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

Early life and education

Helgi was born in

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

and attended the district school at

Laugarvatn Laugarvatn () is the name of a lake and a small town in the south of Iceland. The lake is smaller than the neighbouring Apavatn. Tourism Laugarvatn lies within the Golden Circle (Iceland), Golden Circle, a popular tourist route, and acts as a s ...

; he trained as an actor at the

National Theatre of Iceland The National Theatre of Iceland (NTI) (, 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 director of The National Thea ...

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 (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization. Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...

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 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 a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

's ''

The Condemned of Altona ''The Condemned of Altona'' (French: ''Les Séquestrés d'Altona'') is a play written by Jean-Paul Sartre, known in Great Britain as ''Loser Wins''. It was first produced in 1959 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. It was one of the la ...

''. He later played major roles in the Icelandic films '' When the Raven Flies'' (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 Aca ...

'' (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 direc ...

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 mos ...

) and ''

The White Viking ''The White Viking'' (alternative title ''Embla'', , ) 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's cut of ''The White Viking'' and was release ...

'' and the 1987 Norwegian film ''

Pathfinder Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...

''.

Private life

Helgi was married to

Helga Bachmann Helga Bachmann (24 July 1931 – 7 January 2011) was an Icelandic actress and Theatre director, director. Early life and education Helga Bachmann was born in Reykjavík. She graduated in 1948 from the school at and trained as an actress at two ...

, also an actor. They had two sons,Hallgrímur Helgi Helgason
and Skúli Þór Helgason and a daughter, Helga Vala Helgadóttir, together, and Helgi had a stepdaughter from before his marriage to Helga, named Þórdís Bachman
Skúli Helgason
/nowiki>] has twice been elected as a representative in the

Althing The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...

. and their daughter,

Helga Vala Helgadóttir Helga Vala Helgadóttir (born 14 March 1972) 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 constituency, but r ...

is currently a member of the Althing.

Selected filmography

*1984 - '' When the Raven Flies'' *1987 - ''

'' *1988 - ''

'' *1991 - ''

'' *1992 - ''

As In Heaven ''As in Heaven'' () is a 1992 Icelandic drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually quali ...

'' *1997 - '' A Legend to Ride'' aka ''13th Rider'' / ''Pony Track'' (youth series)

References

External links

*
Helgi Skúlason
at the

Swedish Film Database The Swedish Film Database () is an Internet database about Swedish films, published by the Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute () (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Fo ...

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