| Ólafur Darri Ólafsson | |
| Birth Date: | 3 March 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Connecticut, U.S. |
| Known For: | Children Fangavaktin Trapped The Minister |
| Partner: | Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir |
| Children: | 2 |
| Years Active: | 1998–present |
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (born 3 March 1973)[1] is an Icelandic-American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for Fangavaktin, Children, Trapped and The Deep. On the international stage, he is known for his appearances in Lady Dynamite, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and .
Ólafur was born to Icelandic parents in Connecticut, United States, where his father studied medicine. His family returned to Iceland when he was around four years old.[2] [3] [4]
Ólafur graduated from the Icelandic Drama School in 1998. Afterward, he became involved in numerous productions with the National Theatre of Iceland and Reykjavík City Theatre, also working with various independent theatre groups. He is one of the founders of Vesturport Theatre in Reykjavík.[5]
Ólafur is best known internationally for his role as Andri, the chief of police in the small town of Seyðisfjörður in the east of Iceland, in the series Trapped. Baltasar Kormákur, who devised the series, has said that the actor was chosen because he was not a typical leading man. In the UK, the Guardian TV critic called his performance "as remarkable as the landscape". Ólafur himself has said that he based the character on his own father.[3]
In June 2016, Ólafur lip synced in the music video for Winter Sound by the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men.[6]
In 2019, the actor was cast in AMC's series adaptation of Joe Hill's NOS4A2 as Bing Partridge.[7]
He is also an Icelandic dubber and has provided the voices of various characters in animated films, such as Ice Age, Lilo & Stitch, Brother Bear, and Kung Fu Panda, among others. [8]
Ólafur is in a relationship with Icelandic dancer Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir. They have two daughters, born in 2010 and 2014.[9]
Due to being born in the United States, he holds an American citizenship as well as an Icelandic one.[2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Fíaskó | Gulli | ||
| 101 Reykjavík | Marri | |||
| 2002 | True Love (Once Removed) | Waitress | Short | |
| 2005 | Beowulf & Grendel | Unferth | ||
| 2006 | Thicker than Water | Börkur | ||
| Children | Marinó | |||
| 2007 | Parents | Marinó | ||
| 2008 | White Night Wedding | Sjonni | ||
| Country Wedding | Egill | |||
| Reykjavík-Rotterdam | Elvar | |||
| 2010 | Undercurrent | Sævar | ||
| 2011 | Stormland | Böddi – Böðvar Steingrímsson | ||
| 2012 | Contraband | Olaf | ||
| The Deep | Gulli[10] | |||
| 2013 | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Helicopter pilot | ||
| 2014 | A Walk Among the Tombstones | Jonas Loogan | ||
| 2015 | The Last Witch Hunter | Belial[11] | ||
| 2016 | Zoolander 2 | Hasidic man | ||
| The BFG | the Maidmasher | |||
| The White King | Pickaxe | |||
| 2018 | The Spy Who Dumped Me | Finnish backpacker | ||
| The Meg | The Wall | |||
| Let Me Fall | Viðskiptavinur | |||
| The Vanishing | Boor | |||
| Skender | ||||
| 2019 | Ragnar the Rock | Voice role | ||
| Murder Mystery | Sergei | |||
| End of Sentence | Officer Stone | |||
| 2020 | Neils Brongus | |||
| 2023 | Operation Napoleon | Einar |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Eagle | Computer thief | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | 1066 The Battle for Middle Earth | Gyrd | 1 episode | |
| Fangavaktin | Loðfíllinn | 7 episodes | ||
| 2014 | Banshee | Jonah Lambrecht | 2 episodes | |
| True Detective | Dewall | 1 episode | ||
| Banshee Origins | Jonah Lambrecht | 1 episode | ||
| 2015–21 | Trapped | Andri Ólafsson | 21 episodes | |
| 2016 | The Missing | Stefan Andersen | 4 episodes | |
| Quarry | Credence Mason | 4 episodes | ||
| 2016–17 | Lady Dynamite | Scott Marvel Cassidy | 13 episodes | |
| 2017 | Emerald City | Ojo[12] | 7 episodes | |
| 2018 | Hilda | 13 episodes | ||
| 2019 | The Widow | Ariel Helgason | 8 episodes | |
| New Amsterdam | Burl | 1 episode | ||
| NOS4A2 | Bing Partridge | 20 episodes | ||
| The Archer (voice) | 6 episodes | |||
| 2020 | Cursed | Rugen the Leper King | 1 episode | |
| The Minister | Benedikt Ríkharðsson | 8 episodes | ||
| 2021 | Vegferð | Ólafur Darri | 6 episodes | |
| 2022 | The Amazing Race 34 | Himself | 1 episode | |
| 2022–24 | The Tourist | Billy Nixon | 6 episodes | |
| 2023 | Boat Story | Narrator | 6 episodes | |
| TBA | Severance | Season 2 |
| 2017 | For Honor | Highlander | Voice role | |
| 2023 | The Last Worker | Kurt[13] | Voice role |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Edda Awards | Screenplay of the Year (with Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir & Ragnar Bragason) | Children | |
| Actor of the Year | Children | |||
| 2007 | Edda Awards | Best Film (with Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Víkingur Kristjánsson, Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir & Ragnar Bragason) | Parents | |
| Nordic Council Film Prize | Children | |||
| 2010 | Edda Awards | Supporting Actor of the Year | The Prison Shift | |
| 2011 | Edda Awards | Actor of the Year | Stormland | |
| Screenplay of the Year (with Ottó Geir Borg, Víkingur Kristjánsson, Víkingur Kristjánsson, Ólafur Egilsson, Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir & Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson) | Undercurrent | |||
| 2013 | Edda Awards | Actor of the Year | The Deep | |
| Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | Best Actor Award | XL | ||
| 2014 | Edda Awards | Actor of the Year | XL | |
| 2021 | Edda Awards | Actor of the Year | The Minister | |