Kim Bodnia

Kim Bodnia is a Danish actor, screenwriter and director best known for his roles in The Bridge and Killing Eve. Kim Bodnia could have become a music or sports star, but he eventually settled on acting. He won the hearts of the audience with vivid images of male characters embodied in TV shows and movies.

Kim Bodnia was born on April 12, 1965 in Copenhagen. Among the ancestors of the celebrity are representatives of Jewish, Polish and Russian nationalities. Kim's childhood was spent in the town of Espergerd, located in North Zealand, not far from Eresunn.

At school, the boy had poor academic performance, as he did not like attending classes and sitting in class. Bodnia admitted that he was not a particularly good student as a child, describing himself as a "clown" who did not want to learn. His main interest was in athletics, especially the 100m and the long jump, in which he was the Zeeland Youth Champion for several years. He wanted to become a football goalkeeper, but a foot injury prevented him from continuing his career.

Kim Bodnia in his youth

Already in the early years of his biography, Kim was fond of acting, and as a teenager he attended a drama club. He was later encouraged by his mother to apply for admission to the State Theater School in Copenhagen. In 1987, Kim entered the Danish National School of Theater and Contemporary Dance. The young man submitted documents a year earlier, but was able to pass the competition only on the second attempt.

Bodnia's acting debut took place in 1989 in Peter Esterhas' drama The Abyss of Freedom, in which he played a small role. Kim played his first leading role in 1994 in Ole Bornedal's horror film The Night Guard, which also starred the famous Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The thriller was a great success and was shown at many prestigious festivals around the world. Later, Bodnia starred in the films "The Last Viking", "Dealer", "Bleeding", "Falling Sky", etc.

Kim Bodnia and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the movie "Night Watch"

Another notable project with the participation of the actor was the action comedy "They Eat Dogs in China", which tells about brothers who decided to commit a robbery. The film won awards at the Luxembourg International Film Festival and the Comedy Festival in Montreal.

Sofia Helin and Kim Bodnia in The Bridge

In 2004, he starred in Lasse Spang Olsen's action comedy Two Wagons and Four Mafias, in which he also acted as a screenwriter.

In the future, there were practically no gaps in the actor's work schedule - several films a year were released, where Bodnia played the main roles, or was a member of the main cast. The overwhelming majority of these were Danish and Norwegian films, and only after 2010 did he start acting in foreign projects.

Thanks to the films, Bodnia became one of the most famous and sought-after actors in Scandinavia, but the world learned about him thanks to his roles in the series.

The first of these works was the role in the historical mini-series "Free Arrows" (2006), followed by the appearance in 3 episodes of the crime series "Murder" (2007). There were several more Scandinavian series, but the most famous serial projects with the participation of the actor at the moment are the series "The Bridge" and "Killing Eve".

In 2008, the actor played one of the roles in the crime drama by Henrik Ruben Gentz ​​"Terrible Happiness", for which he was nominated for the main Danish film award "Bodil" in the nomination "Best Supporting Actor".

In 2018, the actor played the role of Konstantin Vasiliev, the curator of the main character in the British television series Killing Eve, based on the Villanelle series of novels by Luke Jennings.

Kim Bodnia in Killing Eve

In 2020, the actor received one of the leading roles in the second season of The Witcher series, filmed in the fantasy adventure genre based on the cycle of novels of the same name by the Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski.

In the series, Kim appeared as one of the oldest and most experienced witchers on the Continent, the master of the Vesemir Wolf School, who was Geralt of Rivia's mentor and sometimes accompanied him on hunts. The role of Geralt himself in the second season, as in the first, was played by Henry Cavill.

Kim Bodnia as Vesemir (Fan art)

After his early success in both small and large film productions, he became the founder and owner of Bella Entertainment Aps and Bella Film Production Aps, through which he continued to produce television and films, sitting behind the camera as a director, screenwriter and producer.

The actor was married twice. Kim's first wife was his colleague, Danish actress Lotta Anderson, who gave birth to a son from him. Bodnia is currently in a relationship with actress Rikke Louise Anderson. The lovers became the parents of three children, Charlie, Miles and Nomi, and in 2013 they decided to get married. Bodnia prefers to keep other details of his personal life under wraps.