HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau (; born 27 July 1970) is a Danish actor and producer. He graduated from the
Danish National School of Performing Arts The Danish National School of Performing Arts (Danish: Den Danske Scenekunstskole) is an artistic educational institution governed by the Danish Ministry of Culture. The school offers higher education and continuing education within performing arts. ...
in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
in 1993, and had his breakthrough role in Denmark with the film '' Nightwatch'' (1994). He played
Jaime Lannister Ser Jaime Lannister is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and someti ...
in the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
fantasy drama series ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'', for which he received two
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Coster-Waldau has appeared in numerous films in his native Denmark and Scandinavia, including '' Headhunters'' (2011) and '' A Thousand Times Good Night'' (2013). In the U.S, his debut film role was in the war film '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), playing Medal of Honor recipient
Gary Gordon Gary Ivan Gordon (August 30, 1960 – October 3, 1993) was a master sergeant in the United States Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. At the time of his death, he was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army's premier s ...
. He then played a detective in the short-lived
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
television series ''
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
'' (2008), and appeared in the 2009 Fox television film ''
Virtuality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video g ...
'', originally intended as a pilot. He is a
UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
Goodwill Ambassador, drawing public attention to issues such as gender equality and climate change.


Early life

Coster-Waldau was born in
Rudkøbing Rudkøbing is a town in Denmark, on the western coast of the island of Langeland. It is the seat of Langeland Municipality, in the Southern Denmark Region. The town is located southeast of Svendborg and is connected to Siø through the Siøsun ...
, Denmark, the son of Hanne Søborg Coster, a
librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
, and Jørgen Oscar Fritzer Waldau (died 1998). He has spoken in interviews about his father's problems with alcohol, as well as his parents' divorce. He has two older sisters, and was raised mainly by his mother. He grew up in Tybjerg, a small village between
Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately 60 km from Copenhagen. Tourism and transport Ringsted is one of Denmark's busiest ...
and
Næstved Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the four ...
in southern
Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...
. Coster-Waldau attended the
Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance The Danish National School of Performing Arts (Danish: Den Danske Scenekunstskole) is an artistic educational institution governed by the Danish Ministry of Culture. The school offers higher education and continuing education within performing arts. ...
(Danish:
Statens Teaterskole The Danish National School of Performing Arts (Danish: Den Danske Scenekunstskole) is an artistic educational institution governed by the Danish Ministry of Culture. The school offers higher education and continuing education within performing arts. ...
) from 1989 to 1993.


Career


Early career and breakthrough (1993–2000)

Coster-Waldau made his stage debut as
Laertes In Greek mythology, Laertes (; grc, Λαέρτης, Laértēs ; also spelled Laërtes) was the king of the Cephallenians, an ethnic group who lived both on the Ionian islands and on the mainland, which he presumably inherited from his father A ...
in ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' at the Betty Nansen Theater. His role in the film '' Nightwatch'' (1994) brought him fame in his native country. He then went on to play in Simon Staho's ''Wildside'' (1998), which he also cowrote, and starred in Danish films such as ''
Misery Harbour ''Misery Harbour'' is a Norwegian drama by Nils Gaup. The film received mixed reviews with " die throws" of 5 in '' VG'', and ''Dagbladet''; 4 in ''Adresseavisen'' and in ''Bergensavisen'';"Ambisiøst og fengende", ''Bergensavisen'' 23 August 1999. ...
'' (1999). He starred in his first British film '' Bent'' (1997).


Transition to United States film and television (2001–2010)

In 2001, he began his U.S. career in
Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
's '' Black Hawk Down'' as
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
recipient
Gary Gordon Gary Ivan Gordon (August 30, 1960 – October 3, 1993) was a master sergeant in the United States Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. At the time of his death, he was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army's premier s ...
. Coster-Waldau says "My first U.S. movie was ''Black Hawk Down'' and a friend helped me put myself on tape up on the attic over my apartment in Copenhagen. We shipped it out and I got lucky." Coster-Waldau used his success to take roles on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly his native
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
. He had a leading role in
Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...
's ''
Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...
'' and played a villain in the action film '' My Name is Modesty'' (based upon the ''
Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talent ...
'' comic strip). Scott brought Coster-Waldau back for the 2005 film ''
Kingdom of Heaven Kingdom of Heaven may refer to: Religious * Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew) **Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels * Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Will ...
''.
Richard Loncraine Richard Loncraine (born 20 October 1946) is a British film and television director. Loncraine was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Loncraine received early training in the features department of the BBC, including a season directing items ...
cast Coster-Waldau for ''
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
'' and ''
Firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
''. In 2007, he played John Amsterdam, an immortal
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
homicide detective who becomes mortal after finding true love, in the short-lived
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
television series ''
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...
''. As a result of filming that series' pilot, Coster-Waldau obtained his
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
card. He later recalled in a 2015 interview in ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'', "Finally getting my SAG card was huge for me...I got so excited I went straight to the SAG online shop and bought four mugs with SAG logo. still have those mugs!"


Mainstream and critical success (2011–present)

From 2011 to 2019, Coster-Waldau played
Jaime Lannister Ser Jaime Lannister is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and someti ...
in the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'', based on
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
's fantasy novel series ''
A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
''. He commented about the character "What's not to like about Jaime? As an actor I couldn't ask for a better role". For his role, he received several accolades, including
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
,
Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
,
Critics' Choice Television Award The Critics' Choice Television Awards are accolades that are presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fourt ...
,
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
and
People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
nominations. In 2011, he starred alongside Sam Shepard in Mateo Gil's feature ''
Blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...
'', which premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
. Later the same year he starred in Morten Tyldum's '' Headhunters''. The film went on to be the highest-grossing Norwegian film of all-time and received very positive reviews including a BAFTA Award nomination for
Best Foreign Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
. Coster-Waldau starred in the 2013 horror film ''
Mama Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...
'' alongside
Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time'' ...
, which then debuted at number one in the US box office and grossed over $140 million worldwide. He went on to play Sykes, a military weapons expert in the
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
'' Oblivion''. That same year, he co-starred with
Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...
in Erik Poppe's drama '' A Thousand Times Good Night''. In 2014, he starred in
Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. She is best known for her feature films '' Brothers'' (2004), '' After the Wedding'' (2006), ''In a Better World'' (2010), and '' Bird Box'' (2018), and the TV miniseries ''The Night Man ...
's Danish thriller '' A Second Chance'' as Andreas, a police officer forced to make a difficult choice. In 2016, Coster-Waldau appeared in the action-fantasy film ''
Gods of Egypt Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural fo ...
'' as
Horus Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...
. In early 2017, he starred in E.L. Katz's dark comedy '' Small Crimes'' which premiered at
South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
film festival on 11 March 2017, to positive reviews. Coster-Waldau then appeared in the Danish film ''3 Things'', a thriller about a prime suspect of a bank robbery who negotiates the terms of his witness protection deal. He starred in Roman Waugh's prison film '' Shot Caller,'' which premiered at the
Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...
on 16 June 2017. Since January 2018 he has been the
L'Oréal Paris L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ski ...
global spokesperson for the company's Men Expert line of products. In May 2017, it was announced that he starred in
Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...
's film ''
Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...
''. The film was released on May 31, 2019. Later the same year he starred in ''Suicide Tourist'' by Jonas Alexander Arnby, which premiered at the
Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, second ...
. That same year, Coster-Waldau launched a production company named Ill Kippers. He starred in ''
The Silencing ''The Silencing'' is a 2020 American-Canadian action-thriller film directed by Robin Pront from a screenplay by Micah Ranum. It stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Annabelle Wallis. The film is about a hunter and a sheriff who track down a murderer ...
'', a thriller directed by Robin Pront. He filmed in secret the movie ''The Day We Died'' (''Krudttønden)'' by
Ole Christian Madsen Ole Christian Madsen (born 18 June 1966) is a Danish film director and script writer. Among his most successful projects are the movies ''Flame & Citron'', '' Prag'', '' Angels in Fast Motion'' ( da. ''Nordkraft'') and the TV series ''Rejseholdet' ...
. The film is based on events surrounding the 2015 Copenhagen shootings and was originally slated for release for late 2019. It was released in Europe on 3 May 2020. On 7 January 2021,
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
announced that
Samuel Goldwyn Films Samuel Goldwyn Films is an American film company that licenses, releases and distributes art-house, independent and foreign films. It was founded by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., the son of the Hollywood business magnate/mogul, Samuel Goldwyn. The curre ...
has purchased U.S. distribution rights for the film. He was to have played
Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
in 2020, in a production of Shakespeare's tragedy reuniting with
Matt Shakman Matt Shakman is an American film, television, and theatre director, and former child actor. He produced and directed ''WandaVision'' and has directed episodes of ''The Great'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', '' Fargo'' and ''Game of Thro ...
at the
Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...
. On 15 April 2020, the Geffen Playhouse announced on its blog tha
its production of Macbeth
among others, had been postponed because of the
Covid pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
.


Personal life

Although Coster-Waldau is not religious, he was baptized and confirmed as a
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
in the
Danish National Church The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...
during his youth, like the vast majority of Danes, and viewed his
confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
as a big moment in his life when he first identified as becoming an adult. He married Nukâka, a Greenlandic actress and singer, in 1997, and they live in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
with their two daughters as well as two dogs. Their daughter Filippa starred in a Danish
short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, ''The Girl and the Dogs'', which was shown at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in 2014. Their other daughter, Safina starred in a Danish Christmas TV-series named Theo og Den Magiske Talisman in December 2018 as the main character Simone. The TV-series was watched by more than 700,000 people in December 2018. His father-in-law is Josef Motzfeldt, a member of the
Parliament of Greenland The Inatsisartut ( kl, Inatsisartut; '' da, Landstinget, lit=''the land's- thing'' of Greenland''), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territory* ...
and former leader of the Community of the People party. Although his father was a supporter of
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, a trip to a match at the
Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...
ground in the early 1990s persuaded him to become a supporter of
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
, and he is a member of the Leeds United Supporters' Trust. In September 2017, Coster-Waldau signed on to narrate one of the fairytales for GivingTales, the celebrity storytelling app for children and adults alike. He is going to narrate "
The Steadfast Tin Soldier "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" (Danish: ''Den standhaftige tinsoldat'') is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel on 2 Octob ...
", on which he commented, "I am from Denmark and
Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
is part of our culture and I am very proud being part of this project. 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier' is a beautiful love story which we can all relate to."


UNDP ambassadorship and other humanitarian causes

Coster-Waldau has supported the
Danish Red Cross Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
since 2003. In 2016, he announced a ''Game of Thrones'' campaign-contest in order to support the
RED Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
foundation which aims to raise awareness and fight AIDS. Since September 2016, he has been serving as a
UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
Goodwill Ambassador to raise awareness and support the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
'
Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
, an action to end poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change. In 2017 Coster-Waldau partnered with
Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
, using Street View to document the impact of global warming in Greenland, in order to increase awareness and highlight climate change. After participating in a female empowerment initiative in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
, on the occasion of
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
in 2017, he wrote a pledge calling for all fathers to support gender equality and women's empowerment, including those women who live in extreme poverty and are exposed to practises like child marriage. In September 2017 he was one of the speakers in The Spotlight Initiative, a
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
-
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
action to eliminate violence against women and girls, after kicking off the women's amateur World Cup. In October 2017, he travelled to the Maldives to report global warming effects, resuming his role as a United Nations Development Program Goodwill Ambassador. In early 2018, he and several other Danish artists signed a manifesto demanding zero tolerance for sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault in the Danish film and stage arts industry. In June 2018, he kicked off The Lion's Share fund's launch, an action in which when an advertising campaign uses an image of an animal, the advertiser will donate 0.5% of the paid media spending of that campaign to the fund. In 2019, he travelled to
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
to report the progress of the country, and to
Peruvian Amazonia Peruvian Amazonia ( es, Amazonía del Perú) is the area of the Amazon rainforest included within the country of Peru, from east of the Andes to the borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia. This region comprises 60% of the country and ...
on occasion of the Amazon rainforest wildfires to offer insights into the effects of climate change.


Filmography


Film


Television


Theatre


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coster-Waldau, Nikolaj 1970 births Living people 20th-century Danish male actors 21st-century Danish male actors Danish film producers Danish male screenwriters Danish male film actors Danish male television actors People from Langeland Municipality Danish male actors Danish expatriates in England