Birger Malmsten

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Albert Birger Malmsten (born December 23, 1920 in Gräsö ; † February 15, 1991 in Stockholm ) was a Swedish actor . He was best known as a leading actor in the early films of Ingmar Bergman .

Life

Malmsten moved to Stockholm at a young age to fulfill his dream of becoming a theater actor. After military service, he studied psychology and drama and was active in the student theater in Stockholm. However, his application to the Drama School of the Royal Dramatic Theater was rejected. In May 1943, Malmsten and Ingmar Bergman met for the first time in a production of the play Strax innan man vaknar ( Eng . "Shortly before awakening"). In 1944 Bergman engaged Malmsten for his first professional role in Robert Bürkner's stage version of Little Red Riding Hood . In the same year Malmsten starred in Alf Sjöberg's film Die Hörige (original title: Hets ), for which Bergman had written the script and worked as an assistant director. He then followed Bergman to Helsingborg , where Bergman had accepted the post of director of the city theater.

From the late 1940s to the early 1950s, Malmsten played several leading or major supporting roles in Bergman's films. In retrospect, he was referred to as Bergman's cinematic alter ego for his roles during this time , as the director processed private biographical details in Durst , An die Freude and Eine Sommer . In addition to his engagements, he ran a local cinema with his wife Haide Göransson and Kenne Fant , who later became the head of Svensk Filmindustri , in the 1950s. From 1962 he worked at the Royal Dramatic Theater.

In later years, Malmsten's roles in Bergman's productions became increasingly smaller. He made his last film appearance for Bergman in 1976 in Face to Face , his last theater role in 1984 in Bergman's production of King Lear .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Birger Malmsten's curriculum vitae on the Ingmar Bergman Foundation website , accessed on August 1, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Malmsten, Birger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Gräsö
DATE OF DEATH February 15, 1991
Place of death Stockholm