Örjan Ramberg

Ramberg in the cellar dressing room of the Poor House Cabaret in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fall of 1974. Photo: Lars Jacob Prod.

Ralf Örjan Valter Ramberg, né Rahmberg (26 February 1948), is a Swedish actor, born in Örgryte, Gothenburg.

Biography

Örjan Ramberg started his acting career in musicals with successful leading parts in the original Swedish stagings of Hair (1971) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1972; opposite, among others, Agnetha Fältskog from ABBA as Mary Magdalene). He was later educated in the dramatic arts at Sweden's National Academy of Dramatic Art (in Sweden colloquially known as "Scenskolan") in Malmö, 1974-1977. Since 1978 he has been part of Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) ensemble, becoming one of the theatre's most popular actors.

Acting work

On stage, Örjan Ramberg has shown his range as a character actor in many productions over the years, in both leading and supporting parts: in Nathanael West's En kall miljon (A Cool Million), Ben Jonson's Alkemisten, Marivaux's Paradisbarn, Bulgakov's Mästaren och Margarita, Lars Norén's Natten är dagens mor, Margaretha Garpe's Till Julia, Lessing's Emilio Gallotti, in the stage adaptation of Astrid Lindgren's Emil i Lönneberga (children's theatre production), Shepard's En riktig västern, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Sommar (Summer) written and directed by Lars Norén, Beaumarchais' Figaros Bröllop (The Marriage of Figaro), Federico García Lorca's Blodsbröllop (Blood Wedding), Shakespeare's Lika för lika (Measure for Measure), Euripides' Medea (directed by Lennart Hjulström), Shakespeare's Så tuktas en argbigga (The Taming of the Shrew) children's play Mio, min Mio (based on the novel by Astrid Lindgren) and in Alfred de Musset's Lek ej med kärleken (On ne badine pas avec l'amour ), among others.

In the 2000s he has collaborated on stage with directors Ingmar Bergman and John Caird in particular. He portrayed Johansson in Strindberg's classic The Ghost Sonata, directed by Bergman in 2000, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Caird in 2000, The Emcee in hit musical Cabaret (2001), Malvolio in Twelfth Night (Caird), Ibsen's Gengångare (Ghosts), (directed by Bergman; 2002) and the leading role in Molière's Den inbillade sjuke (The Imaginary Invalid) in 2003.

Most recently he appeared as Charles Condomine in Noël Coward's Min fru går igen (Blithe Spirit) (2005), in the co-Nordic production of the Sami staging of Ibsen's Kungsämnena (The Pretenders) and in Shakespeare's Macbeth (directed by Staffan Valdemar Holm) spring/autumn 2006.

On film and TV he has appeared sporadically over the years; among his most memorable parts are the investigating photographer Harry Friberg in the Stieg Trenter-crime films for television (Lysande landning, Idag röd, Träff i helfigur) in 1987, as Chief Editor Schyman in Colin Nutley's thriller Sprängaren (aka Deadline/The Bomber), based on the book by Liza Marklund, and his recent supporting part as the bar pianist in TV-series Möbelhandlarens dotter (The Furniture Salesman's Daughter) (2006).

Örjan Ramberg has often been rewarded for his stage work: in 1994 he was awarded with the Golden Mask (which is the Swedish equivalent to the Tony Award/s) for Best Actor for his portrayal of Murphy in the stage production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (at Folkan 1993/94) and in 2001 he received the prestigious Eugene O'Neill Award.

Personal life

For many years (mid 1970s to end 1980s) Ramberg was the partner of Swedish actress and Royal Dramatic Theatre colleague Lena Olin with whom he has son Auguste. For some years in the 1980s-1990s he also lived with actress Ewa Fröling with whom he has daughter Tilde. As of 2009 Örjan Ramberg had lived with Susanne Otto for 7 years. With actress Lena Nilsson he also has another son, Georg born in 1998.[1]

Later projects

On 3 February 2007 John Caird's production of Strindberg's The Dance of Death premiered at the Royal Dramatic Theatre with Ramberg in the lead as The Captain; the production received great reviews and brought critical acclaim for Ramberg in the part (with both original parts of the play performed together; Dödsdansen I-II).

In the spring of 2008 he appeared as King Claudius in Staffan Valdemar Holm's production of Hamlet by Shakespeare (original cast), and in the spring of 2009 he was to appear in Chekhov's Uncle Vanya.

Selected filmography

Stage work at Dramaten

External links

Photographs

References

  1. ↑ Aftonbladet April 9, 1999