Kari Kyösti Väänänen (born 17 September 1953 in

Ivalo Ivalo (, , , ) is a village in the municipality of Inari, Lapland, Finland, located on the Ivalo River south of Lake Inari in the Arctic Circle. It has a population of 3,998 and a small airport, located 11 kilometres (7 mi) southwest from Iv ...

) is a Finnish actor and director. Domestically he is a member of the Ryhmäteatteri group of actors. He was introduced to international audiences by

Aki Kaurismäki Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (; born 4 April 1957) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning '' Drifting Clouds'' (1996), '' The Man Without a Past'' (2002), ''Le Havre'' (2011), '' The Other Side of Hope'' (201 ...

, and belongs to the list of his "trusted" stable of actors. Väänänen has acted in more than 60 movies. He has received two

Jussi awards The Jussi Awards are Finland's premier film industry prizes, awarded annually to recognize the achievements of directors, actors, and writers. History The first Jussi Awards ceremony was held on 16 November 1944 at the Restaurant Adlon in Hel ...

, for best male actor in '' Jon'' (1983) and for best supporting male actor in '' Trench Road'' (2004). His performance as the monster

Gollum Gollum is a Tolkien's monsters, monster with a distinctive style of speech in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth. He was introduced in the 1937 Fantasy (genre), fantasy novel ''The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, ' ...

Yle Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

's 1993 television series ''

Hobitit ''Hobitit'' (''The Hobbits'') is a nine-part Finnish live action fantasy television miniseries directed by Timo Torikka, originally broadcast in 1993 on Yle TV1. It is based on a six-hour play, ''The Lord of the Rings'', put on by Ryhmäteatter ...

'' was praised in ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

''. In 1992–1998 Väänänen was a professor at the

Helsinki Theatre Academy The Theatre Academy (, ) is one of the three academies of the University of the Arts Helsinki and offers education in theatre and dance. It is Finland's largest education provider in its field and, with the exception of acting, the only one in th ...

Selected filmography

;As actor * '' Jon'' (1983) * '' The Clan – Tale of the Frogs'' (1984) * '' Calamari Union'' (1985) * ''

Rosso Rosso is the major city of south-western Mauritania and capital of Trarza Region, Trarza region. It is situated on the Senegal River at the head of the river zone allowing year-round navigation. The town is 204 km south of the capital Nouakc ...

'' (1985) * ''

Helsinki Napoli All Night Long ''Helsinki Napoli All Night Long'' (also released as ''Helsinki – Napoli'') is a gangster-comedy film written, directed and produced by Mika Kaurismäki. The film was released in Italy as ''Napoli–Berlino – Un taxi nella notte'', with Berlin ...

'' (1987) * ''

Leningrad Cowboys Go America ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America'' is a 1989 road movie by Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki about the adventures of the Leningrad Cowboys, an eccentric band that travels to the United States to become successful, and combines their brand of ...

'' (1989) * ''

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

'' (1990) * ''

Night on Earth ''Night on Earth'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It is a collection of five vignettes, taking place during the same night, concerning the temporary bond formed between taxi driver and pas ...

'' (1991) * ''

La Vie de Bohème ''Scenes of Bohemian Life'' (original French title: ) is a work by Henri Murger, published in 1851. Although it is commonly called a novel, it does not follow standard novel form. Rather, it is a collection of loosely related stories, all set in ...

'' (1992) * '' The Last Border'' (1993) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

Ripa Hits the Skids ''Ripa Hits the Skids'' () is a 1993 Finnish comedy film directed by Christian Lindblad. It tells the story of Ripa, a young film director whose life seems to be going downhill all the time. Ripa, in debt and alcoholic, meets a beautiful young ...

'' (1993) * '' Drifting Clouds'' (1996) * '' Trains'n'Roses'' (1998) * '' The Tough Ones'' (1999) * ''

Ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

'' (1999) * ''

Sincerely Yours in Cold Blood ''Sincerely Yours in Cold Blood'' () is a Finnish crime drama television series that aired on Nelonen from February 29, 2000 to November 29, 2005. All of its 30 episodes are based on true crime cases. Cast * Ville Virtanen as Veli Miettinen ...

'' (10 episodes, 2000–2005) * ''

Bad Luck Love ''Bad Luck Love'' is a 2000 Finnish crime drama film directed by Olli Saarela. In 2001, the film won a total of four Jussi Awards: Best Direction, Best Male Supporting Actor (Tommi Eronen), Best Female Supporting Actor (Tarja-Tuulikki Tarsala) an ...

'' (2000) * '' Trench Road'' (2004) * '' Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning'' (2005) * '' V2: Dead Angel'' (''V2 – Jäätynyt enkeli'', 2007) * '' Joulutarina'' (2007) * ''

The House of Branching Love ''The House of Branching Love'' () is a 2009 Finnish comedy-drama film directed by Mika Kaurismäki. It is based on the novel ''Haarautuvan rakkauden talo'' by Petri Karra. The film is about a married couple going through a divorce. Cast * Ha ...

'' (''Haarautuvan rakkauden talo'', 2009) * '' Master Cheng'' (''Mestari Cheng'', 2019) * '' The Missile (Ohjus)'' - 2024 ;As director * '' The Quiet Village'' (''Vaiennut kylä'', 1997) * '' The Classic'' (''Klassikko'', 2001) * '' Backwood Philosopher'' (''Havukka-ahon ajattelija'', 2009)

References

External links

* 1953 births Living people People from Inari, Finland Finnish male television actors Finnish film directors Finnish male film actors Finnish television directors Finnish screenwriters Finnish television writers 20th-century Finnish male actors 21st-century Finnish male actors Male television writers Academic staff of the University of the Arts Helsinki {{Finland-actor-stub