| Thorsten Flinck | |
| Birth Date: | 17 April 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Solna, Sweden |
| Yearsactive: | 1977–present |
Thorsten Flinck (born 17 April 1961 in Solna, Sweden), is a Swedish actor, director, and musician.[1] He is known best for playing psychopaths and villains, and also for his outrageous personality both on stage and in real life. Between 1986 and 2002, Flinck was employed by the Royal Dramatic Theatre.
With Charlotta Larsson and Lena Nilsson, Flinck formed the "Grupp 98" theater group based at the Plaza Theater with Thorsten Flinck as director, artistic director and actor. There he directed Tre systrar in 1994, En handelsresandes död in 1996, Maskeraden in 1999, Fadren in 1999–2001, Flinck goes Wilde in 2002.
Flinck played Doktor Flinck, his own version of adaptation of Hjalmar Söderbergs' novel Doktor Glas where he played all the roles himself. He also played in Strindbergs' Paria. In 2009, he directed Natt med gäster.
Flinck also appears frequently on the radio P1 the radio program Dagens Dikt ("Today's Poem"). He has on occasion read short stories and acted in radio theater pieces.
Thorsten Flinck grew up with his twin brother Richard in Huvudsta, Solna. The two, together with some friends formed the band Rockvindar ("Rock Winds") in 1977. Their debut album Första gången ("The First Time") was released in 1980. The band performed in night clubs with heavy rock influences.
In 2002, Flinck formed the music group Flincka Fingrar. The Swedish documentary filmmaker Peter Gaszynski shot a concert film with the band's performances. The film titled Thorsten Flinck: Ett konstnärsporträtt appeared on SVT1 in 2004. Thorsten Flinck released, with Flincka Fingrars his debut album Vildvuxna rosor ("Wild roses") in 2005 featuring covers of five songs by Björn Afzelius, a cover of Lena Philipsson's "Dansa i neon", a cover of Nationalteatern's "Rövarkungens ö", and a Swedish version of "Where the Wild Roses Grow", originally by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue. Totta Näslund, Ola Salo, and Monica Törnell provided guest vocals on the album. "Min vackre son" ("My Handsome Son") was released as a single. Thorsten also fronted for the blues artist and progressive rock icon Totta Näslund.
In 2008, he formed the band called "Revolutionsorkestern" ("Revolutionary Orchestra") made up of Robert Olsson, Magnus Eugenson, Ulf Wahlberg and Mikael Englund. The act became known as Thorsten Flinck & Revolutionsorkestern, releasing their self-titled album Thorsten Flinck and Revolutionsorkestern in 2011. The album contained new interpretations of works by Townes van Zandt and Nick Cave, as well as pieces from the Sweden as rock music and as ballads. "Långt bort högt upp i det blå" ("Far Away High into the Blue") was released as single.
In recent years, Flinck has often been accompanied by guitarist Kenny Håkansson. Songs are varied with ballads, rock and country, in addition to poems and monologues. The music is written by, among others by Björn Afzelius, Dan Hylander, Ulf Dageby, Plura Jonsson, Evert Taube, Nick Cave, Townes van Zandt, and poetry by Kent Andersson and Dan Andersson.
The album En dans på knivens egg ("Dance on the Knife's Edge") was released in 2012. The lyrics of several of the songs were written by Ted Ström. "Hjärtats slutna rum" ("The Heart's Closed Rooms") was released as single.
Thorsten Flinck & Revolutionsorkestern participated in Melodifestivalen 2012 with "Jag reser mig igen" ("I Will Get Up Again")[2] qualifying for the Final 10 of the show after reaching "second chance" stage and ousting Sean Banan. In the finale, Thorsten Flinck & Revolutionsorkestern ended up in eighth place overall.
He was to participate in Melodifestivalen 2020 but was disqualified just a few days before the semifinal in February,[3] and was replaced by Jan Johansen.
His late father was of French-Moroccan descent.[4] He has two daughters, Felice and Happy Jankell, with TV host and reporter Annika Jankell. Thorsten was a youth leader in Solna church 1975 - 80.
| Year | Album | Peak Position | Certifications | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [5] | ||||
| 2005 | Vildvuxna rosor | 21 | ||
| 2012 | En dans på knivens egg | 3 | ||
| 2014 | Till flickorna på upplandsgatan 71 | 36 | ||
| Year | Single | Peak Position | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | |||
| 2011 | "Långt bort högt upp i det blå" | ||
| 2011 | "Hjärtats slutna rum" | ||
| "Jag reser mig igen" | 38 | Non-album release (in Melodifestivalen 2012) | |
| Year | Production | width=65 | Actor ! | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Gertrud | written by Hjalmar Söderberg[6] | ||||
| 1987 | Stags and Hens | written by Willy Russell | ||||
| 1986 | En skugga | written by Hjalmar Bergman | ||||
| 1988 | Spindelkvinnans kyss | |||||
| 1990 | Amorina | written by Carl Jonas Love Almqvist | ||||
| 1991 | Romeo and Juliet | written by William Shakespeare | ||||
| 1992 | The Night Just Before the Forests | written by Bernard-Marie Koltès | ||||
| 1992 | The Zoo Story | written by Edward Albee | ||||
| 1992 | The Last Carneval | written by Derek Walcott | ||||
| 1993 | Tant Blomma | written by Kristina Lugn | ||||
| 1993 | Pelikanen | written by August Strindberg | ||||
| 1993 | L'Illusion Comique | written by Pierre Corneille | ||||
| 1993 | Bodas de sangre | written by Federico García Lorca | ||||
| 1993 | Mig känner ingen | |||||
| 1995 | The Misanthrope | written by Molière | ||||
| 1996 | Mr Puntila and his Man Matti | written by Bertolt Brecht | ||||
| 1996 | The Good Person of Szechwan | written by Bertolt Brecht | ||||
| 1998 | Death of a Salesman | written by Arthur Miller | ||||
| 1999 | Maskeraden | |||||
| 2000 | Fadren | written by August Strindberg | ||||
| 2001 | The Dresser | written by Ronald Harwood | ||||
| 2002 | Flinck goes Wilde | |||||
| 2013 | Så enkel är kärleken | written by Lars Norén |