Johan Philip "Pilou" Asbæk (; born 2 March 1982) is a Danish actor. He is known for his role as troubled

spin doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...

Kasper Juul in the Danish television political drama ''

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 ...

'', and as

Euron Greyjoy George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others be ...

in the television series ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

''.

Early life

Asbæk was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, the son of gallery owners Maria Patricia (''née'' Tonn) and Jacob A. Asbæk, who run Galerie Asbæk in Copenhagen. His mother was born in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, to a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

father and a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

mother. His father is from

Hammel Hammel is a town in central Denmark with a population of 6,854 (1 January 2022),Herlufsholm School Herlufsholm School ( da, Herlufsholm Skole og Gods) is a private day and boarding school by the River Suså in Næstved, about south of Copenhagen. Herlufsholm was founded in 1565 as a boarding school for "sons of noble and other honest men" on ...

, where he was active in drama productions. He graduated from Denmark's

Danish National School of Performing Arts The Danish National School of Performing Arts (Danish: Den Danske Scenekunstskole) is an artistic educational institution governed by the Danish Ministry of Culture. The school offers higher education and continuing education within performing arts. ...

in the summer of 2008.

Career

Television

In 2009, Asbæk played soldier David Grüner in an episode of the second season of the Danish TV series '' The Killing'' (Danish: ''Forbrydelsen''). From 2010 to 2013, Asbæk played

spin-doctor In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publ ...

Kasper Juul in the critically lauded Danish TV series ''

'', written by

Tobias Lindholm Tobias Lindholm (born 5 July 1977) is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His 2015 directed film ''A War'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to ''A War'', he has directed the films '' R'' (2010), ...

, about the politics of a female prime minister of Denmark. Asbæk's performance was uniformly praised by critics. In 2014, the Danish public-funded DR cast Asbæk as Didrich, a landowner suffering from

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

, in a big-budget period TV series called ''

1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song " ...

.'' In 2016, Asbæk joined the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

'' in

Season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

Film

In 2011, Asbæk starred in another piece by

, in the film '' R,'' as a Danish convict, portraying a harrowing prison experience. The film was shot in the

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" ( da, kyskhedsløfter). These were rules to create films ba ...

–inspired style. The next year, in 2012, Asbæk starred in another

film called ''

A Hijacking ''A Hijacking'' ( da, Kapringen) is a 2012 Danish thriller film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm about a ship hijacking. Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling star as a cook taken hostage and the CEO that attempts to negotiate for his release ...

,'' about Somalian piracy, for which he transformed himself physically, gaining weight to imbue the role with

method acting Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...

. In 2013, Asbæk portrayed a flamboyant Danish tycoon named

Simon Spies Simon Ove Christian Ogilvie Spies (1 September 1921 – 16 April 1984) was a Danish tycoon, best known for founding the charter airline Spies Rejser, and its airway company Conair of Scandinavia, and for his flamboyant lifestyle and womanising ...

in the movie ''Sex, Drugs & Taxation'' (Danish: ''Spies & Glistrup''). In this film, Asbæk co-stars opposite his wife's cousin, the actor

Nicolas Bro Nicolas Bro (born 16 March 1972) is a Danish actor born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Background Bro grew up in a family of actors; his mother is Danish actress :da:Helle Hertz, Helle Hertz and father is the actor :da:Christoffer Bro, Christoffer Br ...

, who plays the other main character,

Mogens Glistrup Mogens Glistrup (28 May 1926 in Rønne – 1 July 2008 in Virum) was a Danish politician, lawyer and tax protester. He founded the Progress Party, and was a member of the Folketing (1973–1983 and 1987–1990). He had his parliamentary immunity ...

. In 2014, Asbæk starred opposite

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

in the

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), ''The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...

film ''

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luci ...

.'' Also in 2014, Asbæk appeared in the

Bille August Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...

film ''

Silent Heart ''Silent Heart'' ( da, Stille hjerte, Quiet heart) is a 2014 Danish drama film directed by Bille August, and starring Ghita Nørby, Morten Grunwald, Paprika Steen, and Jens Albinus. The film was nominated for the 2015 Nordic Council Film Prize. ...

'' (Danish: ''Stille Hjerte''), in which his mother-in-law, Danish actress Vigga Bro, plays the character Lisbeth. ESC2014 hosts 01 (crop)

In 2015, Asbæk again collaborated with director

in the film ''

A War ''A War'' () is a 2015 Danish War film, war drama film written and directed by Tobias Lindholm, and starring Pilou Asbæk and Søren Malling. It tells the story of a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying ...

'' (Danish: ''Krigen''), playing a soldier in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The film premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

. Asbæk co-starred in the 2016 remake of '' Ben-Hur'', starring

Jack Huston Jack Alexander Huston (born 7 December 1982) is a British actor. He appeared as Richard Harrow in the HBO television drama series '' Boardwalk Empire''. He also had a supporting role in the 2013 film '' American Hustle'', portrayed the eponym ...

and

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

. He portrayed

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...

. In 2017, he played Batou in ''

Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the seinen manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized in 1989 under the subtitle of ''The Ghost in the Shell'' ...

''. In 2018, he played Captain Wafner in ''

Overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or serje ...

''. Asbaek plays the lead role as police investigator Anders Olsen in '' Murderous Trance'', opposite

Josh Lucas Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films, including '' American Psycho'' (2000), '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), '' The Deep End'' (2001), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (20 ...

. Written and directed by

Arto Halonen Arto Halonen (born 11 January 1964, Joensuu) is a documentary filmmaker from Finland. He was also a teacher of cinematography in Joensuu between 1986-1989. In 2008, China did not give a visa to Arto Halonen to participate 2008 Summer Olympics. H ...

, the movie is based on actual events. The plot revolves around the bizarre case of the hypnosis murders, which took place in Copenhagen in 1951. In April 2021, he joined the cast of the upcoming superhero film ''

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Aquaman. Produced by DC Studios, the Safran Company, and Atomic Monster Productions, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, i ...

'' in an undisclosed role. In September 2021, Asbaek joined the cast of the

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

adaptation of ''

Salem's Lot ''Salem's Lot'' is a 1975 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot (or 'Salem's Lot for short) in Maine, where he ...

'' as Richard Straker.

Theater

* 2008: ''

Folk og røvere i Kardemomme By ''When the Robbers Came to Cardamom Town'' ( no, Folk og røvere i Kardemomme by) is a 1955 Norwegian children's book written and illustrated by Thorbjørn Egner, which tells the story of Kardemomme by (Cardamom Town). It is considered one of the m ...

'' –

Bellevue Teatret The Bellevue Teatret (English: Bellevue Theatre) is a theatre in Klampenborg at the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened in 1936 to the design of Arne Jacobsen, the building is considered one of his most important architectural works ...

* 2008: ''Core'' – Det Lille Gasværk.

Presenting

On 10 May 2014, Asbæk co-hosted the

Eurovision Song Contest 2014 The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European ...

in Copenhagen, with

Lise Rønne Lise Rønne (born 1 November 1978 in Viborg) is a Danish journalist and television presenter, best known in Denmark for presenting four seasons of '' X Factor'' as well as two seasons of ''Dansk Melodi Grand Prix''. She is best known outside D ...

and

Nikolaj Koppel Nikolaj Koppel (born 6 March 1969 in Gentofte) is a Danish people, Danish musician, journalist and radio presenter. Life and career Koppel was born to opera singer Lone Koppel and pianist John Winther. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of ...

. Some critics commented adversely on the obscure jokes shared by the presenters throughout the televised show.

Personal life

Asbæk's wife is playwright Anna Bro, who had been his domestic partner since 2008. They have a daughter Agnes Bro Asbæk, born 31 December 2012. Anna is the daughter of the actors Hans Henrik Clemensen and Vigga Bro and comes from an extended family of actors. The nickname Pilou came from his mother's French ancestry and is a French version of the word "Pip." The nickname is because Asbæk was the youngest son, in French, "le plus petit" for littlest, "Little Philip." Pilou is an abbreviation of Petit Philip. Asbæk's godfather was the late artist Kurt Trampedach. After having criticised what he considered too harsh refugee policies by the Danish government led by

Social Democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

prime minister

Mette Frederiksen Mette Frederiksen (; born 19 November 1977) is a Danish politician who has been Prime Minister of Denmark since June 2019, and Leader of the Social Democrats since June 2015. The second woman to hold either office, she is also the youngest prime ...

, Asbæk joined the Danish

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

in January 2022 to "speak up against it from within".

Awards

* 2010:

Danish Film Academy The Danish Film Academy was founded in 1982 by a number of people with professional connection to the film industry. The Academy aims to promote the film as an independent art form, and its members are primarily people who work with film. The Acad ...

–

Robert Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role The Robert Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role ( da, Robert Prisen for årets mandlige hovedrolle) is a Danish Film Academy award presented at the annual Robert Award ceremony to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading perform ...

for '' R'' * 2010:

Danish Film Critics Association Danish Film Critics Association ( da, Danske Filmkritikere, until 2013 ''Filmmedarbejderforeningen'') is a film critics association that annually since 1948 have handed out the Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given ...

Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are given ...

–

Bodil Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role The Bodil Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role ( da, Bodilprisen for bedste mandlige hovedrolle) is one of the merit categories presented annually by the Danish Film Critics Association at the Bodil Awards. Created in 1948, it is one of the oldest ...

for '' R'' * 2011:

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

–

Shooting Stars Award The Shooting Stars Awards are presented annually by the pan-European network organization European Film Promotion (EFP) to emerging actors from Europe. "Shooting Stars" is an initiative of the EFP for the international promotion and networking of p ...

* 2012: Ove Sprogøe Prize.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Pilou Asbæk
at

Danish Film Institute The Danish Film Institute ( da, Det Danske Filminstitut) is the national Danish agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest. Also known as ''Filmhuset'' ("the film h ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asbaek, Johan Philip 1982 births Danish male film actors Living people Male actors from Copenhagen Best Actor Bodil Award winners Danish people of French descent Danish male television actors 21st-century Danish male actors People educated at Herlufsholm School