Björn Andrésen

Björn Johan Andrésen (born 26 January 1955) is a Swedish actor and musician. He is best known for playing the fourteen-year-old Tadzio in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film adaptation of the 1912 Thomas Mann novella Death in Venice.

For those of a similar name, see Bjorn Anderson (disambiguation).
Björn Andrésen
Björn Andrésen in Death in Venice (1971)
Born
Björn Johan Andrésen

(1955-01-26) 26 January 1955
Stockholm, Sweden
OccupationActor, musician
Years active1970–present
Spouse(s)Suzanna
Children1

Early life

As a student Andrésen attended the Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm.[1]

Career

Andrésen had only appeared in one film, En kärlekshistoria (1970) at the time he was cast in Death in Venice, which gained him international recognition. While the film performed relatively poorly at the box office, Andrésen was noted for his performance as Tadzio, the beautiful young Polish boy with whom the film's older protagonist Gustav von Aschenbach (played by Dirk Bogarde) becomes obsessed. Film historian Lawrence J. Quirk commented in his study The Great Romantic Films (1974) that some shots of Andrésen "could be extracted from the frame and hung on the walls of the Louvre or the Vatican."

Rumors circulated in the United States at the time of the film's release as to whether or not Andrésen was homosexual (as the role demanded that he appear to exchange romantic glances with the protagonist, and on another occasion, be kissed and caressed by another teenage boy). Andrésen emphatically denied these, and later recounted his discomfort at being forced by director Luchino Visconti during filming to visit a gay bar, where he attracted the attention of a number of older men.[2]

Eager to dispel the rumors regarding his sexuality and to shed his "pretty boy" image, Andrésen thereafter avoided homosexual roles and parts which he felt would play off of his good looks, and was angry when feminist writer Germaine Greer used a photograph of him on the cover of her book The Beautiful Boy (2003) without his permission.[3] Although Greer did consult photographer David Bailey (who owned the copyright for the image) before publishing the book, Andrésen maintained that it is common practice when a party uses an image of a person which has been copyrighted by a different individual to inform the individual and that he would not have given his consent for Greer to use his picture if she had informed him of her plans.

After the release of Death in Venice, Andrésen spent an extended period of time in Japan, where the film became popular, and he appeared in a number of television commercials and also recorded several pop songs. It is said that his appearance as Tadzio in the film influenced many Japanese anime artists (known for their depictions of young, effeminate men known as "Bishōnen"), especially Keiko Takemiya. Andrésen has had a strong liking for Japan since then and has visited the country again over the years.[4]

Andrésen has appeared in several other films.[5] These include Smugglarkungen (1985), Kojan (1992), Pelikaanimies (2004),[6] and Midsommar (2019).

In addition to being an actor, Andrésen is a professional musician, and until recently performed and toured regularly with the Sven Erics dance band.[7][8]

Personal life

Andrésen resides in Stockholm with his wife, poet Suzanna, and their daughter Robine. The couple had another child, a boy (their first child), who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 1986, which caused the couple's temporary separation.

Filmography
  • 1970 – En kärlekshistoria
  • 1971 – Death in Venice
  • 1977 – Bluff Stop
  • 1982 – Den enfaldiga mördaren
  • 1982 – Gräsänklingar
  • 1985 – Smugglarkungen
  • 1986 – Morrhår & ärtor
  • 1987 – Lysande landning
  • 1989 – Maskrosbarn
  • 1989 – Det var då... (TV series)
  • 1990 – Lucifer – Sensommer gult og sort
  • 1991 – Agnes Cecilia – en sällsam historia
  • 1993 – Kojan
  • 1994 – Rederiet (TV series)
  • 2004 – Pelikanmannen
  • 2004 – Graven (TV series)
  • 2005 – Lasermannen (TV series)
  • 2006 – Världarnas bok (TV series)
  • 2010 – Wallander – Arvet
  • 2016 – Springfloden (TV series)
  • 2016 – Shelley
  • 2017 – Jordskott (TV series)
  • 2018 – Springfloden (TV series)
  • 2019 – Midsommar

Notes
  1. Ashley Wyman (7 November 2014). "Björn Andresen". Ashley Wyman Online. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-24.
  2. "'I'm not Germaine's toy,' says cover boy". Fairfax Digital. 2003-10-18. Retrieved 2008-12-25. Andresen said that when he was 16, Visconti would take him to gay clubs where he was made uncomfortable by grown men staring at him: 'They looked at me uncompromisingly as if I was a nice meaty dish.'
  3. Seaton, Matt (2003-10-16). "'I feel used'". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-12-25. Sometimes he still sees his image as Tadzio in a poster or in a cinema flyer; it used to cause him irritation, but not any more. 'My career is one of the few that started at the absolute top and then worked its way down,' he says. 'That was lonely.'
  4. A Gentle Viking. Björn Andrésen Archived 2019-08-03 at the Wayback Machine. 26 November 2018.
  5. Filmography
  6. Andrésen may be seen as he is today at the website for Pelikaananimies in which he played a pianist
  7. "The Sven Erics, now without Andresen". Archived from the original on 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
  8. "Andrésen plays keyboard in his days with the Sven Erics". Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2006-06-09.

Further reading
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 6.
  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 308-309.
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