Sven Justus Fredrik Wollter (11 January 1934 – 10 November 2020) was a Swedish actor, writer, and political activist. Wollter is one of the most renowned Swedish actors, he was awarded Best Swedish actor twice. In his native country, he became widely known through his role as Madame Flod's son Gusten in Swedish Television's adaption of '' The People of Hemsö'' by

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

in 1966. Later he had several notable roles, including in 1976 when he played Detective Sergeant Lennart Kollberg in Bo Widerberg's film '' The Man on the Roof''. For international viewers, he is best known for his role Victor in the dramatic film '' The Sacrifice'' by Andrei Tarkovsky, and for a wider television audience as the retired Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren in the cinematic adaptations of Håkan Nesser's police novels.

Biography

Sven Wollter was born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden. He was the son of editor Kjell Wollter (1884–1950) and Elsa, née Ekwall (1905–1980). After studying at Gothenburg City Theatre's student school 1953–1957, Wollter worked at a number of smaller Swedish theaters such as the Pionjärteatern 1954-1958 and the Bygdeteatern 1959. He was later employed at the National Swedish Touring Theatre 1960–1961, The Norrköping City Theatre 1961–1963, The Vasateatern 1964–1966 and The

Swedish Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

Theatre 1966–1967. He then returned to The Gothenburg City Theater where he performed 1967–1983, then at the Folkteatern i Gävleborg 1983–1986 followed by The Stockholm City Theatre as of 1986. Wollter starred in many films such as Andrei Tarkovsky's '' The Sacrifice'' (1986), Bo Widerberg's '' The Man on the Roof'' (1976) and '' The Man from Majorca'' (1984), Colin Nutley's '' House of Angels'' (1992), and

Bille August Bille August (; born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. August's 1987 film ''Pelle the Conqueror'' won the , Academy Awards, Academy Award and Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Awar ...

's ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

'' (1996), based on the novel by Selma Lagerlöf. For his roles in ''The Man from Majorca'' and '' Sista leken'' he won the award for Best Actor at the 20th Guldbagge Awards. He appeared in television series such as ''The People of Hemsö'' (1966), based on the 1887 novel of the same name by

, and ''Raskens'' (1976), based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Vilhelm Moberg, which helped launch Wollter's career. In later years he has played Van Veeteren in Håkan Nesser's thriller series. He has also been in many plays. Wollter has starred in Hollywood productions such as

John McTiernan John Campbell McTiernan Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American former filmmaker best known for his action films. His work as director includes ''Predator (film), Predator'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), and ''The Hunt for Red October (film), ...

's '' The 13th Warrior'' (1999), in which he played a

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

chief.

Political activism

Wollter was active in the Swedish communist movement since his youth and was a longtime member of the Swedish Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (formerly KPML(r)). His activities included the theatre ensemble Fria Proteatern and the successful Tältprojektet, ''The Tent Project'', a musical theatre performance based on the history of the Swedish working class that toured the country the summer of 1977. In 2018, he received the controversial Lenin Award of 100,000

Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it but, espec ...

(about 10,000

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

), a cultural award named after

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

Personal life

Wollter had five children; Ylva (1962–1992) and Stina Wollter (born 1964) together with Annie Jenhoff, Lina Wollter together with Evabritt Strandberg, Karl Seldahl (born 1975) together with Viveka Seldahl and the youngest child Magnus together with Maria Lindgren. From 2003 until his death he was married to Lisa Wede.

Death

Wollter died on 10 November 2020, in

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...

, Sweden, from complications caused by

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

which he had been infected by during a visit to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Prior to contracting the coronavirus, Wollter was diagnosed with

COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by chronic respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. GOLD defines COPD as a heterogeneous lung condition characterized by chronic respiratory s ...

according to his daughter Stina Wollter. He was 86 years old.

Filmography

*1959: '' Rider in Blue'' as Press Photographer (uncredited) *1966: ''Hemsöborna'' (TV Mini Series) as Gusten *1967: '' I Am Curious (Yellow)'' as Captain (uncredited) *1968: ''Jag älskar, du älskar'' as Sten *1969: ''Nej'' (Short) *1973: ''Ett köpmanshus i skärgården'' (TV Series) as Janne *1974: ''Rymmare'' (TV Movie) as Klas *1975: ''Gyllene år'' (TV Series) as Björn Bjurhoff *1975: '' The White Wall'' as Kjell Larsson *1976: ''Raskens'' (TV Series) as Gustav 'Raskens' Rask *1976: '' The Man on the Roof'' as Lennart Kollberg *1978: ''Strandfyndet'' (TV Series) as Direktör Sallberg *1979: ''Linus eller Tegelhusets hemlighet'' as Daniel *1979: ''Charlotte Löwensköld'' as Foundry Proprietor Schagerström *1981: ''Sista budet'' as Police Inspector *1981: ''Kallocain'' (TV Mini Series) as Leo Kall *1983: ''Jacob Smitaren'' as Doctor *1983: ''Profitörerna'' (TV Series) as Jarnebring *1984: '' Sista leken'' as Viktor *1984: '' The Man from Majorca'' as Inspector Jarnebring *1985: ''Havlandet'' as Matti *1986: '' The Sacrifice'' as Victor *1986: ''I lagens namn'' as Jarnebring *1987: ''En film om kärlek'' as Peter *1987: ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' as Zeb *1988: ''Ein Treffen mit Rimbaud'' as Hinrich *1988: ''Enkel resa'' as Johannes *1988: '' Sweetwater'' as Doc *1989: ''Husbonden – piraten på Sandön'' (TV Movie) as Peter *1989-1991: ''Tre kärlekar'' (TV Series) as Eskil Enekrona *1990: ''Smykketyven'' as Jan Ström *1991: ''Menekse Koyu'' as Kerem *1992: '' House of Angels'' as Axel Flogfält *1993: ''Dockpojken'' as Fadern *1994: '' House of Angels – The Second Summer'' as Axel Flogfält *1995: ''Alfred'' as Alfred Nobel *1996: ''

'' as Stor-Ingmar *1997: '' Oliver & Company'' as Sykes (voice in Swedish redub) *1998: '' The Tattooed Widow'' (TV Movie) as Erik Sandström *1998: ''Ögat'' as Poliskommissarien *1998: ''Ivar Kreuger'' (TV Series) as Häradshövding Wallenberg *1999: '' The 13th Warrior'' as King Hrothgar *1999: ''Sally'' (TV Series) as Rolf 'Roffe' Santesson *2000: ''Det grovmaskiga nätet'' (TV Series) as Van Veeteren *2000: '' A Song for Martin'' as Martin *2001: '' Kaspar i Nudådalen'' (TV Series) as Perols Erik *2001: ''Återkomsten'' as Van Veeteren *2001: ''Kvinna med födelsemärke'' (TV Series) as Van Veeteren *2001: '' Kira's Reason: A Love Story'' as Kira's Father *2002: ''Suxxess'' as Sigvard *2002: '' Dieselråttor & sjömansmöss'' as Mäster Estragon *2002: ''

Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' as John Silver (voice in Swedish dub) *2005: ''Molly i världen'' as The narrator *2005: ''Van Veeteren – Carambole'' as Van Veeteren *2005: ''Störst av allt'' as Aron P Johansson *2005: '' Van Veeteren – Münsters fall'' as Van Veeteren *2005: ''Van Veeteren – Borkmanns punkt'' as Van Veeteren *2006: ''Van Veeteren – Moreno och tystnaden'' as Van Veeteren *2006: ''Sigillet'' as Vete von Vanders *2006: ''Van Veeteren – Svalan, Katten, Rosen, Döden'' as Van Veeteren *2006: ''Van Veeteren – Fallet G'' as Van Veeteren *2007: '' Elias: The Little Rescue Boat'' as The Royal Yacht (Swedish version, voice) *2009: '' Gnomes and Trolls: The Secret Chamber'' (Swedish dub) as Fassa (voice) *2010: '' House of Angels – Third Time Lucky'' as Axel Flogfält *2012: ''Flimmer'' as Barnard *2012: ''Samlaren'' (Short) as Lennart *2015: ''Våga älska'' as Piloten *2017: ''Solsidan'' as Maurtiz Schiller *2018: ''Videomannen'' as Grannen - The Neighbor *2022: '' The House'' as Odd Couple Husband (released posthumously; final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wollter, Sven 1934 births 2020 deaths Male actors from Gothenburg Swedish male film actors Swedish communists Best Actor Guldbagge Award winners 20th-century Swedish male actors 21st-century Swedish male actors Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden