Joel Kinnaman

Joel Kinnaman Photo

JOEL KINNAMAN

Date of Birth: November 25, 1979

Birth name: Charles Joel Nordstrom

Born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, Joel Kinnaman is a duel citizen of Sweden and the United States, courtesy of his Swedish mother and American father. Prior to launching his professional acting career, Joel spent one of his high school years in Texas as part of a student exchange program.

After graduating from the prestigious Swedish Academic School of Drama, Joel's acting career began in 2002, and he starred in several Swedish films, including Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) and its 2008 sequel, Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Road. Joel successfully starred in six films of the Johan Falk film series as Frank Wagner, a role that earned him a Guldbagge Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 2010, Joel attracted international attention as Johan Westlund in Easy Money, which was the first film in a successful trilogy that went on to become the highest-grossing Swedish film of all time. Not long after that, he hired a high profile agent in the U.S., who had clients such as Johnny Depp.

Joel made headlines as one of the leading contenders for Thor (2011) and Mad Max 4: Fury Road (2015), but he ultimately lost the roles to Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hardy, respectively.

Although Joel didn’t score the leading roles he was after, the buzz surrounding the casting process was enough to give him exposure on American soil. All that attention earned him roles in The Darkest Hour (2011) starring Emile Hirsch and Max Minghella and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opposite Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. With an impressive collection of Swedish films on his resumé, Joel was thirsty for more recognition in the States. His ambition landed him the lead role of police officer-turned-cyborg Alex James Murphy in the 2014 remake of RoboCop.

Aside from feature films, Joel Kinnaman has starred in both Swedish and American TV shows such as Andra Avenyn and AMC’s The Killing. More recently, he starred in Run All Night (2015), Child 44 (2015), Suicide Squad (2016), and Edge of Winter (2016).

The actor was previously in a relationship with actress Olivia Munn, and one of his five sisters is Swedish actress Melinda Kinnaman.

Filmography:

Altered Carbon (Netflix) (2017)
Edge of Winter (2016)
Suicide Squad (2016)
Run All Night (2015)
Child 44 (2014)
Knight of Cups (2014)
RoboCop (2014)
Easy Money: Life Deluxe (2013)
Easy Money: Hard To Kill (2012)
Lola Versus (2012)
Safe House (2012)
The Darkest Hour (2011)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Easy Money (2010)
No Time for Love (2009)
In Your Veins (2009)
Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Road (2008)
Storm (2005)
God Save the King (2005)
Hannah med H (2003)
The Invisible (2002)