Michael Nyqvist, the talented and well-loved Swedish actor, has died. He was 56.
Born Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist in Stockholm in 1960, he got his first taste of acting at the age of 17 while an exchange student in Nebraska. After returning to Sweden, he won admission to a ballet school, but gave it up after a year. Soon after, an ex-girlfriend suggested he try theatre, and so a 24-year-old Nyqvist enrolled at the Malmö Theatre Academy.
From there he did a lot of stage work and scored a few roles on TV before graduating to film and enjoying a healthy career in Swedish movies before he saw his first breakthrough performance in Lukas Moodysson’s Together. He gained further international recognition thanks to his role as Mikael Blomkvist in the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo films, and that in turn led to a variety of parts, including memorable appearances in Disconnect, the first John Wick, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. In 2010, he published a memoir entitled Just Dreaming about his search for his biological parents, as he'd been adopted from an orphanage when he was a baby
"On behalf of Michael Nyqvist’s representatives and family, it is with deep sadness that I can confirm that our beloved Michael, one of Sweden’s most respected and accomplished actors, has passed away quietly surrounded by family after a year long battle with lung cancer," reads the statement from his representatives about his death. "Michael’s joy and passion were infectious to those who knew and loved him. His charm and charisma were undeniable, and his love for the arts was felt by all who had the pleasure of working with him."
He's survived by his wife Catharina, and their children Ellen and Arthur.