Aku-Heikki Ilmari Hirviniemi (born 5 December 1983, in

Riihimäki Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to ...

) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

actor.

Theatre and television

Hirviniemi has worked for several theatres around Finland, including

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, Riihimäki,

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

and

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

, while also acting in films and on television. He first gained popularity in a television series ''Presidentin kanslia'' (2008–2011) in which he played the chauffeur Illu Airisto. In the spring of 2010, Hirviniemi became a household name in Finland when a weekly sketch comedy television show ''

Putous ''Putous'' (Comedy Combat is the international name) is a Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, th ...

'' premiered. In the first season, his female character Marja Tyrni was crowned as the "sketch comedy character of the year". He was part of the cast in the first five seasons of the show, but announced on 1 March 2014 that he would not return for season six. From 2012 to 2016 Hirviniemi starred

MTV3 MTV3 ( fi, MTV Kolme, sv, MTV Tre) is a Finnish commercial television station. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Yle TV1 (from Yle) took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV (literally "Advertisemen ...

's police drama series '' Roba''. In 2014 Hirviniemi and another former ''Putous'' actor

Jaakko Saariluoma Eino Jaakko "Jaska" Saariluoma (born 25 July 1967) is a Finnish actor, writer, director, stand-up comedian and television host. Saariluoma graduated from Theatre Academy Helsinki in 1994 and has worked for several theatres, on television and in fi ...

hosted a comedy talk show ''Posse'' with

The Dudesons The Dudesons ( fi, Duudsonit) are a Finnish entertainment group. They are best known for their TV shows and live performances, which are a combination of stunts and comedy. Their early TV shows were similar to '' Jackass''. Starting their televi ...

Personal life

Hirviniemi has two daughters from his 18-year relationship with actress Niina Lahtinen.

Selected filmography

In films

*''Pohjaväri'' (2006) *''Tali-Ihantala 1944'' (2007) *''

The Storage ''The Storage'' ( fi, Varasto) is a 2011 Finnish comedy film directed by Taru Mäkelä. Cast * Kari-Pekka Toivonen as Antero Rousku * Minttu Mustakallio as Karita * Aku Hirviniemi as Raninen * Esko Salminen as Kataja * Juha Muje as Store mana ...

'' (2011) *'' Risto'' (2011) *''Kotirauha'' (2011) *''Herra Heinämäki ja Leijonatuuliviiri'' (2011) *'' Härmä'' (2012) *''

21 tapaa pilata avioliitto ''21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage'' ( fi, 21 tapaa pilata avioliitto) is a 2013 Finnish film written and directed by Johanna Vuoksenmaa. It was the highest grossing locally produced movie of the year in Finland. Main cast * Armi Toivanen as Sanna ...

'' (2013) *'' August Fools'' (2013) *'' Reunion'' (2015) *'' Reunion 2: The Bachelor Party'' (2016) *'' The Unknown Soldier'' (2017) *'' Reunion 3: Singles Cruise'' (2021)

On television

*''Tasavallan presidentti'' (2007) *''Presidentin kanslia'' (2008–2011) *''Ihmebantu'' (2009) *''

'' (2010–2014) *''Vedetään hatusta'' (2010) *''Virta'' (2011) *''Klikkaa mua'' (2011) *'' Roba'' (2012–2016) *''Harjakaisen & Piisisen talkoot'' (2012) *''Taivaan tulet'' (2013) *''Posse'' (2014) *''Kingi'' (2015) *'' Comedian and 7 Wonders'' (2015–2016) *''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' (Finnish version) (2016)

Discography

Albums

*Marja Tyrni – ''Tortturalli'' (2010) *Marja Tyrni – ''Joulun kulkuset'' (2010) *Aku Hirviniemi – ''Hahmo Shake'' (2013)

Singles

*Marja Tyrni – "Suut makiaks!" (2010) *Marja Tyrni – "Eikan kulkuset" (2010) *Marja Tyrni featuring Mikko Kuustonen & Nenäpäivä Ensemble – "Leivotaan, leivotaan" (2010) *Samppa Linna – "Samppa Linna Shake" (2013) *Samppa Linna featuring Timo Jutila – "Ny rillataan viimeiseen asti" (2013)

Books

*''Suut makiaksi Marja Tyrnin tapaan'' (Helsinki-kirjat 2010)

References

External links

* 1983 births Living people People from Riihimäki Finnish male film actors Finnish male television actors {{Finland-actor-stub