Harald Meldal Eia (born 9 February 1966) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

, and sociologist. In recent years, Eia has also made TV-documentaries and written books. Eia became a household name in Norway in the mid-90s and has since then been one of country´s most well-known comedians.

Career

Together with

Bård Tufte Johansen Bård Tufte Johansen (born 19 June 1969 in Skien) is a Norwegian comedian. Together with Harald Eia, he has authored and participated in several successful NRK TV series, such as ''U:Natt'' (1994), starring with Monotelevision, '' Lille Lørdag ...

, he has been author of, and participated in, several successful

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

, such as ''

Lille Lørdag ''Lille Lørdag'' was a Norway, Norwegian sketch comedy television program that ran on the Norwegian state channel NRK from 1995 till 1996. The show was significant in launching the careers of comedians Harald Eia and Bård Tufte Johansen. The nam ...

'' (1995), Åpen Post (1998–2002), '' Uti vår hage'' (2003), '' Team Antonsen'' (2004), ''

Tre brødre som ikke er brødre ''Tre brødre som ikke er brødre'' (meaning ''Three brothers who aren't brothers'') is a Norwegian comedy television show which ran for six episodes during the autumn of 2005 on the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. It featured noted comedians Ha ...

'' (2005), '' Uti vår hage 2'' (2008), and Storbynatt, as well as the radio comedy shows ''

Herreavdelingen This is a list of some programs that have been or are being broadcast by Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) ( no, Norsk rikskringkasting) on the NRK1, NRK2, NRK3 or NRK Super television channels. Included are national radio RNZ Nationa ...

'' (1997) and ''Tazte priv'' (2004–2005). Popular characters include "Lena" (a parody of the character from '' Døden på Oslo S'') and

Oslolosen Kjell Aronsen, known as "''Oslolosen''", is a fictional character on the Norwegian sketch comedy television show '' Uti vår hage 2'', a show that ran on the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) in the spring of 2008. The character, portrayed ...

. He has also performed

stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

and

theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

and had supporting roles in Norwegian films, including ''

Detector A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

'' (2000) and ''

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

'' (2003). Eia was born in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...

. He graduated with a Candidate's degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in 1992, with the thesis ''Lidende ledere og kompetente kalkulatører. Næringslivsfolks symbolske kamper'', which in English translates as ''Suffering leaders and competent calculators. The symbolic struggles of business people.'' In 2010, he introduced a television show called ''

Hjernevask ''Hjernevask'' ("Brainwash") is a Norwegian documentary miniseries about science that aired on NRK1 in 2010. The series, consisting of seven episodes, was created for NRK and presented by the comedian and sociologist Harald Eia. The series c ...

'' ("Brainwash") which contrasted cultural determinist models of human behavior (also referred to as the Standard social science model) with nature-nurture interactionist perspectives. Several of those who were interviewed for the show, particularly

Jørgen Lorentzen Jørgen Lorentzen (born 4 November 1956) is a Norwegian literary scholar and independent film producer. His research has focused on the representation of men and masculinities in literature, film and popular culture. He became known to a broad audi ...

, criticized the show publicly both before and after the airing, and this ignited a wide public discussion on the subject of the

nature versus nurture Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate in biology and society about the balance between two competing factors which determine fate: genetics (nature) and environment (nurture). The alliterative expression "nature and nurture" in English h ...

debate. Especially the question of gender, and what is referred to as the gender paradox (the fact that although Norwegian women have a high level of participation within the workforce, more so than most countries, the Norwegian job market remains highly segregated in terms of gender) has provoked controversy. For ''Hjernevask'', he was awarded the

Fritt Ord Honorary Award Fritt Ord Award consists of two prizes awarded by the Fritt Ord Foundation (''Stiftelsen Fritt Ord''). Two prizes are awarded in support of freedom of speech and freedom of expression; the Fritt Ord Award ( no, Fritt Ords pris) and the Fritt Or ...

in 2010. Since 2017, Eia has, together with Nils Brenna, produced the podcast- and radio-series "Sånn er du", where a famous Norwegian takes a Big 5-personality test for each episode. Eia and Brenna then discuss their way through the results of the personality test together the person who took the test. In 2020, Eia published a book on why Norway has become so prosperous in recent times.

Career

List of appearances

Television

Filmography

Radio

References

External links