Lars Passgård (14 February 1941 – 16 March 2003) was a Swedish actor and theatre director. He appeared in more than 30 films and television shows between 1961 and 2002.
Biography
Early life and education
Passgård grew up in
Smålandsstenar
Smålandsstenar () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in Gislaved Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 4,530 inhabitants in 2010.
In sports Smålandsstenar Tennisclub have a central position as the most successful athletic-c ...
, a locality in
Jönköping County
Jönköping County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in September 2017. The capita ...
. He acted in
amateur theater
Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...
in Smålandsstenar and, in 1959, began training at the
Malmö City Theatre
Malmö City Theatre () in Malmö, Sweden, is the main theatre of Malmö.
History
The first theatre in Malmö, Malmö Teater, was built in 1808 but became out of use in 1938. The Malmö City Theatre was built by the architect Sigurd Lewerentz b ...
, which is now designated as the
Malmö Theatre Academy
Malmö Theatre Academy () is a theatre academy at Lund University in Malmö, Sweden.
The theater college educates actors, playwrights and performance artists. Over the years the school has trained over 500 actors. The academy offers Bachelor's de ...
and is a part of
Lund University
Lund University () is a Public university, public research university in Sweden and one of Northern Europe's oldest universities. The university is located in the city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania. The university was officially foun ...
.
Career
After completing his studies,
Malmö City Theatre
Malmö City Theatre () in Malmö, Sweden, is the main theatre of Malmö.
History
The first theatre in Malmö, Malmö Teater, was built in 1808 but became out of use in 1938. The Malmö City Theatre was built by the architect Sigurd Lewerentz b ...
became his main stage. Although, he also made guest appearances on theater stages in both Sweden and
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. In 1961, he made his theater debut in Malmö and his film debut in
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
's ''
Through a Glass Darkly'', which, in part, won him roles in
Bo Widerberg
Bo Gunnar Widerberg (; 8 June 1930 – 1 May 1997) was a Sweden, Swedish film director, screenwriter, writer, film editing, editor and actor.
Biography Early life
Widerberg was born in Malmö, Malmöhus County, Sweden.
Career
Bo Widerberg began ...
's 1963 feature debut ''
Barnvagnen'' and the 1963 Hollywood film ''
The Prize''. Passgård later acted in
Yngve Gamlin
Yngve Gamlin (17 March 1926 – 1 February 1995) was a Swedish actor and film director. His 1965 film '' The Chasers'' was entered into the 16th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize.
Gam ...
's 1965 film ''
The Chasers'', which won the
Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize at the
16th Berlin International Film Festival
The 16th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1966.
The Golden Bear was awarded to film ''Cul-de-sac'' directed by Roman Polanski.
Jury
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the fest ...
in 1966.
In 1961, his popularity grew and he became a teen idol for his participation in the TV entertainment series ''
Bialitt''. Between 1963 and 1966, Passgård was part of the TV-theater ensemble on
SVT and played at various private theaters in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, including the
Stockholm City Theatre
Stockholm City Theatre () is a live performance theatre located in Stockholm, Sweden. The theatre is situated near the Sergel fountain and the Stockholm City roundabout.
Location
It is located in one of Stockholm's most popular public buildi ...
from 1965 to 1966 and 1970 to 1971, and the
Royal Dramatic Theatre
The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages.
The theatre has been at its present lo ...
between 1971 and 1973. He also played at the
Royal Danish Theatre
The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...
in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
and received much attention for his performance of
Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet is the title character and protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew of the usurping King Claudius, Claudius, and son of King Hamlet, the previous King of Denmark. At ...
in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' in
Aalborg
Aalborg or Ålborg ( , , ) is Denmark's List of cities and towns in Denmark, fourth largest urban settlement (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban populati ...
in 1969. After his time spent at the Royal Danish Theatre, he returned to Malmö, where he was the theater's drama director between 1986 and 1989.
In 1962 he received the
Swedish Union for Theatre, Artists and Media's Daniel Engdahl scholarship, and in 1985 he received
Kvällsposten
(''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening List of Swedish newspapers, newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue".
The ...
's
Thalia Prize.
Death and legacy
Passgård died in on 16 March 2003 in Malmö after a brief illness. He was interred in
Limhamn
Limhamn () is, in an administrative sense, the southern district of Malmö Municipality in Sweden. Before 1915, Limhamn was (briefly) a town of its own.
The population of Limhamn-Bunkeflo (including suburbs) is 31,000, of which 7,000 live in t ...
at the cemetery of
Limhamn Church.
Following his death, Lars' mother Elvy Passgård instituted a theater scholarship, dedicated to his memory, to be shared out among theater students at the Malmö Theatre Academy of Lund University. The total fund allocates 1,000,000
Swedish kronor
The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; currency sign, sign: kr; ISO 4217, code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usual ...
to manage. The scholarship holder must be "young and promising, talented and focused on the nature of the spectacle of dramatic or comic art".
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre
Roles (not complete)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passgard, Lars
1941 births
2003 deaths
20th-century Swedish male actors
Swedish male film actors
Swedish male television actors
Actors from Borås
Male actors from Malmö
Male actors from Västra Götaland County