Stefán Karl Stefánsson | |
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Born | Hafnarfjörður, Iceland |
Occupation | Stage and film actor |
Spouse(s) | Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir |
Stefán Karl Stefánsson (/ˈstɛfən kɑːrl ˈstɛfənsən/; Icelandic: [ˈstɛːvaun kʰartl̥ ˈstɛːvaunsɔn]) is an Icelandic film and stage actor. He is best known for playing the villain Robbie Rotten on the Nick Jr. children's television series LazyTown (2004–2007; 2013–2014). He is now living in Los Angeles with his wife, Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, three daughters and a son.
Stefán was born in the town of Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, where he grew up and lived for most of his life. He moved to the United States in 2004.
Following Stefán's announcement in October 2016 that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a GoFundMe campaign was created by LazyTown head writer Mark Valenti to pay his living costs when he fell too ill to work. The campaign was popularized by the YouTube channel SiIvaGunner uploading a parody of Stefán's work, which led to the song "We Are Number One" from LazyTown becoming an internet meme. As of 22 January 2017, the campaign had raised over $116,000, surpassing its goal of $100,000. To thank contributors, Stefán held a live stream on Facebook on 11 December 2016, where he performed the song with the other actors from the music video.