Espen Skjønberg

Espen Henrik Skjønberg (born 7 April 1924) is a Norwegian actor of stage, screen and television.

Espen Skjønberg
Skjønberg in 1988
Born	Espen Skjønberg (1924-04-07) 7 April 1924 Oslo, Norway
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1937–present
Spouse(s)	Mona Hofland ​ ( m. 1959; died 2010)
Parent(s)	Henny Skjønberg (1886–1973) Eugen Skjønberg (1889–1971)

Personal life

Skjønberg was born in Oslo to actress Henny Skjønberg and actor Eugen Skjønberg.[1] His older brother, Pål Skjønberg, was also a successful actor and stage instructor.[2] He was married to actress Mona Hofland from 1959[1] until her death in 2010.[3]

Career

Skjønberg made his first movie appearances as a child in the 1932 film En glad gutt[3] and in the 1937 Norwegian classic Fant,[1] in which his mother also appeared. His stage debut came reciting poetry at the Norwegian theatre Chat Noir in 1945. He joined the Norwegian National Theatre in 1946 and become one of its most prominent figures, appearing in 64 different roles the next 60 years. As late as 2006 he co-starred with Toralv Maurstad (who also appeared in Fant) in an adaptation of Waiting for Godot.

Skjønberg's first starring role in films was in 1951's Vi vil skilles. Throughout the years he has acted alongside Tom Courtenay, Nigel Hawthorne, Susannah York, Edward Woodward, Gérard Depardieu, and co-starred with Hollywood veterans Cliff Robertson and Robert Mitchum in the 1995 movie Pakten. In England, he was particularly associated with the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester and appeared there many times.

He also found popularity with new generations heading the cast of Familiesagaen De Syv Søstre (1996–2000), one of Norway's first major soap operas. In the show Skjønberg co-starred with his real-life wife, actress Mona Hofland. He was also popular as the old mountain gnome Erke in the widely successful children's series Jul i Blåfjell (1999).

Skjønberg has received several awards throughout his career. Most notably the Norwegian Arts Council's Honorary Award in 1989, the Norwegian film award Amanda for best actor in 1994 (for the World War II drama The Last Lieutenant) and its Honorary Award in 2004. In 2008 he also won an Amanda for his supporting role in the movie O' Horten. He has also received the British Theatre Association's Drama Award and was made a Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav by the King of Norway.[4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1937	Fant	Fantebarn #2
1939	De vergeløse	Schoolboy
1951	Dei svarte hestane	Ola Nordbø
	The Stranger	Bokselgeren
1952	Vi vil skilles	Ola Berg
	Andrine og Kjell
1953	Ung frue forsvunnet	Einar Møller, pharmacist
	Skøytekongen	Høye, journalist
1954	Kasserer Jensen	Svensen
	Portrettet	Nilsen, pharmacist
1955	Arthurs forbrytelse	Arthur Sellman
1956	Roser til Monica	Egil Ek, pianist
1957	Stevnemøte med glemte år
1961	Hans Nielsen Hauge	Mikkel Nielsen Hauge
1970	One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich	Tiurin
1971	Gråt, elskede mann
1972	Motforestilling
1973	Knut Formos siste jakt	Presten
1976	Vårnatt	Hjalmar
1979	Blood of the Railroad Workers	Spelol
	Heritage	Jon Skaug
1981	The Witch Hunt	Kristoffer Klomber
1982	Krypskyttere	Tandberg
1984	On the Threshold	Kalle
1989	A Handful of Time	Old Martin
1990	Twice Upon a Time	Smykkehandleren
	Wayfarers	Knoff
	Svampe	Trym
1991	Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon	Fortelleren	voice
1993	The Last Lieutenant	Thor Espedal	Amanda for Best Actor
1994	Dreamplay	Faren
	Trollsyn	Fortelleren	voice
1995	Waiting for Sunset	Carl Berner
1996	Syndig sommer
1999	Sofies verden	Leonardo da Vinci
	Frozen Heart	Nansen	voice
2001	Guggen: The Big Cheese		voice
2002	I Am Dina	Merchant 2
2004	My Jealous Barber	Bents father
2007	O'Horten	Trygve Sissener	Amanda for Best Supporting Actor
2008	Fiin aargang
	I et speil i en gåte	Grandfather

Television

Year	Programme or series	Role	Notes
1962	Prosessen	Josef K
1969	Faderen	Captain
	Taxi		TV mini-series
1970	Vildanden	Gregers Werle
1981	Medmenneske	Didrik Dale	TV mini-series
1985	Kong Lear		TV mini-series
1988	Codename: Kyril	Michaelov
1994	Vestavind	Algot Engan
	Seier'n er vå	Bestefar
1996	Familiesagaen de syv søstre	Haakon	(unknown episodes)
1999	Jul i Blåfjell	Erke
2000	Sofies verden	Leonardi Da Vinci	TV mini-series
2004–2005	Seks som oss	Prest	3 episodes
2007	Berlinerpoplene	Tormod Neshov	TV mini-series
2009	Casper och den förbjudna filmen	Himself

Selected theatre performances

• Ulrik Brendel in Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen. Directed by Casper Wrede at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1981)
• Odysseus in Philoctetes by Sophocles. Directed by Michael Elliott at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1982)
• Old Ekdal in The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen. Directed by Casper Wrede at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1983)
• Dr Chebutykin in Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Casper Wrede at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1985)
• Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1987)
• Theseus in Oedipus by Sophocles. Directed by Casper Wrede at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1987)
• Button Moulder in Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen. Directed by Braham Murray at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. (1999)
• Firs in The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Staged at the Nationaltheatret, Oslo. (2017)[3]

References

• "Skjønberg, Espen". Aschehoug og Gyldendals Store Norske Leksikon (2 ed.). 1988.

1. Larsen, Svend Erik Løken. "Espen Skjønberg". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
2. Brodal, Svein Erik. "Pål Skjønberg". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
3. Grønneberg, Anders (23 September 2017). "Var så syk at jeg ikke husker noe". Dagbladet (in Norwegian).
4. https://nbl.snl.no/Espen_Skj%C3%B8nberg

External links

• Espen Skjønberg on IMDb

Awards
Preceded by Arne Skouen	Recipient of the Norsk kulturråds ærespris 1989	Succeeded by Arne Nordheim