Last week we published an article about what Nordic actors and directors were currently working on abroad, and since that article did so well we’ve put together a list for the Nordic films our favourite Nordic actors will star in next year.
Mark your calendars, here’s who’s doing what and when in 2018!
Denmark
- Ulrich Thomsen stars in the Danish war drama Love and War, which is directed by Kasper Torsting and will be released on the 15th of November 2018. Sebastian Jessen, Thure Lindhardt and Natalie Madueño also star in the film.
- Lars Mikkelsen will star in the second season of Ride Upon the Storm, a new Danish television series from Adam Price (Borgen). The first season is currently being released globally (Australia, it has just been made available on SBS on Demand) and the second season will be out around this time next year.
- Laura Bro will be in the upcoming film The Guilty, which has just been selected for the Sundance Film Festival. Morten Suurballe and Jakob Cedergren also star in the film.
- Carsten Bjørnlund (The Legacy) has been cast in the upcoming Danish television series Liberty, which is due to be released in Denmark in February 2018. He is currently acting in En affære, a Norwegian film by director Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken that will be released in September.
- Dar Salim stars in the upcoming Danish mini-series Warrior, which is a crime drama involving the army. The series will be released some time in 2018 and has a very good cast, including Danica Curcic, Jakob Oftebro and Søren Malling.
- Nicolas Bro will star in the sequel to The Shamer’s Daughter, Skammerens Datter II: Slangens Gave. In the sequel, Dina has to save her family from her new father. But he is a Blackmaster, with the power to make people see and believe things that aren’t true, so Dina must deal with having inherited this horrible power, while forging a relationship with a father she fears and mistrusts. Søren Malling, Jakob Oftebro, Allan Hyde and Dejan Cukic also star in the film. It will be released some time in 2018. Nicolas Bro will also be in Warrior, which we mentioned above.
- Sonja Richter stars in the fantasy film Vildheks, directed by Kasper Munk and also starring Gerda Lie Kaas, the daughter of Nikolaj Lie Kaas. This will be released some time in 2018.
- Trine Dyrholm stars in the film Young Astrid, which is the story of the life of Astrid Lindgren. This film is due for release in March 2018 and also stars the 2018 European Shooting Star Alba August as Astrid.
- Sofie Gråbøl has been cast in Lars von Trier’s upcoming film, The House That Jack Built. The film has a mix of Nordic and international actors, and will be released some time in 2018.
- Søren Malling has been mentioned already, but he has also been cast in the British/Scandinavian series Rig 45, which is a crime series set on one of the oil rigs in the North Sea. This series has a big cast, including Jakob Oftebro and David Dencik.
- Nikolaj Lie Kaas will star in his final film for the Department Q series, The Purity of Vengeance. This film will be about a series of mysterious disappearances in 1987 that are all eerily connected to the same person. Fares Fares has also been confirmed for the film, and Søren Pillmark will also reprise his role as Marcus Jacobsen.
Finland
- Laura Birn stars in the Finnish/Swedish film East of Sweden, which is currently in post-production. Not much is known of the film, but it will be released next year.
- Pekka Strang, who found international success this year with Tom of Finland, stars in the Finnish TV series Sipoon Herttua: Duke of Sipoo, which is described as a comedy and will be released on the 1st of April 2018. The series also stars Juho Milonoff, Kari Hietalahti and Taneli Mäkelä.
- Pihla Viitala stars in the upcoming Finnish crime series Arctic Circle, which is a co-production with Germany (like how Midnight Sun was a Swedish/French co-production). The series also stars Kari Hietalahti and Iina Kuustonen and will be released some time in 2018.
- Hannes Suominen stars in The Violin Player, a biographical film that is being kept under wraps. All we know is that Kim Bodnia is also in it, and it will be released some time next year!
- Tommi Korpela stars in the upcoming series Deadwind, which is their take on Nordic Noir as it mixes crime with personal drama. This all-star cast includes Jonna Järnefelt, Kari Hietalahti, Lauri Tilkanen, Pihla Viitala, and Rami Peltonen.
Iceland
- Björn Thors stars in the Swedish/Icelandic film Pity the Lovers, which is a romantic comedy. Sadly not much is known about it, but it’s in post-production and we’ll see it in 2018. Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir, Hafdís Helga Helgadóttir and Jóel Sæmundsson are also in the film.
- Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir has been cast in the Icelandic film Eden, which is currently in post-production. She has also been announced to star in a new TV series called The Trip, created by Baldvin Zophoníasson. The series is still in its early stages (though they say it’ll be out next year) and tells the story of Icelandic twin baby sisters who are kidnapped in Puerto Rico in 1993. Six months later they are found dead.
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson is reprising his role of Andri for the second season of Trapped, which is due for national release in 2018. This series includes a huge number of Icelandic actors, including Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, Baltasar Breki Samper, Þorsteinn Bachmann and Bjarne Henriksen.
- Þorsteinn Bachmann, he has been cast in two Icelandic films that will be released next year. The first is Let Me Fall, a crime film from Baldvin Zophoníasson that will be released on the 7th of September 2018. The film also stars Atli Oskar Fjalarsson, who found international acclaim with 2015’s Sparrows. The second is And Breathe Normally, a drama which will shortly premiere in the United States. This one also stars Gunnar Jónsson, the star of Virgin Mountain.
Norway
- Ine Marie Wilmann stars in the biographical film Sonja, which is the story of Sonja Hennie, one of the world’s greatest athletes and the inventor of modern figure skating. Sonja also stars Pål Sverre Hagen, Valene Kane and Eldar Skar.
- Aksel Hennie stars in the Norwegian film Mordene i Kongo, which is based on the very true story of two Norwegian adventurers who are accused of killing their hired chauffeur just before crossing into the eastern Congo. The following manhunt starts a political and diplomatic headache. The film is directed by Marius Holst and will be released on the 5th of October 2018.
- Jakob Oftebro seems to be working a lot in Denmark at the moment, and we have mentioned him several times in the Danish section of this article!
- Kristofer Hivju is back in the new season of Sweden’s Beck, which is just about to premiere on national screens. At home in Norway, he is also starring in the upcoming TV series Twin, which is about identical twins. When one dies, the other has to go in disguise as the other. It’s currently in production.
- Ane Dahl Torp stars in a new television series called Heimebane. Rolf Kristian Larsen, Lars Arentz-Hansen, Julia Bache-Wiig and Morten Svartveit have been listed as cast members. Ane Dahl Torp plays Helena Mikkelsen, who becomes the first female Norwegian Premiere League football manager in Norway’s history. The series follows her through the football season as she struggles to win the respect of players who don’t believe in her, supporters who don’t like her, and a club who may fire her at any moment. On the home front, she is on the verge of losing contact with her own daughter. John Carew plays a football who returns home to Norway to end his career.
- Anders Baasmo Christiansen will star in a Norwegian comedy called Norske byggeklosser, which is directed by Arild Fröhlich and is a modern remake of the classic movie where the main characters meets unforeseen troubles and bureaucracy when they build a new house. Atle Antonsen also stars in the film. Anders will also be in a television series called One Night, which is currently being kept under wraps.
- Anders Danielsen Lie will star as Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik in Paul Greengrass’ Norway, which is currently filming.
Sweden
- Krister Henriksson will appear in a new television series called Conspiracy of Silence. He has been confirmed for one episode out of the eight in total. The series will premiere some time in 2018.
- Rolf Lassgård stars in the new Swedish television series called The Dying Detective, which will premiere in early 2018. He will also star in the TV series Hunters, reprising his role from the original film.
- Mikael Persbrandt stars in the new film Tårtgeneralen, directed by Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson. Set in 1984, Hans Pettersson (Hasse P.) decides to create the largest sandwich cake ever made in order to put his home town, Köping, on the map. The film also stars Helena Bergström, Tomas von Brömssen and Cecilia Frode. It will premiere in Sweden on the 17th of January 2018.
Sofia Helin as Saga Norén
Thure Lindhardt as Henrik
Director: Henrik Georgsson/Rumle Hammerich
Photo: Karl Nordlund
Produced by Filmlance International AB
- Sofia Helin will, of course, star in the new season of The Bridge, which premieres in Sweden on New Years Day.
- Henrik Dorsin stars in a new Swedish film called Lyrro, which has been in post-production for around two months.
- Gustaf Hammarsten became internationally known with Midnight Sun, and now he stars in a new comedy series called Sjölyckan, which is directed by Felix Herngren.