Ulrich Thomsen (born 6 December 1963) is a Danish

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 ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, known for his role of Kai Proctor in the

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

original series ''

Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name i ...

'' (2013-2016).

Biography

Ulrich Thomsen was born in (Næsby)

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and graduated from the

Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance 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 1993, after which he performed in several theatres 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 ...

, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater. His film debut was in 1994 in '' Nightwatch'', directed by

Ole Bornedal Ole Bornedal (born 26 May 1959) is a Danish film director, actor and producer. Bornedal was born in Nørresundby, Denmark. He wrote and directed '' Nattevagten'' (''Nightwatch'', 1994), a thriller about a law student who works in a morgue as ...

. Since then, he has starred in a number of roles including, among others,

Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films ''The Celeb ...

's ''

The Biggest Heroes ''The Biggest Heroes'' ( da, De største helte) is a 1996 Danish comedy/road movie directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Synopsis Karsten, a bank robber on probation, gets the surprise of his life when one of his exes, Lisbeth, shows up out of the bl ...

'' (1996),

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. She is best known for her feature films '' Brothers'' (2004), '' After the Wedding'' (2006), ''In a Better World'' (2010), and '' Bird Box'' (2018), and the TV miniseries ''The Night Man ...

's ''

Sekten ''Credo'' is a 1997 Danish thriller film. Its original Danish title is ''Sekten'', which means "The Sect". Written and directed by Susanne Bier, the film stars Sofie Gråbøl and Ellen Hillingsø, and was produced by Zentropa. Cast *Sofie Gråb� ...

'' (1997) and

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 ...

's ''

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 major breakthrough in his career came in the 1998 film ''

Festen ''The Celebration'' ( da, Festen) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday, juggling subjects ...

'' followed by an important role in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film ''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an ...

'' (1999) portraying the part of henchman

Sasha Davidov The following is a list of primary antagonists in the ''James Bond'' novels and film series. Novel villains by author Ian Fleming Kingsley Amis (writing as Robert Markham) Christopher Wood John Gardner Raymond Benson ...

. This established Thomsen as an international actor, famous outside his native

. He played a part in the 2002 English film '' Killing Me Softly''. In 2009, he played Jonas Skarssen, the lead villain in Tom Tykwer's '' The International''. From 2013 to 2016 he stars as series regular in ''

'' playing the role of primary antagonist, Kai Proctor. Aside from his native language

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 ...

, Thomsen is fluent in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He is

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Web series

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomsen, Ulrich 1963 births Danish male film actors Living people 20th-century Danish male actors 21st-century Danish male actors Danish film producers Danish film directors Danish male screenwriters Danish male television actors Best Actor Bodil Award winners People from Odense Best Actor Robert Award winners