Hans Jacob Nilsen (8 November 1897 – 6 March 1957) was a Norwegian actor,

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and film director. He was a theatre director at

Den Nationale Scene Den Nationale Scene ( en, National Theater) is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatres in Norway. History Opened under the name '' Det Norske Theater'' in 1850, the theatre has root ...

, at

Folketeatret Folketeateret is a theatre in Oslo, Norway. The building has been used as a movie theatre and as an opera house. The theatre has 1,400 seats. History The theatre itself operated from 1952 to 1959, but the institution has a much longer history. ...

, and for two separate periods at

Det Norske Teatret Det Norske Teatret ( en, Norwegian Theater)Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabl ...

Personal life

Nilsen was born in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Viken (county), Viken Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the ...

, a son of Otto Marquard Orning Nilsen and Sara Lorentzen. He married Sophie Munch Roede in 1958. Their daughter Grethe Nilsen was married to politician

Knut Frydenlund Knut Frydenlund (31 March 1927 – 26 February 1987) was a Norwegian diplomat and politician for the Labour Party who served as foreign minister from 1973–1981 and again from 1986–1987. Frydenlund was born in Drammen and began his dipl ...

. He died in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

on 6 March 1957.

Career

First trained as a mechanical engineer, Nilsen started his theatrical career as an actor. He worked as a stage actor in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

and

. He was appointed theatre director at

from 1933 to 1934, and was theatre director at

from 1934 to 1939. His film debut was in ''Syndere i sommersol'' from 1934, and he also played in ''To levende og en død'' from 1937. In 1935, Nilsen had directed the premier of the play of ''Vår ære og vår makt'' ("Our Honor and Our Power") by Marxist writer

Nordahl Grieg Johan Nordahl Brun Grieg (1 November 1902 – 2 December 1943) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist and activism, political activist. He was a popular author and a controversial public figure. He served in World War II as a war c ...

. The performance created considerable interest and controversy due to its socially critical content. It proved to be a financial success partly because of Nilsen's advanced directing and set design. During the

Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...

, Nilsson had to flee to Sweden. While in Sweden, he was a co-founder of Fri norsk scene. From 1946 to 1950 he was again appointed theatre director at Det Norske Teatret. Together with

Sigval Maartmann-Moe Sigval Maartmann-Moe (May 23, 1921 – June 7, 2010) was a Norwegian film director and screenwriter. Maartmann-Moe made his debut as a film director in 1951 with '' Dei svarte hestane'', which he directed together with Hans Jacob Nilsen. This de ...

, he co-directed the film '' Dei svarte hestane'' from 1951, based on

Tarjei Vesaas Tarjei Vesaas (20 August 1897 – 15 March 1970) was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century and perhaps its most important since World War II. Biography Vesaas ...

's novel with the same title. From 1952 he was theatre director of

Selected filmography

* '' Sinners in Summertime'' (1934) * '' To levende og en død'' (1937) * '' Dei svarte hestane'' (1951)

Other sources

*Næss, Trine (1994) ''Mellomkrigstidens teater i den norske hovedstaden'' (Solum) * Nilsen, Sidsel Marie (1997) ''Helst mot urolig vær: Teatermannen Hans Jacob Nilsen'' (Oslo: Aschehoug)

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsen, Hans Jacob 1897 births 1957 deaths Norwegian male stage actors Norwegian male film actors Norwegian theatre directors People from Fredrikstad People from Østfold Norwegian film directors