Peter Stormare
Peter Stormare | |
|---|---|
 Peter Stormare, 2008 | |
| Born | Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm 27 August 1953 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse(s) | Karen Sillas (divorced) Toshimi Stormare |
(born Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm; 27 August 1953) is a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles as John Abruzzi in Prison Break and as Gaear Grimsrud, one of the two kidnappers in Fargo.
Early life
Stormare was born in Kumla, Närke, Sweden.[1] He grew up in Arbrå, Hälsingland, originally named Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm. He changed his surname when he discovered he shared it with a senior student at the acting academy.[citation needed] His original choice of name, Retep Mrots (his own name spelled backwards), was rejected.[citation needed] Just like "storm" (a word which has the same meaning in Swedish and English), "stormare" is a Swedish word, meaning "stormer".
Career
Stormare began his career with the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre, to which he belonged for eleven years. In 1990, he took a leading position (Associate Artistic Director) at the Tokyo Globe Theatre and made a name for himself through various Shakespeare performances including Hamlet. Three years later, he moved to New York City and mainly took part there in English language productions. In Sweden, he has worked with Ingmar Bergman, by whom he was apparently discovered. He has also played Carl Hamilton, a fictional Swedish secret agent similar to James Bond. He was discovered by international audiences for his critically acclaimed role as one of the kidnappers (with Steve Buscemi) in Fargo (1996). He later played a sleazy, unlicensed "eye-doctor" named Solomon Eddie in Minority Report. He portrayed Dieter Stark in the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
In 1998, he appeared in "The Frogger", a Seinfeld episode where he played a "rogue electrician" known as "Slippery Pete". He portrayed Uli Kunkel in the 1998 film The Big Lebowski, as well as playing Lev Andropov, the Russian Cosmonaut in 1998's Armageddon, and Alexei in the 2003 film Bad Boys II.
In 2003, Stormare played as Ernst Rohm in Hitler: The Rise of Evil.
In the 2005 film Constantine, Stormare played Lucifer. He played an interrogator in the 2005 movie The Brothers Grimm. His first major character in television was on the show Prison Break in 2005, where he played mob boss John Abruzzi. Stormare was originally cast for the role of Fido, but upon being cast in Prison Break, he opted out of the film.
He also was the voice of Mattias Nilsson in the video games Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, the voice of Isair in the computer game Icewind Dale 2, and the voice of Johann Strauss in Quake 4. In February 2006, he starred as Wolfgang in Volkswagen's VDub series of television commercials.
Stormare played the main character in the movie Svartvattnet, which was filmed in Sweden and Norway during 2007.[2] Stormare was also offered a role in the ABC television series Lost for a period of one year,[3] which he later declined.[4] In the 2007 film Premonition he played the character Dr Roth. In April 2007, he appeared in an episode of crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, "Ending Happy".
In December 2007, Stormare participated in the Swedish reality show "Stjärnorna på slottet" along with Britt Ekland, Arja Saijonmaa, Jan Malmsjö and Magnus Härenstam. He appears in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 as Dr. Zelinsky, a Russian scientist who builds a time machine.
Stormare runs his own record label, StormVox. In 2010, stars in the Psychological thriller film Corridor aka Isolerad.[5]
Stormare starred as Walter in the Canadian independent crime thriller Small Town Murder Songs in 2010
Stormare also appeared in the music video of the song Uprising by the Swedish power metal band Sabaton.[6] He combined acting with singing by playing the menacing Western gunfighter who strides into a bar in the 2011 Super Bowl commercial and breaks into a happy rendition of "Tiny Dancer" when presented with a Budweiser beer.
Stormare appears as a Psychiatrist in the 2011 Swedish Language Horror film Marianne.
Personal life
Stormare divides his time between the United States and Sweden. He is divorced from his first wife, actress Karen Sillas. He is married to Toshimi Stormare.
Stormare is a musician. After Bono of U2 heard some of Stormare's music, he encouraged him to make an album and in 2002, he released his first album, Dallerpölsa och småfåglar. Stormare is the godfather of Gustaf Skarsgård, the son of equally-acclaimed Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, and plays in a band called Blonde From Fargo. While working on a Disney film in Prague, Stormare was introduced to Bob Dylan after the concert by bassist Tony Garnier.
Peter is personally committed to supporting Independent Swedish films such as the 2011 film Marianne. In a recent interview Peter commented that “Supporting independent cinema in Sweden is something that is very important to me. Sometimes I can use my “name” and bring some attention to a project and Marianne is now my third project in five years.” [7]
Filmography
Series
| Year | Series | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Morsarvet | Swedish Mini Series |
| 1998 | Seinfeld | Episode: The Frogger |
| 2004 | Joey | |
| 2005–2006 | Prison Break | |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | |
| 2008 | Transformers: Animated | |
| Monk | ||
| 2009 | Entourage | |
| Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | ||
| 2010 | Weeds | Episodes: "A Yippity Sippity" and "Bliss" |
| Hawaii Five-0 | ||
| Adventure Time | ||
| 2011 | Covert Affairs | Episode: The Outsiders |
Films
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 1978 | Lyftet |
| 1982 | Fanny och Alexander |
| 1986 | Seppan |
| Den frusna leoparden | |
| 1987 | Mälarpirater |
| 1990 | Awakenings |
| 1991 | Freud flyttar hemifrån... |
| 1992 | Damage |
| 1996 | Fargo |
| 1997 | The Lost World: Jurassic Park |
| In the Presence of a Clown | |
| 1998 | Armageddon |
| Mercury Rising | |
| The Big Lebowski | |
| Hamilton | |
| 1999 | 8mm |
| 2000 | Bruiser |
| Chocolat | |
| Dancer in the Dark | |
| The Million Dollar Hotel | |
| Circus | |
| 2001 | Happy Campers |
| 2002 | 13 Moons |
| The Beatle Fan | |
| Spun | |
| Minority Report | |
| Windtalkers | |
| The Tuxedo | |
| Bad Company | |
| 2003 | Hitler: The Rise of Evil |
| Bad Boys II | |
| The Movie Hero | |
| 2004 | Birth |
| 2005 | The Batman vs. Dracula |
| The Brothers Grimm | |
| 2001 Maniacs | |
| Buck Rogers to the Xtreme! | |
| Constantine | |
| 2006 | Nacho Libre |
| Unknown | |
| 2007 | Premonition |
| Anamorph | |
| Boot Camp | |
| They Never Found Her | |
| Switch | |
| Gone with the Woman | |
| Hoppet | |
| 2008 | Witless Protection |
| Insanitarium | |
| Varg | |
| 2009 | The Killing Room |
| Horsemen | |
| The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | |
| 2010 | Corridor (aka Isolerad) |
| Small Town Murder Songs | |
| 2011 | Marianne |
| The Divide | |
| Inseparable | |
| The Hunters 2 | |
| Henry's Crime |
Video games
| Year | Game |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Quake 4 |
| Mercenaries | |
| 2008 | Mercenaries 2: World in Flames |
| Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 | |
| 2009 | Wanted: Weapons of Fate |
| 2010 | Prison Break: The Conspiracy |
Music
- "Uprising" (music video) by Sabaton (2010)
Discography
- Dallerpölsa och småfåglar (2002)
- Swänska hwisor vol 1 (2004)
- Lebowski-Fest 2005 (2005)
- Seven Seas Track on The Poodles CD Sweet Trade (2007)
See also
References
- ^ Peter Stormare Film Reference bio
- ^ Marcus Boldemann. "Peter Stormare vänder hem" (in Swedish). DN.se. Retrieved September 5, 2006.
- ^ Stormare Offered Role in "Lost"
- ^ Stormare says no to offered role in "Lost"
- ^ Peter Storemare Walks the Corridor, Check Out the Trailer
- ^ Metal News SABATON
- ^ Marianne Cast Reveal Scare Tactics
External links
- Peter Stormare at IMDb
- Unofficial website for Peter Stormare
- Uli Kunkle Edition Lebowski Podcast tribute to Stormare's character in The Big Lebowski.
- "Un-pimp Your Auto" Commercials on Google video
- Peter Stormare's band