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Magnús Örn Scheving (; born 10 November 1964) is an Icelandic writer, entrepreneur, television producer, actor and athlete. He is the creator, director, and star of the children's television show '' LazyTown'', in which he also portrayed the character
In the 1990s, during his public speaking and aerobics career, Scheving noticed an absence in healthy lifestyle role models for children. In a 2019 TED talk, he recalled,
Sportacus
Sportacus ( is, Íþróttaálfurinn, meaning “The Athletic Elf”) is a fictional character from the Icelandic children's television show '' LazyTown'', created and portrayed by Magnús Scheving. His name is a portmanteau of the ancient figure ...
.
Childhood and early life
Magnús Scheving was born on 10 November 1964 to Þórveig Hjartardóttir and Eyjólfur Magnússon Scheving. His paternal grandfather was Danish. He grew up in the small town of Borgarnes in Iceland. At 15 years old, he had his first job as a telephone exchange messenger boy for Borgarnes. He was trained as a sport teacher in his youth, and later decided to retrain inarchitecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
. Though intending to be an architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, he went into carpentry instead. This allowed him to later build his own house, which he described as "physically... ayingevery brick and roof tile."
In his 20s, he made a bet with a woodworking
Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning.
History
Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...
friend, Fjölnir Þorgeirsson, that each could master a sport of the other's choosing he knew nothing about in three years. Scheving chose snooker for Fjölnir, and Fjölnir chose aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness ( flexibility, muscular strength, and cardio-vascular fitness). ...
for Scheving. Just as Scheving became a champion in aerobics, Fjölnir became Icelandic champion in snooker. He has an older sister and a younger brother.
Early career and inspiration
In 1992, Scheving became the Icelandic Men's Individual Champion in aerobic gymnastics. In 1993, he became the Scandinavian champion, and was the European champion twice in 1994 and 1995. He was voted Athlete of the Year in Iceland in 1994. In addition to his sports career, Scheving became a well-known and sought after public and motivational speaker around the world. He also from 1991–93 hosted his own chat show in Iceland, with a format where parents could come on and ask him questions about how to raise healthy children. In 1995, he published a children's book called Áfram Latibær, the first recorded work in the LazyTown franchise. During this time, he was also running a carpentry business, which gave him the money to travel the world. He also was a fitness teacher for teenagers at a local school, having earned a degree in sports science atUniversity of Iceland
The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...
.
''LazyTown''
In the 1990s, during his public speaking and aerobics career, Scheving noticed an absence in healthy lifestyle role models for children. In a 2019 TED talk, he recalled,I realized, thirty years ago actually, there was no role model in health for kids. There wasPopeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. he published ''Áfram Latibær'', an Icelandic children's book which told a narrative story about a sports elf giving townsfolk tips on how to eat healthily and exercise. The book was adapted into a stage play of the same name directed byBaltasar Kormákur Baltasar Kormákur Baltasarsson (born 27 February 1966) is an Icelandic actor, theater and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films '' 101 Reykjavík'', '' The Sea'', '' A Little Trip to Heaven'', '' Contraband .... The show toured Iceland from 1996–1997 and made ''LazyTown'' a household name across Iceland. It was shown to be immensely popular among children and so, a sequel was written, ''Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ,'' which was the first timeRobbie Rotten Robbie Rotten ( is, Glanni Glæpur, , reckless crime) is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Icelandic children's program '' LazyTown''. He is also the series' primary comic relief character. He is a ruthless, selfish and lazy, ...was introduced, played byStefán Karl Stefánsson Stefán Karl Stefánsson (; ; 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018) was an Icelandic actor and singer. He was best known for portraying Robbie Rotten, the antagonist of the children's television series '' LazyTown''. Career Stefán Karl's career .... '' LazyTown'' was commissioned by Nickelodeon in May 2003 and the first episode aired on Nick Jr. on August 16, 2004. Scheving is the creator and co-founder of LazyTown Entertainment. This company produces books, videos, games, and sporting goods to help promote fitness and a healthy lifestyle to children. He is also creator of the show '' LazyTown'' ('' Latibær'' in Iceland), where he playedSportacus Sportacus ( is, Íþróttaálfurinn, meaning “The Athletic Elf”) is a fictional character from the Icelandic children's television show '' LazyTown'', created and portrayed by Magnús Scheving. His name is a portmanteau of the ancient figure ...(known as Íþróttaálfurinn in Icelandic) from 2004–2014. In 2006, Scheving received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the IcelandicEdda Award The Edda Award is an accolade bestowed annually by the Icelandic Film and Television Academy, and is the most prominent film and television award in Iceland, awarded annually in February. The ''Edda'' has awarded for outstanding work in various ca ...ceremonies for his work as founder and creator of the '' LazyTown'' franchise.Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland from 1996 to 2016.Official CV. He was previously a member of the Icelandic Parliament for the People's Alliance and served as Minis ...,President of Iceland The president of Iceland ( is, Forseti Íslands) is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, who is now in his second term as president, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir as ..., presented the award to him. After LazyTown Entertainment was bought byTurner Broadcasting Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...in the summer of 2011, Scheving continued to play Sportacus. However, in 2014, he announced that he would be departing the role of Sportacus (after the end of the TV series), passing it on to Dýri Kristjánsson, who played Sportacus in all subsequent live shows. He also announced in 2014 that he would depart from his position as CEO of LazyTown Entertainment.
Theme park
In 2021, Scheving and entrepreneur Helga Halldórsdóttir announced their goal to build ''Lazytown'' theme park in Magnús's hometown of Borgarnes, which inspired the series. They claimed the project has been ongoing since 2017. Scheving described the plans to create an "experience garden" with indoor and outdoor facilities, both pertaining to the production history and the history of Borgarnes. Borgarnes legislation supported this due to its ability to welcome tourists; 35 thousand visitors are expected in its first year, followed by 50 thousand in the next 4 years. The park is expected to open by 2024.
April 1st hoax
On April 1, 2022, Scheving appeared in Icelandic Crossfit athlete Björgvin K. Guðmundsson's facetious Instagram accouncement, wherein a Lazytown "full length motion picture" and "brand new series" was announced. The photographs showed the pair signing contracts and shaking hands before large posters of Lazytown characters and memorabilia. Guðmundsson announced that he was quitting crossfit in pursuit of professional acting, being specifically trained in song and dance to portray Sportacus. Due to its posting date and Guðmundsson's continued career in crossfit, the announcement can be construed as anApril Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...hoax.
Other projects
In 2010, Scheving starred in the film alongside withJackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...''The Spy Next Door ''The Spy Next Door'' is a 2010 American spy action comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jonathan Bernstein, James Greer and Gregory Poirier, produced by Robert Simonds with music by David Newman. The film stars Jackie Chan, with a ...,'' in which he portrayed a Russian villain attempting to destroy the world's oil supplies. On November 2nd or 3rd 2022, Scheving spoke at the World Business Forum in New York City on the topic of "great ideas" and creativity. Later that week, he spoke at the WBF in Bogotá, Colombia on November 9th or 10th, on the topic of high performance teams. While in Colombia, Scheving encountered an enthusiastic Sportacus cosplayer. In a December 2022 interview, Scheving described his work with theMake-a-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqu ...:...some kids have only nine days to live. So you come there and they will be dressed up in Sportacus costumes and I would say, you want me to bring you an apple? Not because they want to be healthy, but because they want to do things with me. They want to eat the apples and do push-ups.
ROK restaurant
Since mid-2016, along with his partner, Hrefna Björk Sverrisdóttir, he has owned and managed ROK restaurant, a "fine casual" Icelandic restaurant in Reykjavík. The restaurant offers Icelandic staples includingreindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...steak, local cheeses, and char. The menu has a "Green" section devoted to vegetarian options, and its dishes incorporates Scandinavian, Mediterranean and American elements. In 2017, food critic Ragnar Egilsson gave the food a mediocre review, claiming the restaurant's success was due to its proximity to Hallgrimskirkja, a tourist destination. In 2018, ROK was included in ''Iceland Monitor Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most list of countries and dependencies by population density, sparsely populated coun ...'''s list of the best happy hours in Reykjavik. As of 2019, the menu has expanded to include vegan options.
Filmography
Personal life
Circa 1989, Scheving married Ragnheiður Melsteð, with whom he lived for 24 years. The couple officially divorced in 2014. Magnús and Ragnheiður have a daughter and a son. Scheving also has a daughter with his former partner Halldóra Blöndall. In January 2017 Scheving got engaged to Hrefna Björk Sverrisdóttir in their restaurant ROK. The couple got married in 2020. In December 2022 they announced birth of their son.
Production work
References
External links
Magnus Scheving
at Instagram * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheving, Magnus 1964 births Living people Magnús Scheving Male aerobic gymnasts Magnús Scheving Magnús Scheving Magnús Scheving Magnús Scheving Magnús Scheving Magnús Scheving Male television personalities