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Stefán Karl Stefánsson

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"Stefán Karl" redirects here. Not to be confused with Steffen Karl.

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Stefán Karl.
Stefán Karl Stefánsson
Stefán Karl in 2009
Born(1975-07-10)10 July 1975
Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Died21 August 2018(2018-08-21) (aged 43)
Iceland[1]
EducationIceland Academy of the Arts
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active1994–2018
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2002)​
Children4

Stefán Karl Stefánsson (/ˈstɛfən ˈstɛfənsən/ STEF-ən STEF-ən-sən, Icelandic: [ˈstɛːfaun ˈkʰartl̥ ˈstɛːfaunsɔn];[2] 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018) was an Icelandic actor and singer. He was best known for portraying Robbie Rotten, the antagonist of the children's television series LazyTown.

Career

Stefán Karl's career started in 1994 at the age of 19, when he worked as a puppeteer for television.[3] During his years as a puppeteer, he had also been studying at the Drama Academy of Iceland. However, he was unsatisfied with the perspectives of Icelandic drama standards. He recalled that his principal at his high school said that "acting is not about making faces and changing your face", which he disagreed with.[4]

Later, Stefán Karl was invited by Magnús Scheving, an Icelandic gymnast, to portray one of the characters in the second LazyTown play.[citation needed] Magnús created the plays due to his concerns about Iceland's younger generation lacking sufficient physical exercise. Stefán Karl explained that "[Magnús] wanted the kids to get healthier, so he created this musical called LazyTown. He played Sportacus, the fitness fanatic, and I was Robbie Rotten, the guy who liked to stay indoors and sleep". After initial success with the musical, Nickelodeon eventually made a deal with the creators of LazyTown to air the first 40 episodes of LazyTown along with a special studio built in Iceland. During the first few years of LazyTown in the early 2000s, Stefán Karl initially knew no English, but he soon became fluent.[4]

Personal life

Stefán Karl lived in Los Angeles with wife Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, three daughters, and one son.[5] In June 2018, he was awarded the Order of the Falcon.[6] Stefán Karl was the nephew of actor and comedian Magnús Ólafsson and cousin of former footballer Hörður Magnússon.[7][8]

Illness and death

Stefán Karl announced in October 2016 that he had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer.[9][10][11][12] A GoFundMe campaign was subsequently created by LazyTown head writer Mark Valenti to cover his living costs when he became too ill to work. The campaign was popularized by various YouTube users uploading parodies of Stefán Karl's work, and linking to the GoFundMe page, which led to the songs "We Are Number One" and "The Mine Song" from LazyTown becoming Internet memes.[13] In August 2017, Stefán Karl stated he was in remission.[14][15] He clarified on his GoFundMe campaign that while his metastases had been removed after successful liver surgery in June 2017, he still had the disease and had refused further adjuvant therapy.[16]

In March 2018, Stefán Karl's cancer was diagnosed as inoperable. He said that he was undergoing chemotherapy to prolong his life.[17] In April 2018, he announced that he had chosen to discontinue chemotherapy,[18] and proceeded to shut down all his social media accounts.[19]

Stefán Karl died on 21 August 2018 at the age of 43.[20][21] His wife stated that "Per Stefan's wishes, there will be no funeral. His earthly remains will be scattered in secrecy in a distant ocean."[22][23]

Legacy

His manager, Cheryl Edison, announced that the Stefán Karl Academy & Center for the Performing Arts would be launched in Switzerland in 2019 as a memorial to his career.[24] Several internet petitions have been started calling for a statue of Stefán Karl to be erected in his home town of Hafnarfjörður.[25] As of June 2022, it has received over 528,000 signatures.

Filmography

Stefán Karl has been credited in various works including plays, television series, films, and games.

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
1997–1999 The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
1998–1999 Palace of Crows by Einar Örn Gunnarsson
Ivanov by Anton Chekhov
1999–2000 1000 Island Dressing by Hallgrímur Helgason
Little Shop of Horrors Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ by Magnús Scheving and Sigurdur Sigurjónsson Glanni Glæpur (Robbie Rotten) Primary antagonist
2000–2001 Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones
Singin' in the Rain by Comden, Green, Freed and Brown Cosmo Brown
2000–2002 The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
2001–2002 Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
2002–2003 Noises Off by Michael Frayn
Life x 3 by Yasmina Reza
2008–2015 Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical The Grinch Baltimore and Boston (2008)
Los Angeles (2009)
North American tour (2010–14)
Worcester, Massachusetts and Appleton, Wisconsin (2015)[26]

Films

According to IMDb:[27]

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Áramótaskaup New Reporter, many others Debut film
TV film
1995 Privacy Student First feature film
1999 Skaupið: 1999 Robbie Williams, many others TV film
2001 Regina Manni – Police Officer
2001 Áramótaskaup TV film
2002 Stella for Office Ingimundur
2002 Litla lirfan ljóta The Worm
2002 Áramótaskaup Many roles TV film
2006 Night at the Museum Miscellaneous crew
2007 Anna and the Moods Voiceover
2009 Jóhannes Diddi
2011 Thor Miscellaneous crew
2011 Polite People Lárus Skjaldarson Lead actor
2014 Harry Og Heimir Símon

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Baking Trouble Channel 1 program
1999 God Exists... And Love Channel 1
Drama Academy of Iceland
2000 Angel No. 5503288 Channel 1 program
2000 Car Mechanic Sketches for Eurovision Channel 1 program
2000 Cars Can Fly Channel 1 program
2004–2007,
2013–2014 		LazyTown Robbie Rotten Main villain
2015 Titch and Ted Do Maths

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2017 For Honor Viking Soldier [28][29][30]

References

  1. ^ Stone, Natalie (26 August 2018). "LazyTown Star Stefán Karl Stefánsson's Wife Remembers the Late Actor: 'For His Life to Be Cut So Short Was a Blow to Us All'". People. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  2. ^ Karl, Stefán (27 November 2018). "Stefan Karl Stefansson – Last public performance in December 2017". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2018 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Barnes, Tom (22 August 2018). "Star of Lazy Town Stefan Karl Stefansson has died aged 43". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b Ouzounian, Richard (24 December 2010). "The Grinch who came from Iceland". Toronto Star. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. ^ O'Sullivan, Kyle (21 August 2018). "LazyTown actor Stefan Karl Stefansson dies aged 43 after battle with cancer". mirror. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Fálkaorðan" (in Icelandic). Skrifstofa forseta Íslands. 17 June 2018. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  7. ^ Orri Páll Ormarsson (6 March 2011). "Lífið er bara ein tilviljun". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 13–15. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  8. ^ Hörður Snævar Jónsson (16 November 2018). "Sonur Bjössa Bollu og Höddi Skinka – "Yrði kæft í fæðingu í dag"". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Stefán Karl alvarlega veikur" [Stefán Karl is seriously ill]. Visir.is (in Icelandic). 22 September 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  10. ^ "Stefán Karl lagður inn á sjúkrahús um helgina". DV (in Icelandic). 22 September 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  11. ^ "Actor de Lazy Town padece de cáncer y pide ayuda" [LazyTown actor suffers from cancer and requests help]. La República (in Spanish). 19 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  12. ^ Sandwell, Ians (16 March 2018). "LazyTown actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson reveals his cancer is back and it's 'inoperable'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  13. ^ Asarch, Steven (17 December 2016). "'We Are Number One' Meme: Why Do People Keep Remixing A Children's Show Song?". iDigitalTimes.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Lífið er núna". RÚV (in Icelandic). 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  15. ^ Moore, Sam (16 August 2017). "Robbie Rotten actor reveals good news about his cancer diagnosis". Metro. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  16. ^ Anderton, Joe (14 August 2017). "Stefan Karl Stefansson Is Free of Cancer". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  17. ^ Kelly, Emma (16 March 2018). "LazyTown's Stefan Karl Stefansson confirms 'inoperable' cancer has returned". Metro. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  18. ^ McManus, Samuel (21 August 2018). "Stefan Karl Stefansson dead: LazyTown actor dies of cancer at the age of 43". OK!. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  19. ^ Akingbade, Toby (5 April 2018). "LazyTown's Stefan Karl Stefansson deletes social media as he confirms return of 'inoperable' cancer". Metro. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  20. ^ Þórarinn Þórarinsson (21 August 2018). "Stefán Karl Stefánsson er látinn" [Stefán Karl Stefánsson is gone]. Fréttablaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  21. ^ Baillie, Katie (21 August 2018). "LazyTown actor Stefan Karl Stefansson dies of cancer aged 43". Metro. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  22. ^ Yeung, Jessie (22 August 2018). "Stefan Karl Stefansson, LazyTown's Robbie Rotten actor, dies aged 43". CNN. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  23. ^ Kelly, Emma (22 August 2018). "Stefan Karl Stefansson's wife confirms no funeral will be held for LazyTown star". Metro. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  24. ^ Masters, Samantha (21 August 2018). "Stefan Karl Stefansson dead: LazyTown actor dies aged 43 following battle with cancer". Daily Express. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  25. ^ "Petition Circulating Calling for a Statue of Stefán Karl Stefánsson in His Home Town". The Reykjavík Grapevine. 23 August 2018.
  26. ^ Valenti, Mark (24 June 2017). "I am Stefan Karl (Robbie Rotten from LazyTown) and I am in the fight of my life against cancer! AMA!". Reddit. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  27. ^ "Stefán Karl Stefánsson". IMDb. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  28. ^ O'Connor, Rory (21 August 2018). "LazyTown: Robbie Rotten actor Stefan Karl Stefansson dead – best TV moments revealed". Sunday Express. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  29. ^ "Stefan Karl Stefansson – 2 Character Images". Behind The Voice Actors.
  30. ^ "Stefan Karl Stefansson Video Game Credits and Biography". MobyGames.
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