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Aku-Heikki Ilmari Hirviniemi (born 5 December 1983, in
Riihimäki Riihimäki (; ) 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 Helsinki, Tampere and La ...
) is a Finnish actor. He is well-known for his role as
Urho Hietanen Urho Hietanen is a fictional character in Väinö Linna's 1954 war novel '' The Unknown Soldier''. He is one of the main characters in the novel. Hietanen is considered to be inspired by Väinö Linna's comrade-in-arms, Sergeant Pauli Santa (19 ...
in the 2017 war film '' The Unknown Soldier''.


Theatre and television

Hirviniemi has worked for several theatres around Finland, including
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, Riihimäki,
Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...
,
Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...
and
Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...
, 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 Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
television show ''
Putous (as internationally ''Comedy Combat'') is a Finnish sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of ...
'' 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 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...
'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 f ...
hosted a comedy talk show ''Posse'' with
The Dudesons The Dudesons () 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 television career in ...
.


Personal life

Aku Hirviniemi's father is Rauli Hirviniemi, a logistics chief, and his mother is Erja Hirviniemi, a nurse. They have been members of the Riihimäki city council from the Left Alliance party. Aku Hirviniemi's sister is
Aino-Kaisa Pekonen Aino-Kaisa Ilona Pekonen (born 24 January 1979 in Riihimäki) is a Finnish politician of the Left Alliance. Pekonen was Finland's Minister of Social Affairs and Health from 6 June 2019 until 29 June 2021. She has been a member of the Parliamen ...
, a member of the
Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...
and former Minister of Social Affairs and Health. Aku Hirviniemi himself is not interested in politics, although he has been a member of the youth division of the Left Alliance in his youth. Hirviniemi has two daughters from his 18-year relationship with actress Niina Lahtinen. The couple divorced in 2016. Since 2018, Hirviniemi has been dating the TV show host Sonja Kailassaari and they got engaged on 2 February 2020. The couple had their first child in July 2023.


Sexual harassment trial

Hirviniemi has been accused of two counts of
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
, which had been said to have happened on 30 June 2018 in Riihimäki. Hirviniemi had invited two 17-year-old girls to his home and had touched them from underneath their shirts at the lower back and the bottom. One of the girls called the emergency number, and a police patrol arrived at the scene. The district court of Tavastia Proper started investigating the matter on 17 May 2019.Rautavuori, Lauri
Aku Hirviniemi ei syyllistynyt kahden tytön seksuaaliseen ahdisteluun
YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...
7 June 2019. Accessed on 11 June 2019.
The district court rejected the charges against Hirviniemi on 7 June. According to the court decision, the acts did not go against the sexual self-governance rights of the girls and did not count as sexual harassment. According to the district court it was obvious that the girls had at least somewhat reacted to Hirviniemi's behaviour in a stronger way than usual. Neither of the girls had demanded punishment for Hirviniemi or compensation for themselves. The prosecutor had complained to the
Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...
about the matter. The Turku Court of Appeals overturned the district court's decision on 4 December 2020 and saw that Hirviniemi was guilty of the charges but did not sentence him to punishment because of the lesser nature of the acts.


Sexual harassment charges in 2023

Hirviniemi had sent sexually loaded text messages, pictures and videos to several famous women and to his co-workers. Some of the respondents had found the messages to be sexually harassing. Hirviniemi admitted to the deed in November 2023 and made a public apology on his Instagram account to the women and to his fiancée. He has said he has also sought professional help for his problem. Because of this controversy, Hirviniemi resigned from his post at the board of the production company Hihhihhii Oy in November. The
Helsinki City Theatre The Helsinki City Theatre (; ) is a theatre located in Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of sou ...
fired Hirviniemi from the play ''Ilmaista rahaa'' which is to premier in February 2024. Later in the same month there was news that Hirviniemi had acted unprofessionally at the shooting of the Finnish version of the TV series '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2021. There was also news that Hirviniemi had approached some of the employees of the TV series in a sexually-oriented way, including both Finns and local Argentinians.


Selected filmography


Films

*''Pohjaväri'' (2006) *''Tali-Ihantala 1944'' (2007) *''
The Storage ''The Storage'' () is a 2011 Finnish comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy b ...
'' (2011) *''
Risto Risto () is a masculine given name, found in Finnish, Estonian and South Slavic. In South Slavic, it is a hypocorism derived from '' Hristofor'' or ''Hristivoje''. It may refer to: Estonia * Risto Järv (born 1971), folklorist *Risto Joost (b ...
'' (2011) *''Kotirauha'' (2011) *''Herra Heinämäki ja Leijonatuuliviiri'' (2011) *'' Härmä'' (2012) *''
21 tapaa pilata avioliitto ''21 Ways to Ruin a Marriage'' () 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 Manner *Essi Hellén as Aino * ...
'' (2013) *''
August Fools ''August Fools'' () is a 2013 comedy film directed by Taru Mäkelä. It is a Finnish-Czech co-production set in Helsinki, Finland in the early 1960s. Main cast * Kati Outinen * Esko Salminen * Elena Leeve * Laura Birn *Tapio Liinoja * Vesa Vie ...
'' (2013) *'' Reunion'' (2015) *'' Reunion 2: The Bachelor Party'' (2016) *'' The Unknown Soldier'' (2017) *'' Swingers'' (2018) *'' Reunion 3: Singles Cruise'' (2021) *''
Kikka! ''Kikka!'' is a 2022 Finnish drama film about the Finnish singer Kikka, who died in 2005. The film was written by Maarit Nissilä and directed by Anna Paavilainen.Koppinen, MariLaulaja Kikasta tehdään elokuva, ohjaajana kliseistä naiskuvaa k ...
'' (2022)


Television

*''Tasavallan presidentti'' (2007) *''Presidentin kanslia'' (2008–2011) *''Ihmebantu'' (2009) *''
Putous (as internationally ''Comedy Combat'') is a Finnish sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of ...
'' (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'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' (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 Ari-Mikko Kuustonen (born 4 March 1960) is a Finnish singer-songwriter and television personality. Kuustonen was born in Leppävirta Leppävirta () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Savonia region, south of Kuopio a ...
& Nenäpäivä Ensemble – "Leivotaan, leivotaan" (2010) *Samppa Linna – "Samppa Linna Shake" (2013) *Samppa Linna featuring
Timo Jutila Timo Juhani "Juti" Jutila (born 24 December 1963 in Tampere, Finland) is a retired Finnish ice hockey defenceman. Jutila was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres (4th round, 68th overall) in 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He played internationally for the Finl ...
– "Ny rillataan viimeiseen asti" (2013)


Books

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


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirviniemi, Aku 1983 births Living people People from Riihimäki Finnish male film actors Finnish male television actors