Pål Sverre Hagen
Biography
Pål Sverre Hagen is a Norwegian screen and stage actor. After graduating from the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo in 2003 he has played major roles in both Scandinavian and International films, for which he has received several awards and accolades. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Troubled Water, Kon-Tiki, In Order of Disappearance, Valkyrien and Amundsen. Hagen had his big breakthrough with the acclaimed Norwegian feature film Troubled Water (2008) directed by Erik Poppe, for which he won the Kanon Award for Best Male Actor at Trondheim International Filmfestival. He also appeared in the awarded action drama Max Manus: Man of War (2008) by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. Hagen garnered further critical acclaim for his performance in Pål Jackman's drama The Storm in My Heart (2009), for which he won the Kanon Award for Best Supporting Actor. Hagen achieved world wide recognition for portraying Thor Heyerdahl in the epic historical feature Kon-Tiki (2012) directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning, about the Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947. Kon-Tiki was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. He starred in the role of archaeologist Sigurd Svendsen in Ragnarok (2013) by Mikkel Brænne Sandemose. The year after, he starred in the role of the eccentric villain and crime lord called "the Count" in the comedy action feature In Order of Disappearance (2014) alongside Stellan Skarsgård and Bruno Ganz, and as the antagonist of the Department Q: A Conspiracy of Faith (2016), both films directed by Hans Petter Moland. He played Gisle in The Last King (2016) by Nils Gaup and Arne, a Norwegian geologist in the Dutch drama Beyond Sleep (2016) by Boudewijn Koole. He also appeared in What Happened to Monday (2017) by Tommy Wirkola. More recently, Pål appeared in Sonja: The White Swan (2018) by Anne Sewitsky. Hagen has also starred in several TV series such as Buzz Aldrin (NRK, 2011), Dag (NRK, 2013) and the highly acclaimed drama series Valkyrien (NRK, 2017), for which he won the Golden Screen Award for Best Actor. In 2019, Pål Sverre Hagen stars in the leading role of Roald Amundsen, the Arctic explorer in Espen Sandberg's feature Amundsen (2019). He also appears in Out Stealing Horses (2019) by Hans Petter Moland, the television series Exit (2019), the Danish feature Lifeboat (2019), and the leading role in Halo of Stars (2019) alongside Lily Collins and Holliday Grainger, directed by Anthony Lucero.