
Acting
Jul 17, 1944
Flekkefjord, Norway
Sverre Anker Ousdal
Acting
Biography
Sverre Anker Ousdal (18 July 1944 – 3 January 2026) was a Norwegian actor born in Flekkefjord. His debut was in 1965 at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen. He was at the Oslo Nye Teater in the period 1967 to 1970, and at the National Theatre from 1970. In 1997 he was made a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St Olav for his acting work. Ousdal had a number of major roles in Norwegian and Swedish films, including Karjolsteinen (1977), Orion's Belt (1985), Falsk som vatten (1985), Etter Rubicon (1987), and Insomnia. He also appeared in US films like The Island at the Top of the World (1974) and in several British productions, most notably the serial The Last Place on Earth (1985), where he starred as polar explorer Roald Amundsen. Sverre Anker Ousdal died at the age of 81.
Feature Films (62)

A solitary nurse bonds with a badly burned patient who survived an accident on an oil rig.
The Secret Life of Words

Swedish efficiency researchers come to Norway for a study of Norwegian men, to optimize their use of their kitchen. Folke Nilsson (Tomas Norström) is assigned to study the habits of Isak Bjørvik (Joachim Calmeyer). By the rules of the research institute, Folke has to sit on an umpire's chair in Isak's kitchen and observe him from there, but never talk to him. Isak stops using his kitchen and observes Folke through a hole in the ceiling instead. However, the two lonely men slowly overcome the initial post-war Norwegian-Swede distrust and become friends.
Kitchen Stories

Oslo in beautiful autumn. Ingvild is a stage manager at the National Theatre, and trying to make a life change, with her artistic ambitions. Not liking actors, she still manages to get into two very different affairs.
Autumn Fall

Detectives Jonas and Erik are called to the midnight sun country of northern Norway to investigate a recent homicide, but their plan to arrest the killer goes awry, and Jonas mistakenly shoots Erik. The suspect escapes, and a frightened Jonas pins Erik's death on the fugitive. Jonas continues to pursue the killer as he seeks to protect himself; however, his mounting guilt and the omnipresent sun plague him with an insomnia that affects his sanity.
Insomnia

Two boys who were found sick on a boat in the sea near northern Norway, are hospitalized with mysterious symptoms. The secret service starts investigating the case, confiscates the bodies. When Hoff notices that the whole event shall be kept secret, he begins to investigate on his own.
Etter Rubicon

Live to tell the truth. What can one man do against the most lethal army on earth? Local fishermen/smugglers/tourist guides Tom, Lars and Sverre discover the Soviet Union aren't just mining for coal in the arctic archipelago of Svalbard. This is a secret too big for any of them, and soon they find themselves hunted down by Soviet forces and secret agents.
Orion's Belt

A boy paralyzed as a child grows into an athletic man. The colossal strength that allowed him to become a fit man will prove to be his undoing. Convicted of a murder in a fight, he loses the chance to return to his beloved girl.
Colossus

Under the watch of his unkind realtives, lonely Bosse's luck is changed when he is sent to the land where his real father is the King. In that country, he sets out on a quest, together with his new friend, to destroy the evil Knight Kato.
Mio in the Land of Faraway

A Victorian gentleman hopes to find his long-lost son, who vanished while searching for a mysterious Viking community in a volcanic valley somewhere in uncharted Arctic regions. The gentleman puts together an expedition team to go on the search, but when they reach their destination they must escape from some Viking descendants who will kill to keep their existence a secret.
The Island at the Top of the World

Robert Lund (Roy Bjornstad) is a weary man, and his days as a starring saxophone player seem to be near their end. The Nazis have occupied Norway for some time, and he has been passing the time by telling his son Bobby (Erik Andersson) some tales of his previous exploits.
Bobby's War

Andreas has everything a man can wish for – a wonderful wife, a big house in the country, and a great job. But a sudden car accident puts him in a wheelchair, leaving him paralysed below the waste and impotent. Will his marriage work?
The Crossing

On September 28th, 1994, two Swedish men robbed a bank in the small Norwegian town of Larvik. Soon, with a massive police hunt underway, the robbers ended up taking two civilians and two police officers hostage. Next morning the drama would come to a deadly halt at nearby Torp Airport, where for the first time in history, a Norwegian police chief was forced to give the order to shoot to kill.
Deadline Torp
Television & Series (6)

Nonni and Manni is a children's television series produced as a joint venture between Iceland and West Germany. It debuted on 26 December 1988 on West Germany's ZDF channel and lasted for six episodes with the last one being aired on 1 January 1989. The story was based on the eponymous book written by the popular Icelandic children's author Jón Sveinsson, nicknamed "Nonni", who had written several books inspired by his own experiences of growing up alongside his brother Ármann, nicknamed "Manni". The filming for the series took place in Iceland, West Germany and Norway.
Nonni und Manni

The Last Place on Earth is a 1985 Central Television seven part serial, written by Trevor Griffiths based on the book Scott and Amundsen by Roland Huntford. The book is an exploration of the expeditions of Captain Robert F. Scott and his Norwegian rival in polar exploration, Roald Amundsen in their attempts to reach the South Pole. The series ran for seven episodes and starred a wide range of UK and Norwegian character actors as well as featuring some famous names, such as Max von Sydow, Richard Wilson, Sylvester McCoy and Pat Roach. It also featured performances early in their careers by Bill Nighy and Hugh Grant. Subsequently Huntford's book was republished under the same name. The book put forth the point of view that Amundsen's success in reaching the South Pole was abetted by much superior planning, whereas errors by Scott ultimately resulted in the death of him and his companions.




