Sverrir Páll Guðnason (born 12 September 1978) is a Swedish and Icelandic actor. Sverrir was born in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, Sweden, to Icelandic parents and raised in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland. He first performed on stage in ''Heimsljós'' in the

Reykjavík City Theatre The Reykjavík City Theatre (RCT) ( ) is a theatre in Reykjavík, Iceland. History In 1989, after ninety years of performing in a small wooden building in the city centre, the company inaugurated a new theatre building adjacent to the Kringla ...

and the same year he appeared in ''

Áramótaskaupið ''Áramótaskaupið'' ("The New Year's Lampoon") is an annual Icelandic television comedy special, broadcast on New Year's Eve by the state public service broadcaster RÚV. Initially aired on radio in 1948, and later moving to television in 1966, ...

''. He moved with his family to Tyresö, Sweden, in 1990 when his father found work as a professor at the

Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest technical university. Since 2018, KTH consist ...

. At the 2009 Shanghai International Film Festival, he received an award for Best Actor for his role in the Swedish/Danish film ''

Original Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion t ...

''. He has since played the role of Pontus Höijer in the second series of ''

Wallander Wallander may refer to: TV, film, books * Kurt Wallander, a fictional Swedish police inspector in novels by Henning Mankell :*Wallander (film series), ''Wallander'' (film series), Swedish-language television films of the Wallander stories starring ...

'' as well as leading roles in productions at both

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 ...

's and

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 ...

's city theaters. He was cast as

Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 109 weeks. Borg won 66 singles titles during his caree ...

in the 2017 film ''

Borg vs McEnroe ''Borg vs McEnroe'' (, ) is a 2017 biographical film, biographical sports film, sports drama film, focusing on the famous professional Borg–McEnroe rivalry, rivalry between tennis players, Björn Borg and John McEnroe at the 1980 Wimbledon Cha ...

''. In 2018, he played

Mikael Blomkvist Mikael Blomkvist is a fictional character created by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson. He is a main character of Larsson's award-winning ''Millennium'' series, along with Lisbeth Salander. Profile Name Larsson stated in interviews ...

in the thriller ''

The Girl in the Spider's Web ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

''. In the 2020 film ''

Falling Falling or fallin' may refer to: *Falling (physics), movement due to gravity *Falling (accident) * Falling (execution) *Falling (sensation) People * Christine Falling (born 1963), American serial killer who murdered six children Books * ''Fal ...

'' which was written, directed and played in by

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...

, he plays the younger version of Willis a conservative father suffering from Dementia.

Personal life

Sverrir was born to Guðni A. Jóhannesson (1951-2023), the former Secretary General of the Icelandic National Energy Regulatory, and Bryndís Sverrisdóttir. His grandfather on his mother's side was Icelandic politician and banker

Sverrir Hermannsson Sverrir Hermannsson (26 February 1930 – 12 March 2018) was an Icelandic politician, businessman, and banker. Early life Sverrir was born in the Svalbarði farm in Ögurvík, Ísafjarðardjúp, on 26 February 1930, to Hermann Hermannsson and ...

Honours

: Knight of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(6 May 2025)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * 1978 births 21st-century Swedish male actors Best Actor Guldbagge Award winners Best Supporting Actor Guldbagge Award winners Living people Male actors from Lund Swedish male film actors Swedish male stage actors Swedish male television actors Swedish people of Icelandic descent Male actors from Reykjavík {{Sweden-screen-actor-stub