News of Norway

NICOLAI CLEVE BROCH has appeared
with his close friend and fellow actor Aksel Hennie
in several films, and the two are considered by
many to be Norwegian film's dynamic duo. Cleve
Broch is known for going all out to get into character.
For his most recent role in the wartime drama
"Max Manus," his hair was bleached so extensively
that his hair actually began falling out. The 33-year
old's interest in acting came by way of a Dungeons
and Dragons-style live-role-playing game in the forest,
after he got tired of sitting in his room "pretending
to be an elf." The actor always strives to
give the audience something new: "The audience
needs to be educated. I have never really understood
why people want to see the same thing over
and over again." Cleve Broch is married to
Norwegian actress Heidi Gjermundsen. He got his
breakthrough in the film "Buddy" in 2003. He has
also appeared in "UNO" (2004), "Uro" (2006), and
"Cold Lunch" (2007).
ANE DAHL TORP works in film and theater. When she
works in the theater, she brings her dog, the Norfolk terrier
Jonas, to work every day. The 33-year-old used to live in Molde,
where she felt like "the loneliest actress in Norwegian history":
"Several times I sat in bars with my gin and tonic, pretending to
scout for people I was waiting for." Dahl Torp claims to have
once forgotten her purse, forcing her to substitute a grocery
store bag for it on the red carpet. Dahl Torp has received an
Amanda award for her role in the film "Comrade Pedersen"
(2006). She also starred in "Uro" (2006). Currently, she
can be seen in Norwegian movie theaters in
Tommy Wirkola's "Dead Snow," which
screened at Robert Redford's Sundance
Festival in Utah in February, and will
be released in the United States
later this year.
INGRID BOLSØ BERDAL hails from Nord Trøndelag
in Norway. She was the lead in the thriller "Cold Pray" and in the
sequel, "Cold Pray II," both box office successes. Twenty-nineyear-old
Bolsø Berdal also starred in "Comrade Pedersen,"
"Sons," and "House of Fools." When preparing for "House of
Fools," she admitted herself to a psychiatric ward for 24 hours
for research. "It was an important experience. I am humble that I
was allowed to stay there," she said. In 2007, she won an award
for using her own regional dialect in films and her conscious
use of dialect has become a big part of her image. This year she
will be jury chairman of the Amandus festival, a Norwegian film
festival for youths and children, which celebrates young filmmakers.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NORWEGIAN FILM INSTITUTE
PIA TJELTA made her film
in 2001 with "Mongoland," shot
hometown, Stavanger. According
year-old Tjelta, if she had not be
accepted by the Norwegian Nati
Academy of Theater she would h
majored in child welfare. Before
became a film actress, she toure
Europe with a theater company.
adamant that self-confidence is
something that comes naturally
"Everyone needs acceptance an
confirmation that she is needed,
that she matters, and that she is
good at what she does. Me
too." Norwegian TV2 called
her "the first lady of
Stavanger," because of
her looks and popularity.
Tjelta, who
was last seen in
"Fallen
Angels,"
also starred
in "Buddy"
and "Cold
Lunch."
norw
MARIA BONNEVIE
Maria Bonnevie was born in Swe
to a Norwegian actress and a
Swedish actor. She grew up in Os
and graduated from the Swedish
National Academy of Mime and
Acting in 1997. She debuted in 19
with "The Polar Bear King" and "
White Viking." Thirty-five-year-old
Bonnevie has said that starring in
the films changed her life: "I was
young girl with bad self-esteem, w
often blushed. I was not very goo
in school and not very popular.
Therefore it was a great experien
to become the center of everyone
attention." Five years after her
debut, she got her breakthrough
the film "Jerusalem." Bonnevie is
also known for her lead role in "I
Dina." Bonnevie was last seen in
Russian film, "The Banishment."
2005:
Actor/director/writer Aksel
Hennie is awarded the Silver
Tower at the 2005 Palic
International Film Festival in
Yugoslavia for an "extraordinary
combination of action, writing,
and directing skills" in the feature
film "UNO."
2006:
The Norwegian/Canadian animated
short film "The Danish
Poet," directed by Norwegian
Torill Kove, and narrated by Liv
Ullmann, wins an Oscar in the
animated short film category –
the second Norwegian film to
receive an Academy award.
8 | news of norway | spring 2009