Benedikt Erlingsson (born 31 May 1969) is an Icelandic actor and theater and film director.[1] He graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 1994 and has been with the National Theater of Iceland for most of his career. He has directed two feature-length films, both of which have won the Nordic Council Film Prize.

Benedikt Erlingsson
Born (1969-05-31) 31 May 1969 (age 55)
Reykjavík, Iceland
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • actor
AwardsEdda Award for Best Director

Film and television career

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Benedikt was a part of the locally renowned[2] sketch comedy television show Fóstbræður.[2][3]

He played the interpreter in Lars von Triers 2006 film The Boss of It All, about an owner of an IT company that wishes to sell it after having pretended for years that the real boss lives abroad and communicates with the staff only by e-mail.

Benedikt's first feature-length film as director was Of Horses and Men in 2013. The film was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards,[4][5] but it was not nominated. The film won the 2014 Nordic Council Film Prize. It also won the audience award at the 2014 Tromsø International Film Festival in Norway.[6]

His second film, Woman at War, an eco-terrorism drama,[7] premiered in 2018.[8] It too was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards for its release year, but it was likewise not nominated.[9][10][11]

In 2021, Benedikt appeared as Steingrímur Hermannsson in the Icelandic television drama miniseries Blackport.[12]

Theater career

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Benedikt has directed four plays for the National Theater, including Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness.

References

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  1. ^ "IMDb". Benedikt Erlingsson on IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b Lilja Katrín Gunnarsdóttir (13 October 2014). "Sautján ár síðan fyrsti Fóstbræðra þátturinn fór í loftið – Vísir". visir.is. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  3. ^ Ólafur Guðsteinn Kristjánsson (2004). Ég prumpa því ég er – Um gróteskt uppbrot gamanþáttanna Fóstbræður [I fart, therefore I am – On the grotesque cuff in Fóstbræður] (Thesis). University of Iceland.
  4. ^ "Oscars: Iceland Nominates 'Of Horses and Men' for Foreign Language Category". Hollywood Reporter. 24 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  5. ^ "Of Horses and Men selected for the 2014 Oscars". News of Iceland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  6. ^ "Tromsø Audience Award". Archived from the original on 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  7. ^ Wendy, Mitchell. "Benedikt Erlingsson on Icelandic eco-terrorist drama 'Woman At War'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Benedikt Erlingsson". National Theatre of Iceland. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Фильм, которым можно гордиться: украинскую киноленту выдвинули на Оскар". Politeka. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  10. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (20 September 2018). "Oscars: Iceland Selects 'Woman at War' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  11. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (21 September 2018). "The Guilty enters the Oscars race for Denmark, Woman at War for Iceland". Cineuropa. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  12. ^ Davíð Kjartan Gestsson; Baldvin Þór Bergsson (11 January 2022). "Á sundskýlunni í heimspressunni". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 January 2022.