Helgi Skúlason (4 September 1933 – 25 September 1996) was an Icelandic actor and stage director.

Early life and education

Helgi was born in Keflavík and attended the district school at Laugarvatn; he trained as an actor at the

National Theatre of Iceland The National Theatre of Iceland (NTI) ( is, Þjóðleikhúsið, pronounced ) in Reykjavík, is the national theatre of Iceland. The theater, designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, was formally opened on 20 April 1950. Since 2020, the artistic direct ...

school, finishing in 1954.

Career

He began his career with the National Theatre. In 1959 he joined the Reykjavík Theatre Company, remaining with that company until 1976 as an actor and director and serving terms as its president and on its board, until he rejoined the National Theatre in 1976. He also directed a number of productions for the

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization. Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...

Playhouse. In 1972 he co-founded the Icelandic Directors' Association (Félag leikstjóra á Íslandi) and was its first chairman. In 1964 he won the

Silver Lamp Award The Silver Lamp ( is, Silfurlampinn) was an award given annually from 1954 to 1973 by the Association of Icelandic Drama Critics (Félag íslenskra leikdómenda), a professional group of writers for the Reykjavík newspapers, for the best performan ...

for the best performance by an actor for his role as Franz in an adaptation of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialist, existentialism (and Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter ...

's '' The Condemned of Altona''. He later played major roles in the Icelandic films ''

When the Raven Flies ''When the Raven Flies'' (original is, Hrafninn flýgur ()) is a 1984 Icelandic-Swedish adventure film written and directed by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson. The story is set in Viking Age Iceland. The film was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Be ...

'' (as Þórður) and its sequels ''

In the Shadow of the Raven ''In the Shadow of the Raven'' ( Icelandic: ''Í skugga hrafnsins'' ()) is the title of a 1988 film by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, set in Viking Age Iceland. The film was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 61st A ...

'' (for which he and

Tinna Gunnlaugsdóttir Tinna Gunnlaugsdóttir (born 18 June 1954) is an Icelandic actress. She has appeared in twelve films since 1981. She starred in '' As in Heaven'', which was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. She is the sister of dire ...

were nominated for

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

) and ''

The White Viking ''The White Viking'' (alternative title ''Embla'', is, Hvíti víkingurinn, no, Den hvite viking) is a 1991 film set in Norway and Iceland during the reign of Olaf I of Norway. The film loosely follows actual events. ''Embla'' is the director' ...

'' and the 1987 Norwegian film '' Pathfinder''.

Private life

Helgi was married to Helga Bachmann, also an actor. They had two sons and a daughter together, and Helgi had a stepdaughter from before his marriage to Helga. Their son Skúli Helgason has twice been elected as a representative in the

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at (" thing fields" or "assem ...

. and their daughter,

Helga Vala Helgadóttir Helga Vala Helgadóttir (born 14 March 1972 in Reykjavik) is an Icelandic lawyer, former member of the Althing, and an actress. She was a member of the Althing, elected in the 2017 Icelandic parliamentary election for the Reykjavík North const ...

is currently a member of the Althing.

Selected filmography

*1984 - ''

'' *1987 - '' Pathfinder'' *1988 - ''

'' *1991 - ''

'' *1992 - '' As In Heaven'' *1997 - ''

A Legend to Ride A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' aka ''13th Rider'' / ''Pony Track'' (youth series)

References

External links

*
Helgi Skúlason
at the

Swedish Film Database The Swedish Film Database ( sv, Svensk filmdatabas) is an Internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute ( sv, Svenska Filminstitutet) was founded in 1963 to support and develop the S ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skulason, Helgi 1933 births 1996 deaths Helgi Skulason Helgi Skúlason