crossroads of tradition and modernity. Uniquely Fridriksson's films have both touched a chord with local audiences in Iceland who have flocked to see Fridriksson's vision of themselves (more than 50% of the Icelandic population saw his film, 'Angels Of The Universe', released in 2000) as well as moved audiences from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds.
Fridriksson's own identity as a filmmaker is that of a storyteller within a tradition that goes back to the writers of the Icelandic Sagas, more than a thousand years ago.- Stunts
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Arna Magnea Danks was born 1970 in Iceland Reykjavik, and is of Northern Irish/Icelandic descent. Her training includes: Listahaskoli islands (Icelandic Academy of the Arts) - Diploma in education, 2008 - 2009. East 15 Acting School/University of East London - BA Diploma in Acting, 1997 - 2000. Stage Combat Teacher/Choreographer, from the British Academy of Dramatic Combat [BADC] Trained by: Nick Hall, Master of Arms, Chairman of the BADC, Equity Fight Director, 2000 - 2003. Fencing (Foil grade 5 & Sabre Grade 4) taught by Angela Goodall - BAF [British Academy of Fencing] University of Iceland - Student of History 1991 &1992 College of Breiðholt - Iceland. Advanced 4year College Degree in Business Studies, Graduated 1991. St. John Ambulance First Aid Certificate, first issued: 7th December 2003. Police Check Enhanced Disclosure no: 001044086362 [A requirement in the UK for all Teachers] Equity for Actors members in the UK no: M00147211 Member of The Icelandic Actors Association (FIL) She is working towards a MA Degree in Gender Studies within the University of Iceland. Worked as a freelance actress, fight/stunt coordinator and teacher in Iceland since 2006.- Sólveig Eva grew up in Reykjavik, Iceland, from where she moved to London to study acting at LAMDA and Rose Bruford College.
Accepting the advice of her acting teachers she felt the need to assimilate once she began working in the UK and US and acquired the name Eva Solveig with SAG and Actor's Equity. In 2020 she dropped her stage name and embraced her birth name.
She trained physical theatre with Gardzienice in Poland, Physical Lab and Song of the Goat Theatre in London and at the International School of Theatrical Biomechanics in Italy.
She studied acting at Knickerbocker Studio, Stella Adler and with T.Schreiber in New York, did an acting Erasmus exchange with the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn, and studied improv and sketch writing with the Upright Citizen's Brigade in New York.
In 2012 she launched the theatre company Spindrift with her classmates Bergdís Júlía Jóhannsdóttir, Henriette Kristensen and Anna Korolainen Crevier. The company focuses on curiosity about human behaviour, devising and experimental storytelling, and playing with identity and autonomy through voice and movement. Tinna Þorvalds Önnudóttir formally joined the company in 2019, and Marjo Lahti and Outi Ikonen formally joined in 2021.
Sólveig is also an author-illustrator. Her work focuses on intimate relationships and the multiplicity of identity and belonging. She's a Washington Post contributor, an award winning graphic novelist and is represented by The Seymour Agency in New York. - Producer
- Director
- Writer
Sigurjon (Joni) Sighvatsson, a veteran producer with over 60 feature films and television series to his credit, is the CEO and principal producer of Palomar Pictures, an independent Film and TV production company, as well as the Chairman of the Scandinavian film distributor Scanbox Entertainment.
Sighvatsson has worked with some of the most successful filmmakers in the industry, including David Lynch, Kathryn Bigelow, Jim Sheridan, Julian Schnabel, and multiple Academy Award nominees and winners. Among his films are Brothers, Z for Zachariah, Killer Elite, as well as classics such as Wild at Heart, Arlington Road, and Basquiat, and he recently produced the biopic on Hilma af Klint, the Swedish artist discovered 20 years after her death who is now understood to be the earliest abstract artist.
Sighvatsson has also long been a significant force in the world of art films. After having paved the way for visual artists moving into feature films with Julian Schnabel's highly acclaimed Basquiat, Sighvatsson has also produced the groundbreaking Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait as well as the controversial Destricted, a collection of short films by some of the world's leading artists focusing on the concept of pornography.
Before coming to the United States, Sighvatsson enjoyed a successful career as a musician in his native Iceland, founding the country's first recording studio when he was 21. After finishing his B.A. from the University of Iceland, Sighvatsson came to Los Angeles on a Fulbright Scholarship to earn his MFA in the Graduate Film Studies program at USC. Sighvatsson then was invited to and joined the Director's Program at the American Film Institute.
In 1986, Sighvatsson co-founded Propaganda Films, which quickly became the leading music video and commercial production company in the world before expanding into feature films with Red Rock West, Kalifornia, and David Lynch's Wild At Heart which won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. At Propaganda, Sighvatsson helped launch the careers of such directors as David Fincher, Michael Bay, and Spike Jonze.
Sighvatsson has also been involved with numerous television shows, including the Emmy-nominated "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City," the innovative cult classic "Twin Peaks," the triple ACE Award-winning anthology series "Fallen Angels," the quadruple ACE-winning "Heat Wave," as well as the popular original "Beverly Hills 90210". In 1995, Sighvatsson became the founding president of Lakeshore Entertainment, where he produced or executive produced films such as Polish Wedding, 200 Cigarettes and Arlington Road.
In 2005 Sighvatsson acquired Scanbox Entertainment, the third largest independent Scandinavian film distributor, as well as heritage clothing company 66 North in Iceland, which he built into an award winning international outdoor brand.
Sighvatsson has served in various industry and civic organizations including, as president of the American Cinematheque in Hollywood, as well as on the boards of the AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers), the American-Scandinavian Foundation, the ACLU of Southern California, the Ocean Park Community Center, and serves on the Hammer Museum Board of Overseers. Sighvatsson was also the Honorary Consul General for Iceland in Southern California for 25 years, resigning in 2022.
Having been a documentary producer for many years, Sighvatsson has recently branched out into documentary directing. His debut feature, "Exxtinction Emergency," an in depth examination of the direct action climate protest movement known as Extinction Rebellion, premiered at the Reykjavik International Film Festival in 2022. He has two more feature documentaries in the works, "The Bitcoin Bandits," and "OMG It's A Miracle!" the long awaited sequel to 2006's smash hit Screaming Masterpiece.- Sólveig Arnarsdóttir was born on 26 January 1973 in Iceland. She is an actress, known for Ingaló (1992), Katla (2021) and Trapped (2015).
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson was born in 1978 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is a writer and director, known for Under the Tree (2017), Either Way (2011) and Skröltormar (2007).- Actor
- Music Department
- Editorial Department
Stony Blyden was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. He is an actor, known for How I Met Your Father (2022), Dude (2018) and Bluff City Law (2019).- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Benedikt Erlingsson was born on 31 May 1969 in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is an actor and writer, known for Woman at War (2018), Of Horses and Men (2013) and The Show of Shows (2015).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Jon Thor Birgisson was born on 23 April 1975 in Iceland. He is a composer and actor, known for We Bought a Zoo (2011), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014).