Ole Svane Thestrup (12 March 1948 – 2 February 2018) was a Danish actor. He appeared in many Danish films, particularly those directed by

Anders Thomas Jensen Anders Thomas Jensen (born 6 April 1972) is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His film '' Election Night'' won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Jensen was born in Frederiksværk. He won the Oscar ...

, as well as television and theatre roles. He had a recurring role in the political drama series ''

Borgen Borgen may refer to: Places * Borgen, Akershus, Norway * Borgen, Oslo, a neighborhood of Oslo, Norway **Borgen (station) * Borgen, Østfold, a suburb of Sarpsborg, Norway * Borgen, Ullensaker, Norway * ''Borgen'' ('the castle'), colloquial name ...

''.

Early and personal life

Ole Thestrup was born in Nibe, North Jutland, on 12 March 1948. He initially had ambitions to become a guitarist, before turning to acting. He joined

Aarhus Theatre The Aarhus Theatre (Danish: ''Aarhus Teater'') in Aarhus, is the largest provincial theatre in Denmark. The present theatre house was constructed in the late 19th century, as a replacement for the old theatre, nicknamed "''Svedekassen''" (The Swe ...

aged 25, completing his acting training in 1976. He later also worked at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

in Copenhagen. Thestrup had a history of alcohol abuse, which contributed to his 1988 imprisonment at

Headingley Correctional Institution The Headingley Correctional Centre (formerly Headingley Correctional Institution and Headingley Gaol) is a provincial prison in the Rural Municipality of Headingley, Manitoba. Administered by Manitoba Corrections, it has minimum, medium, and ma ...

near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada after he caused disruption on board a

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

flight from London to Los Angeles, leading to an emergency landing. He gave up alcohol in 1998, after receiving two citations for drunk driving in October 1997. He died on 2 February 2018, in his home in Tuse Næs, following a battle with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

which had stalled his acting career in April 2017.

Career

Thestrup's early television roles included the comedy series '' Een stor familie'' (1982–1983) and the 1986 Christmas calendar show '' Jul på Slottet'', in which ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

'' described him as being "perfectly cast". In the early 2000s he played the role of the Captain in Robert Wilson's adaptation of the play ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'' by

Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büch ...

.https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/31/theater/theater-review-woyzeck-as-a-normal-guy-who-gets-jealous.html?mcubz=1, Woyzeck as a Normal Guy Who Gets Jealous Director

regularly cast Thestrup in his films, beginning with the Academy Award-winning 1998 short '' Election Night''. He also appeared in Jensen's feature films ''

Flickering Lights ''Flickering Lights'' (Danish: ''Blinkende Lygter'') is a 2000 Danish black comedy crime film directed and written by Anders Thomas Jensen, and starring Søren Pilmark, Mads Mikkelsen, Ulrich Thomsen, Iben Hjejle, and Nikolaj Lie Kaas. Plot ...

'' (2000), ''

The Green Butchers ''The Green Butchers'' (Danish: ''De grønne slagtere'') is a 2003 Danish black comedy film starring Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Line Kruse, written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen. It is a black comedy featuring two butchers, Svend ...

'' (2003), ''

Adam's Apples ''Adam's Apples'' ( da, Adams Æbler) is a 2005 Danish black comedy-drama film directed and written by Anders Thomas Jensen. The film revolves around the theme of the Book of Job. The main roles are played by Ulrich Thomsen and Mads Mikkelsen ...

'' (2005) and '' Men & Chicken'' (2015). Thestrup had a recurring role in all three series of the DR political drama ''

'' as right-wing politician Svend Åge Saltum.

Selected filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thestrup, Ole 1948 births 2018 deaths Danish male television actors Danish male film actors Danish male stage actors People from Nibe Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in Denmark