Stefán Karl Stefánsson (/ˈstɛfən ˈstɛfənsən/; Icelandic: [ˈstɛːfaun ˈkʰartl̥ ˈstɛːfaunsɔn]; 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018)[2] was an Icelandic actor and singer. He was best known for playing antagonist Robbie Rotten on the children's television series LazyTown.
Stefán Karl Stefánsson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 July 1975 Hafnarfjörður, Iceland |
| Died | 21 August 2018 (aged 43) Iceland[1] |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Education | Iceland Academy of the Arts |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1994–2018 |
| Spouse |
Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir
(m. 2002) |
| Children | 4 |
Stefán Karl's career started in 1994. At the age of 19, 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 not satisfied with how Iceland views their drama standards. He remembered that his principal at his high school said that "acting is not about making faces and changing your face". He did not agree with his high school principal.[4]
Later, Stefán Karl had been invited by Magnús Scheving, an Icelandic gymnast, to portray one of the characters in the second LazyTown play.[5] Scheving created the plays because he was concerned that Iceland's younger generation is not doing enough exercise. Stefán Karl explained that "[Scheving] 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 soon became fluent.[4]
Stefán Karl lived in Los Angeles with his wife Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, three daughters, and one son.[6][7] In June 2018, he was awarded the Order of the Falcon.[8] He had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder[9] and Tourette syndrome.[10]
Stefán Karl announced in October 2016 that he had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer.[11][12][13][14] On the same month, GoFundMe campaign was subsequently created by LazyTown head writer Mark Valenti to pay 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. This eventually made the songs "We Are Number One" and "The Mine Song" from LazyTown become Internet memes.[15] In August 2017, Stefán Karl stated he was in remission.[16][17] 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.[18]
In March 2018, Stefán Karl was diagnosed with inoperable bile duct cancer, and said that he was undergoing chemotherapy to increase the length of his life.[19] In April 2018, he announced that he personally chose to stop his chemotherapy,[20] and then began to shut down all his social media accounts.[21]
He died on 21 August 2018 at the age of 43.[22][23] His wife stated that Stefansson didn't want to a funeral when he died. Instead, she had said that his body will be secretly scattered into a distant ocean. [24][25]
It was announced by his manager, Cheryl Edison, that the Stefán Karl Academy & Center for the Performing Arts will be opened in Switzerland in the year 2019 as a memorial to his career.[26]
Stefán Karl has been credited in various works including plays, television series, films, and games.[27]
Theater
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–99 | The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling | ||
| 1998–99 | Palace of Crows by Einar Örn Gunnarsson | ||
| 1998–99 | Ivanov by Anton Chekhov | ||
| 1999–2000 | 1000 Island Dressing by Hallgrímur Helgason | ||
| 1999–2000 | Little Shop of Horrors | Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. | |
| 1999–2000 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | ||
| 1999–2000 | Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ by Magnús Scheving and Sigurdur Sigurjónsson | Glanni Glæpur (Robbie Rotten) | Primary antagonist |
| 2000–01 | Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones | ||
| 2000–01 | Singin' in the Rain by Comden, Green, Freed and Brown | Cosmo Brown | |
| 2000–02 | The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov | ||
| 2001–02 | Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand | ||
| 2002–03 | Noises Off by Michael Frayn | ||
| 2002–03 | Life x 3 by Yasmina Reza | ||
| 2008–15 | 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)[28] |
Films
| 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 | [30] |
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