Kari Väänänen

Kari Väänänen
Born Kari Kyösti Väänänen
(1953-09-17) 17 September 1953
Ivalo, Finland
Occupation Actor, director, writer
Years active 1978 – present

Kari Kyösti Väänänen (born 17 September 1953 in Ivalo) is a Finnish actor and director. Domestically he is a member of the Ryhmäteatteri group of actors. He was introduced to international audiences by Aki Kaurismäki; and belongs to the list of his "trusted" stable of actors.

His most challenging role has been the eponymous mafia hitman of Rosso, for which he learned all his lines phonetically, without previously speaking a word of Italian.

Kari Väänänen was featured in Star Wreck, a Finnish sci-fi parody where he played the Russian president.

He also starred in Jim Jarmusch's 1991 film Night on Earth.

Selected filmography

As actor
As director
  • The Quiet Village (Vaiennut kylä, 1997)
  • The Classic (Klassikko, 2001)
  • Backwood Philosopher (Havukka-ahon ajattelija, 2009)

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.