Aksel Hennie

Aksel Hennie
Aksel Hennie in 2012.
Born	(1975-10-29) 29 October 1975 (age 41) Lambertseter, Oslo, Norway
Occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter
Children	1

Aksel Hennie (born 29 October 1975) is a Norwegian actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his leading role in the Norwegian film Headhunters (2011), and as Tydeus in Hercules. He also had a supporting role in Ridley Scott's The Martian (2015).

Hennie was born and raised in Lambertseter, Oslo. In his late teens, he was arrested for graffiti, and became an outcast in the community for confessing to the police. This personal story contributed much of the background for the film Uno. The conviction against Hennie was one of the first such cases in Norway.

Hennie was admitted to the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre after applying four times. He graduated in 2001, and has acted both at Teatret Vårt in Molde (2001–2002) and at Oslo Nye Teater (since 2002), where he has been in plays such as Hamlet and Kvinnen Som Gifftet Seg Med en Kalkun (The Woman Who Married a Turkey).

Hennie's most notable success has been as a film actor. He made his debut starring in the feature film Jonny Vang in 2003. Although the director, Jens Lien, originally thought Hennie was too young for the role, the actor convinced him he was the right man for the film. That same year, he also acted in the films Buddy and Ulvesommer. The next year, Hennie made his debut as a director and writer with the film, Uno, in which he also acted. For this role, Hennie and his co-star, Nicolai Cleve Broch, undertook six months of hard physical training in order to perform convincingly as bodybuilders.