David Dencik
Danish-Swedish actor

David Dencik

The basics
Quick facts
Intro
Danish-Swedish actor
A.K.A.
Karl David Sebastian Dencik
Gender:
Male
Birth:
31 October 1974(Stockholm, Sweden)
Star sign:
Education:
Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting
(1999 - 2003)
Family:
Siblings:
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Introduction Early life Career Selected filmography
The details
Biography

Introduction

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