Claes Bang facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Claes Bang
Bang in 2015
Born	Claes Kasper Bang (1967-04-28) 28 April 1967 (age 58) Odense, Denmark
Alma mater	Danish National School of Theatre
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Lis Louis-Jensen ​ (m. 2010)​
Musical career
Also known as	This Is Not America
Genres	Electronica, synth-pop
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Music for Dreams, Sound ...
Associated acts	Marina

Claes Kasper Bang (born 28 April 1967) is a Danish actor and musician. He is famous for his acting roles in movies and TV shows. He played the main character, Christian, in the 2017 film The Square. This movie won a big award called the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Claes also played Fjölnir in the 2022 film The Northman.

In 2019, he was Sasha Mann in the TV series The Affair. He became even more well-known around the world when he starred as Count Dracula in the BBC/Netflix series Dracula (2020). For his role in The Square, he was the first Danish actor to win the European Film Award for Best Actor. Claes Bang also makes music under the name This Is Not America.

Early life and first steps in acting

Claes Bang was born in Odense, a city on the Danish island of Funen. His parents divorced, and he often moved homes with his father. This meant he went to many different schools while growing up.

When he was in his third year of high school, Claes acted in a musical called Hair. This experience made him really interested in acting. After high school, he kept doing plays as a hobby. At 23, he tried to get into the Danish National School of Theatre. He didn't get in that year, but he tried again the next year. He was accepted just five days before his 25th birthday! He studied there from 1992 to 1996. His first play after graduating was Tudseakvariet. He got his first big TV role in the Danish show Taxa in 1997. He has mostly worked in theatre and TV in Denmark.

Acting career highlights

From 2001 to 2004, Claes was a regular actor at the Aalborg Teater. In 2002, he got permission to perform a special one-person play called Ondskaben. This play was based on a book called Evil. When he left the theatre in 2004, Claes bought the rights to this play. This meant he could perform it at other theatres. He has performed Ondskaben almost 400 times! He even performed an English version in different countries like the UK and Germany.

Claes starred in many Danish TV shows and films early in his career. From 2006 to 2008, he became very popular, especially in Germany, for his role in the Danish police show Anna Pihl. After that, he acted in several German TV shows and movies.

He played the main role of Christian, an art museum boss, in Ruben Östlund's 2017 film The Square. This movie won the top prize, the Palme d'Or, at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Claes also won the European Film Award for Best Actor for this role. He was the first Danish actor ever to win this award.

In November 2018, Claes Bang was chosen to play Count Dracula in the BBC mini-series Dracula. This show was made by the same people who created Sherlock.

On April 14, 2020, it was announced that Claes would work on a pilot episode for a show called Little Room. He and the other actors filmed themselves from home using Zoom. They were even in charge of their own props, clothes, hair, and makeup. The pilot was released online in May 2020. Viewers were asked to donate money to help people in the film and TV industries who lost work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Music projects

"This Is Not America" is the name of Claes Bang's music project. He says it's a place where he can be creative and make his own choices. Claes writes and composes all the songs himself. His music style is a mix of electronic and synth-pop sounds. His wife, Lis Kasper Bang, helps him by filming music videos and taking photos for his album covers.

Claes started making music for fun on his computer in 2002. He plays the piano and guitar himself (he learned them when he was younger). Then he adds other sounds using his computer. He chose the name "This Is Not America" so that his music would be judged on its own. He didn't want people to only listen to it because he was an actor. The name comes from a song by David Bowie, who is one of Claes's heroes. His first three songs were played on a Danish radio station for a year before they found out he was an actor! But his songs were still played on the radio for a few more years. These songs were later part of his first album, Dislocated, released in 2010.

Some of Claes's co-stars have also sung on his music tracks. In 2015, he released a song called "Still of the Night" with Charlotte Munck. She was his co-star in the police drama Anna Pihl. While filming The Square, Claes found out that his co-star and musician Marina Schiptjenko liked the same kind of music. He showed her some of his songs, and they recorded five songs together in his home studio. They have released songs like "Who Am I" and "Here We Go."

Personal life

Claes Bang met his wife, Lis Louis-Jensen, in 2006. She is a stylist and photographer. They were both working on a play called Den grønne elevator. Lis asked Claes to marry her on New Year's Eve in 2007. They got married on September 25, 2010, on a canal boat in Copenhagen. Claes is a stepfather to Lis's two children, Sarah and Bella. The family has lived together in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, since 2008.

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcasts

Theatre credits

Discography

Albums

• 2010: Dislocated

EPs

• 2011: EP1
• 2014: Keep on Dancin
• 2015: Still of the Night
• 2020: Here We Go
• 2020: Butterflies in December
• 2020: You & I (Forever Live or Die)
• 2020: No Song Left Unsung
• 2020: Your Love Is Wasted on Me
• 2020: Take It on the Chin
• 2021: Late to the Party

Singles

Music videos

• 2009: "Run"
• 2014: "No One"
• 2015: "I'm Not Ready Yet"
• 2018: "Who Am I (feat. Marina)"

Other music projects

Claes Bang has also performed other songs as himself:

• 2007: Claes Bang - "Når En Sailor Går I Land" (a cover of an Otto Brandenburg song)
• 2014: Nogen Andre - "September" (featuring Claes Bang)
• 2014: Martin Valsted - "Bilist" (featuring Claes Bang)
• 2017: Claes Bang - "Party at the Castle" (from The Square movie soundtrack)
• 2019: Jacob Gurevitsch - "Motivo Loco" (Claes Bang was in the music video)

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Claes Bang para niños