Michael Nyqvist

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Michael Nyqvist
Nyqvist in 2013
Born
Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist

(1960-11-08)8 November 1960
Died27 June 2017(2017-06-27) (aged 56)
Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation(s)Actor, writer
Years active1982–2017
Spouse
Catharina Ehrnrooth
(m. 1990)
Children2

Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist (Swedish: [ˈnŷːkvɪst]; 8 November 1960 – 27 June 2017) was a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known for playing police officer Banck in the 1997–1998 Martin Beck TV series and for his leading role in the 2002 film Grabben i graven bredvid. He was internationally recognized for his role as Mikael Blomkvist in the acclaimed Millennium series and as the lead villains in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (as Kurt Hendricks) and John Wick (as Viggo Tarasov). In 2004, he played the leading role in As It Is in Heaven which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards.

Early life[edit]

Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist was born on 8 November 1960 in Stockholm, the son of a Swedish mother and an Italian father (from Florence).[1][2] As a young child, he was adopted from an orphanage.[3] At age 17, Nyqvist spent his senior year of high school as an exchange student in Omaha, Nebraska.[4] There, he took his first acting class and played a small part in the school's production of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.[3] He returned to Sweden and was accepted at ballet school, but gave it up after one year.[5] An ex-girlfriend suggested he try theatre and, at age 24, was accepted to the Malmö Theatre Academy.[6]

Career[edit]

Nyqvist's first major role was as police officer John Banck in the first set of Beck TV series in 1997.[7] His first big breakthrough came in 2000 with the film Together directed by Lukas Moodysson.[8] The movie achieved great international success and earned Nyqvist his first Guldbagge Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of a misguided husband with anger issues.[9] He later played the leading man in the Swedish romantic comedy Grabben i graven bredvid for which he won a Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in Leading Role.[9]

"If the measure of an actor is the impression made on the audience, well, then Michael Nyqvist is the greatest of all time."

—American actor Greg Poehler paid his last respect to Nyqvist after the Swedish actor died on 27 June 2017.[10]

In 2004, he played the lead role in As It Is in Heaven as Daniel Daréus, a conductor and musician. As It Is in Heaven was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.[11][12] In 2006, he starred in Suddenly[13] where Nyqvist plays Lasse – a man who must come to terms with the sudden loss of his wife and son.[13] In the 2007 film The Black Pimpernel, Nyqvist portrays Swedish ambassador to Chile, Harald Edelstam, who helped many people flee execution by dictator Augusto Pinochet during and after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état.[14]

Nyqvist garnered international attention starring as Mikael Blomkvist in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish title: Män som hatar kvinnor), The Girl Who Played with Fire (Swedish title: Flickan som lekte med elden), and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Swedish title: Luftslottet som sprängdes). These films were adapted from the Millennium series of novels by Stieg Larsson.[15]

He starred as a terrorist in the 2011 film, Abduction, directed by John Singleton.[16][17] He was also part of the permanent ensemble at the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre.[18] Nyqvist appeared in the 2011 action thriller Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the fourth film of the series.[19] In the film, Nyqvist portrays a madman code-named 'Cobalt', who wants to instigate a global war between Russia and the United States because he believes a war will restore ecological balance to the planet.[20] In 2014, he appeared in John Wick as a New York Russian mob boss who is forced to protect his son from a legendary hit man played by Keanu Reeves.[21] In one of Nyqvist's final roles, he starred as Russian captain Sergei Andropov, one of only three survivors of a sabotaged submarine in Hunter Killer. The movie was released posthumously on 26 October 2018. He is interviewed on the DVD and Blu-ray releases; in the section on the production of the movie.

Personal life[edit]

Nyqvist described his childhood, and his quest as an adult to find his biological parents, in his autobiographical novel, Just After Dreaming (Swedish title: När barnet lagt sig).[22]

In 1990, he married the Finnish scenographer Catharina Ehrnrooth.[23] They had two children—Ellen, born in 1991, and Arthur, who was born in 1996.[24]

Death[edit]

Michael Nyqvist's grave at Katarina cemetery in November 2020.

Nyqvist died of lung cancer on 27 June 2017 in Stockholm.[25] He was 56.[26]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1982 Kamraterna The model TV film[27][28]
1987 Jim och piraterna Blom [27][28]
1990 Pass TV film[27][28]
1996 Jerusalem Carpenter 1 [citation needed]
Sånt är livet Kalle Andersson [27][28]
1997 Tic Tac Vinni
1997–1998 Beck John Banck TV series, 7 episodes[27][28]
1998 Nightwalk Short[27][28]
Waiting for the Tenor The director [27][28]
Personkrets 3:1 Karl-Erik TV film[27][28]
1999 Breaking out Diego [27][28]
En dag i taget Henrik TV series[27][28]
2000 10:10 Magnus Short[27][28]
Together Rolf Nominated – Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role[27][28]
Hjärta av sten Lev [citation needed]
2001 Making Babies Doctor [27][28]
Home Sweet Home Kent
2002 Grabben i graven bredvid Benny Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role[27][28]
Bäst i Sverige! Giuseppe [citation needed]
2003 Smala Sussie Mörka Rösten ("Dark Voice") [27][28]
Detailjer Erik
2004 London Voodoo Magnus [citation needed]
ABBA: Our Last Video Ever TV short[27][28]
Day and night Jacob [27][28]
As It Is in Heaven Daniel Daréus Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nominated film
Nominated – Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role[27][28]
2005 Shadow world Henrik Short[27][28]
Naboer Åke [27][28]
Mother of Mine Hjalmar Jönsson Nominated – Guldbagge Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role[27][28]
Bang Bang Orangutang Sven Blomberg [27][28]
Wallander: Mastermind Lothar Kraftzcyk
2006 Search Janne
Elias og kongeskipet Joviale Swedish version, Voice[citation needed]
Suddenly Lasse [27][28]
2007 The Black Pimpernel Harald Edelstam
Arn: The Knight Templar Magnus Folkesson
2008 The Kautokeino Rebellion Lars Levi Laestadius
Downloading Nancy Stan
Iscariot Masen
2009 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Mikael Blomkvist
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Bröllopsfotografen Stage actor
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest Mikael Blomkvist
2010 The Woman That Dreamed About a Man Johan
Among Us Ernst
Kennedy's Brain [de] Lars Hakansson TV film[27][28]
2011 The Man from Beijing [de] Staffan TV film
Abduction Nikola Kozlow [27][28]
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Kurt Hendricks
2012 Disconnect Stephen Schumacher
2013 Zero Hour White Vincent TV series[27][28]
Europa Report Andrei Blok [27][28]
The Girl from Nagasaki Father Lars
Days and Nights Johan
2014 Paris Follies Jesper
Min så kallade pappa Martin Sandahl [citation needed]
John Wick Viggo Tarasov [27][28]
100 Code Mikael Eklund TV series[27][28]
2015 The Girl King Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna [27][28]
Colonia Paul Schäfer Nominated – German Film Award for Best Supporting Actor[27][28]
The Girl in the Book Milan Daneker [27][28]
2016 Frank & Lola Alan Larsson
Den allvarsamma leken Markel [citation needed]
I.T. Henrik [27][28]
2017 Madiba Hendrik Verwoerd Miniseries[27][28]
Du Forsvinder Bernard Berman [27][28]
2018 Kursk Nesterov Posthumous release[27][28]
Hunter Killer Captain Sergei Andropov
2019 A Hidden Life Bishop Joseph Fliessen

Bibliography[edit]

  • Dansa för oss (2013)[29]
  • När barnet lagt sig (2011)[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Tatt's Sweden's underbelly". couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Swedish star Michael Nyqvist's beautiful personal drama". Vancouver Observer. 14 December 2010. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b Haag, Matthew (27 June 2017). "Michael Nyqvist, a Star in 'John Wick' and the Swedish 'Dragon Tattoo,' Dies at 56". New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  4. ^ "Skådespelaren Michael Nyqvist död – DN.SE". Dagens Nyheter. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  5. ^ Bucher, Chris (27 June 2017). "Catharina Ehrnrooth, Michael Nyqvist's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Mikael Nyqvist död berör stora delar av världen". Expressen. 29 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Michael Nyqvist – lika trevlig som han var begåvad". Aftonbladet. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Skådespelaren Michael Nyqvist är död i cancer – blev 56 år". Expressen. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  9. ^ a b "Michael Nyqvist – Guldbaggen 2017". Guldbaggen. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  10. ^ Poehler, Greg [@GregPoehler] (27 June 2017). "If the measure of an actor is the impression made on the audience, well, then Michael Nyqvist is the greatest of all time. Sweden mourns" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 July 2017 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "'John Wick,' 'Dragon Tattoo' star Michael Nyqvist dies at 56". ABC News. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  12. ^ Stedman, Alex (27 June 2017). "Michael Nyqvist, 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Star, Dies at 56". Variety.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  13. ^ a b "Michael Nyqvist talks about "Suddenly" – Cinema Without Borders". cinemawithoutborders.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  14. ^ The black pimpernell Archived 30 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 29 June 2017
  15. ^ Nevins, Jake (28 June 2017). "Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist, of Dragon Tattoo and John Wick, dies at 56". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  16. ^ Erfors, Staffan (11 June 2010). "Michael Nyqvist aktuell för Hollywoodfilm". Dagens Media (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  17. ^ Søndberg, Ole (26 April 2010). "Michael Nyqvist to star in The Man From Beijing". YellowBird (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  18. ^ Nyheter, SVT (27 June 2017). "Skådespelaren Michael Nyqvist är död". Sveriges Television. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  19. ^ Sneider, Jeff (24 September 2010). "Update: 'Dragon Tattoo' Star Michael Nyqvist Will Play Villain in 'M:I:4'". The Wrap. California. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  20. ^ Ebert, Roger (14 December 2011). "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Movie Review (2011)". Roger Ebert. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  21. ^ "Michael Nyqvist: "Jag höll på att förblöda"". Expressen. 3 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  22. ^ a b "Jag var en svår jävel". Aftonbladet. 22 September 2009. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  23. ^ Hällsten, Annika (29 June 2017). "Grabben som tog farväl". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Swedish). p. 24. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  24. ^ "Catarina Nyqvist". Daily Entertainment News (DN). 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  25. ^ Vlessing, Etan (27 June 2017). "Michael Nyqvist, 'Dragon Tattoo' Star, Dies at 56". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  26. ^ "Skådespelaren Michael Nyqvist död". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj "Michael Nyqvist – Filmpunkten". www.filmpunkten.se. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Staff, Hollywood.com (6 February 2015). "Michael Nyqvist – Biography and Filmography – 1960". Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  29. ^ Spindler, Ylva Lagercrantz (10 April 2013). "Tvivlet spelar huvudrollen (SvD Premium)". Svenska Dagbladet. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.

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