William Ivarson (March 9, 1867 – November 5, 1934) was a Norwegian actor.
Ivarson was born in
Horten
Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...
. From 1899 until his death, he was one of the leading actors at the National Theater in
Bergen
Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo.
By May 20 ...
. Ivarson was an energetic and versatile character actor. Among his foremost roles were
Sir Andrew Aguecheek
Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' Twelfth Night, or What You Will''. One of the supporting characters, Sir Andrew is a stereotypical fool, who is goaded into unwisely duelling with Cesario and who ...
in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...
'', the title role in
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Denmark–Norway, Dano–Norwegian dual monarchy. He was infl ...
's ''
Jeppe on the Hill
''Jeppe on the Hill; Or, The Transformed Peasant'' () is a Danish comedy by the Norwegian playwright Ludvig Holberg, written during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. The play premiered at the Lille Grønnegade Theatre in 1722, and ...
,'' Hjalmar Ekdal in
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...
's ''
The Wild Duck
''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It explores the complexities of truth and illusion through the story of a family torn apart by secrets and the intrusion of a ...
'', and Celius in
Nils Kjær
Nils Kjær (11 September 1870 – 9 February 1924) was a Norwegian playwright, short story writer, essayist, literary critic and theatre critic.
Personal life
Kjær was born in Holmestrand as the son of Nils Henrik Kjær and Christine Smes ...
's ''Det lykkelige valg.''
Ivarson also appeared in several silent films. He was the father of the film director and screenwriter
Harry Ivarson
Harry Ivarson (September 7, 1892 – 1967) was a Norwegians, Norwegian film director and screenwriter.
Ivarson was born in Chicago, the son of the actor William Ivarson and actress Anna Ivarson. In addition to Harry, the couple had a son Wictor ( ...