Märten Metsaviir (born 15 March 1994) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n actor who came to prominence in 2022 for his starring role as Melchior Wakenstede in the "Melchior" film

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

based on the series of medieval mystery crime novels by author Indrek Hargla.

Early life and education

Märten Metsaviir was born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. His mother, Irja Heinmaa is an accountant. He is a 2013 graduate of Tallinn Secondary School No. 32. In 2016, he enrolled at the drama department of the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

to study acting under supervisors Elmo Nüganen and Anu Lamp, graduating in 2020. His diploma production roles included

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

's ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'' and The Doctor in a production of

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

's '' Children of the Sun''.

Career

In 2019, while still a student at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Metsaviir was cast for various minor voice roles in the Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits directed animated children's film '' Lotte and the Lost Dragons''; part of the popular Lotte literature and film franchise. In January 2021, Metsaviir began an engagement at the

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...

in Tallinn. Notable stage roles at the Estonian Drama Theatre include Tomas Egerman in

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

's ''

Private Confessions ''Private Confessions'' () is a 1996 Swedish drama film directed by Liv Ullmann and written by Ingmar Bergman. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. ''Private Confessions'' is also a short TV series ...

'', Ragnar Solness 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 Master Builder ''The Master Builder'' () is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was first published in December 1892 and is regarded as one of Ibsen's more significant and revealing works. Performance The play was published by Gyldendal AS in C ...

'', Dom McGuire in

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

's ''The Loves of Cass McGuire'', and Michael in

David Almond David Almond (born 15 May 1951) is a British author who has written many novels for children's literature, children and young adult fiction, young adults from 1998, each one receiving critical acclaim. He is one of thirty children's writers, and ...

's '' Skellig''. In 2020, while still a drama student, he was cast in the starring role of Melchior Wakenstede (also known as Melchior the Apothecary) in the Elmo Nüganen directed medieval mystery crime feature film '' Melchior the Apothecary'' for Taska Film. The film, released in April 2022, was part of a trilogy, based on the popular ''Apteeker Melchior'' novels by Estonian author Indrek Hargla. ''Melchior the Apothecary: The Ghost'' was released August of the same year, and in April 2023, ''Melchior the Apothecary: The Executioner's Daughter'' was released. All three films featured Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre classmate Maarja Johanna Mägi and veteran actor Alo Kõrve. In 2023, Metsaviir joined the main cast of the long-running TV3 comedy-crime television series '' Kättemaksukontor'' in the role of Madis Toor. Metsaviir has also worked as a voice actor, dubbing foreign language television series into the

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language and the official language of Estonia. It is written in the Latin script and is the first language of the majority of the country's population; it is also an official language of the European Union. Estonian is sp ...

; most notably the Canadian children's series ''

Endlings An endling is the last known individual of a species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal ''Nature (journal), Nature''. Usage The 4 April 1996 iss ...

'' and the Irish children's drawing tutorial series '' Draw With Will''.

Personal life

Märten Metsaviir resides in Tallinn. He has a daughter. He is an avid

kart racing Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...

fan and former racer and

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Metsaviir, Marten 1994 births Living people Estonian male stage actors Estonian male film actors Estonian male television actors Estonian male voice actors Male actors from Tallinn Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 21st-century Estonian male actors