Lars Ingvar Hirdwall (born 5 December 1934), is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. One of the country's most prolific stage and film actors, he is probably most widely recognised for his two heterogenous roles in the

Martin Beck Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in the ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all have been adapt ...

universe; as the eponymous killer in

Bo Widerberg Bo Gunnar Widerberg (; 8 June 1930 – 1 May 1997) was a Sweden, Swedish film director, screenwriter, writer, film editing, editor and actor. Biography Early life Widerberg was born in Malmö, Malmöhus County, Sweden. Career Widerberg was th ...

's ''

The Man on the Roof ''The Man on the Roof'' ( sv, Mannen på taket) is a 1976 Swedish police procedural- thriller film directed by Bo Widerberg. It is based on the 1971 novel ''The Abominable Man'' by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. The film stars Carl-Gustaf Lindste ...

'' in 1976, and the recurrent role as "The Neighbor" in the mass produced film series, a rambunctious raconteur who frequently interacts with the titular police investigator for the purpose of

comic relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

. He also had a role in the film adaption of

Stieg Larsson Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, starting in 2 ...

's ''

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

'' series as the lawyer Dirch Frode, and starred as various colourful characters in Lars Molin's comedies. Hirdwall was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, and was educated at

Gothenburg City Theatre Gothenburg City Theatre ( sv, Göteborgs stadsteater) opened in 1934 at Götaplatsen square in Gothenburg, Sweden. The theatre was designed by Swedish architect Carl Bergsten who gave the exterior a Neo-Classical look with a touch of Streamline M ...

stage school 1957-1960. Since the early 1960s he has been active as an actor in many films and TV series and on theatrical stages, mainly

Stockholms stadsteater Stockholm City Theatre ( sv, Stockholms stadsteater) is live performance theater located in Stockholm, Sweden. The theatre is situated near the Sergel fountain and the Stockholm City roundabout. Location It is located in one of Stockholm's m ...

. He is well known in Sweden, often portraying obstinate or strange characters, like the eccentric neighbor in the many Swedish

TV-movies made from 1997 on. He was also often in director Lars Molin's productions. In December 1993, Hirdwall played the leading role in the Swedish TV company SVT's annual children's Christmas “

Advent calendar An Advent calendar is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusive, many reusable Advent calendars made of paper or wood b ...

” - Tomtemaskinen (The mechanical santa), one of the

Pettson and Findus Pettson and Findus ( sv, Pettson och Findus) is a series of children's books written and illustrated by Swedish author Sven Nordqvist. The books feature an old farmer (Pettson) and his cat (Findus) who live in a small ramshackle farmhouse in the ...

stories by

Sven Nordqvist Sven Otto Rickard Nordqvist (born 30 April 1946) is a Swedish writer and illustrator of children's books, best known for his series Pettson and Findus, about the old farmer Pettson and his talented cat Findus. He is also active as a comic artis ...

- with one 15-minute part shown each day until Christmas Eve. Hirdwall played the character of Pettson. Hirdwall received the Swedish

Guldbagge Award The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the nam ...

for Best Actor at the

17th Guldbagge Awards The 17th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish films of 1980 and 1981 and took place on 30 October 1981. ''Children's Island'' directed by Kay Pollak was presented with the award for Best Fi ...

for ''Barnens ö'' (''Children's Island'') and the

Thaliapriset Thaliapriset (''Svenska Dagbladets Thaliapris'') is regarded to be one of Sweden's finest theatre awards (together with the Eugene O'Neill Award and The Gunn Wållgren Award) and is given annually to an actor, director or a theatre personality o ...

prize in 1993. Hirdwall is married to the actress

Marika Lindström Marika Lindström (born 25 November 1946) is a Swedish actress who has appeared in numerous films in her native Sweden as well as appearing in TV shows such as ''Emma åklagare'' and ''Tre kärlekar''. Marika Lindström has long been a part of th ...

. They have two children, director Jacob Hirdwall and actress Agnes Hirdwall.

Selected filmography

* ''Min kära är en ros'' (1963) - Pajen * ''

Raven's End ''Raven's End'' ( sv, Kvarteret Korpen) is a 1963 Swedish drama film directed by Bo Widerberg, about an aspiring working-class writer in Malmö. The story bears some similarities to Widerberg's own background, although he claimed it to be entirely ...

'' (1963) - Sixten * '' För vänskaps skull'' (1965) - Jens Mattsson * ''

'' (1976) - Åke Eriksson * '' Hedebyborna'' (1978, TV Series) - Skomakar-Ludde * '' Nattvandraren'' (1980, TV Movie) * ''

Children's Island Children's Island, formerly known as "Cat Island" is an island off Marblehead, Massachusetts, and is part of the City of Salem, Massachusetts. The YMCA of the North Shore has owned and operated a children's day camp on it since 1955. The first w ...

'' (1980) - Stig Utler * ''

Jackpot Jackpot or Jackpot! may refer to: * A prize, such as a progressive jackpot * Gardena jackpots, a poker variant * Jackpot, Nevada, a community on the Nevada–Idaho state border Comics * Jackpot (comics), several comic book characters * ''Jack ...

'' (1980) * ''

Babels hus {{Short description, Volunteer translators network Babels is an international network of volunteer interpreters and translators that was born out of the European Social Forum (ESF) process and whose main objective is to cover the interpreting needs ...

'' (1981, TV Mini-Series) - Bernt Svensson * ''

Som enda närvarande Som, SOM or Søm may refer to: Computing * System Object Model (file format), of the HP-UX operating system * Simulation Object Model, in computer high-level architecture (simulation) * System on module, in computer embedded systems * Self-org ...

'' (1981, TV Short) - Kevin * '' Drottning Kristina'' (1981, TV Mini-Series) - Axel Oxenstierna * '' Berget på månens baksida'' (1983) - Gustaf Edgren * '' Midvinterduell'' (1983, TV Movie) - Egon * ''

The Man from Majorca ''The Man from Majorca'' ( sv, Mannen från Mallorca) is a 1984 Swedish crime thriller film directed by Bo Widerberg. It is based on the novel ''The Pig Party'' by Leif G. W. Persson. The film stars Sven Wollter and Tomas von Brömssen. The nove ...

'' (1984) - Fors * '' August Strindberg: ett liv'' (1985, TV Mini-Series) - Läraren / Murveln * '' Fläskfarmen'' (1986, TV Movie) - Monty * '' Kunglig toilette'' (1986, TV Movie) - Restaurateur * ''

Miraklet i Valby ''The Miracle in Valby'' ( sv, Miraklet i Valby) is a 1989 Danish-Swedish drama film written and directed by Åke Sandgren, and starring Jakob Katz (actor), Jakob Katz, Troels Asmussen, Lina Englund, and . The film was produced by Nordisk Film, ...

'' (1989) - Petra's Father * '' 1939)'' (1989) - Annika's Father * '' Tre kärlekar'' (1989-1991, TV Series) - Egon Nilsson * '' Kejsarn av Portugallien'' (1992-1993, TV Mini-Series) - Jan * ''

Tomtemaskinen ''Tomtemaskinen'' (''"The Santa Claus Machine"'') was the Sveriges Television's Christmas calendar in 1993. The story is based on Sven Nordqvist's books about ''Pettson and Findus''. Plot Pettson has promised the cat Findus that Santa Claus will ...

'' (1993, TV Series) - Pettson * ''

Pensionat Oskar ''Like It Never Was Before'' ( sv, Pensionat Oskar) is a 1995 Danish / Swedish drama film directed by Susanne Bier, and written by Jonas Gardell. Cast * Loa Falkman - Rune Runeberg * Stina Ekblad - Gunnel Runeberg * Simon Norrthon - Petrus * Ph ...

'' (1995) - Strange Man * '' Potatishandlaren'' (1996, TV Movie) - Johansson * '' Juloratoriet'' (1996) - Edman * '' Torntuppen'' (1996, TV Mini-Series) - Johan From * ''En kvinnas huvud'' (1997) - Düber * '' Emma åklagare'' (1997, TV Series) - Ivan Josefsson * ''

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

'' (1997-2020, TV Series) - Grannen * '' Den tatuerade änkan'' (1998, TV Movie) - Egon Andersson * ''

Ivar Kreuger Ivar Kreuger (; 2 March 1880 – 12 March 1932) was a Swedish civil engineer, financier, entrepreneur and industrialist. In 1908, he co-founded the construction company Kreuger & Toll Byggnads AB, which specialized in new building techniques. B ...

'' (1999, TV Mini-Series) - Statsminister Ekman * ''

Miffo ''Miffo'' is a 2003 Swedish film directed by Daniel Lind Lagerlöf. Cast * Jonas Karlsson as Tobias Carling * Livia Millhagen as Carola Christiansson * Ingvar Hirdwall as Karl Henrik * Liv Mjönes as Jenny Brunander * Kajsa Ernst as Sonja * Isa ...

'' (2003) - Karl Henrik * '' Mamma pappa barn'' (2003) - Roland * '' Om jag vänder mig om'' (2003) - Knut * '' Mouth to Mouth'' (2005) - Mats pappa John * '' Möbelhandlarens dotter'' (2006, TV Mini-Series) - Paul Martinsson d ä * '' Offside'' (2006) - Boston * ''

Den enskilde medborgaren Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * Den (album), ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (Battle Angel Alita), Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a c ...

'' (2006) - Gunnar Bergström * ''

Stormen ''The Tempest'' (''Stormen''), Op. 109, is incidental music to Shakespeare's '' The Tempest'', by Jean Sibelius. He composed it in 1925–26, at about the same time as he wrote his tone poem ''Tapiola''. Sibelius derived two suites from the scor ...

'' (2009, TV Mini-Series) - Bernt * ''

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (original title in sv, Män som hatar kvinnor , lit=''Men Who Hate Women'') is a psychological thriller novel by Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson (1954–2004). It was published posthumously in 2 ...

'' (2009) - Dirch Frode * ''Miraklet i Viskan'' (2015) - Halvar

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirdwall, Ingvar 1934 births Living people Swedish male stage actors Swedish male film actors Litteris et Artibus recipients Male actors from Stockholm Best Actor Guldbagge Award winners Best Supporting Actor Guldbagge Award winners