David Dencik
Quick Facts
Biography
Karl David Sebastian Dencik (born 31 October 1974) is a Swedish-Danish actor. He has acted in both Swedish and Danish films, and has also had major roles in English-language films including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, McMafia, Top of the Lake, Chernobyl, and the upcoming James Bond film No Time to Die .
Early life
Dencik was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His family moved to Denmark when he was very young. As a teenager, he spent his youth studying in Brazil, where he discovered Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music. The dance aspect of Capoeira made him take an interest in theatre. He later moved back to Sweden and attended Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. His wife is a lawyer who works in Copenhagen. He uses Denmark as his base, but since his work takes him to Sweden he also has an apartment in Stockholm. His father is Lars Dencik, Professor of Social Psychology at Roskilde University, born in 1941 of Jewish parents from Slovakia, who escaped the Holocaust by finding refuge in Sweden. His mother was Kerstin Allroth-Dencik.
Career
After having had minor roles in different films, David Dencik became an established actor in Sweden for his role as the killer John Ausonius in the three-part TV mini-series Lasermannen in 2005.
In 2006, he starred in the comedy Everything About My Bush (known as Allt om min buske in Swedish). In 2007, he appeared in the Danish feature film Daisy Diamond directed by Simon Staho.
He portrayed Fred Åkerström in the biographical film Cornelis, starring Hank Von Helvete as Cornelis Vreeswijk. In 2011, he appeared in the Hollywood-adaption of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and played Toby Esterhase in the film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He also starred in the gay-themed Brotherhood and the Dimension Films thriller Regression. In 2017 he played brothel owner Alexander "Puss" Braun, in Jane Campion's acclaimed Top of the Lake. McMafia (2018) saw Dencik play Russian Boss, Uncle Boris Godman, inspired by the book McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld (2008) by journalist Misha Glenny.
Selected filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Reconstruction | Bartender | |
2007 | All About My Bush | Henning | |
Daisy Diamond | Jens | ||
2008 | Not Like Others | Taxi Driver | |
2009 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Janne Dahlman | Swedish version |
Brotherhood | Jimmy | ||
2010 | Rosa Morena | Jakob | |
2011 | War Horse | German Base Camp Officer | |
Room 304 | Martin | ||
Rebounce | Marcel | ||
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Toby Esterhase | ||
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Young Morell | English version | |
2012 | A Royal Affair | Ove Høegh-Guldberg | |
All That Matters Is Past | Ruud | ||
Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation | Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden | ||
2013 | We Are the Best! | Klara's father | |
2014 | The Absent One | Ulrik Dybbøl | |
Serena | Mr. Buchanan | ||
2015 | Regression | John Gray | |
Men & Chicken | Gabriel | ||
2016 | Across the Waters | Arne Itkin | |
2017 | Backstabbing for Beginners | Rasnetsov | |
The Snowman | Dr. Idar Vetlesen | ||
2019 | Waiting for the Barbarians | The Clerk | |
The Perfect Patient | Thomas Quick | ||
2020 | No Time to Die | Valdo Obruchev |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | Lasermannen | John Ausonius | 3 episodes |
2011–12 | Lykke | Professor Anders Assing | 18 episodes |
2016 | The Borgias | Cardinal Orsini | 2 episodes |
Follow the Money | Simon Absalonsen | 10 episodes | |
2017 | Top of the Lake: China Girl | Puss | 6 episodes |
2018 | McMafia | Boris Godman | 2 episodes |
2019 | Quicksand | Peder Sander | 6 episodes |
Chernobyl | Mikhail Gorbachev | 3 episodes |