Ola Rapace facts for kids

Ola Rapace, whose full name is Sonny Ola Rapace Jawo, was born on December 3, 1971. He is a Swedish actor. Many people know him for his role as Patrice in the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall.

Early Life and Education

Ola Rapace was born Pär Ola Norell in Tyresö, a town near Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were both academics, meaning they worked in universities or research. He grew up mostly in Vallentuna, another suburb north of Stockholm. When he was one year old, his parents separated, and his father raised him. As a child, he enjoyed playing football and listening to heavy metal.

Later, while studying philosophy at the University of Montpellier in France, he discovered his passion for acting.

Acting Career Highlights

First Roles and Breakthroughs

Ola Rapace's first movie role was in Lukas Moodysson's film Together in 2000. This movie was a comedy about a group of people living in a commune in Stockholm. It won several awards at film festivals around the world.

He became widely known after starring in the popular TV series Tusenbröder. In this show, he played a handyman who gets involved with organized crime. After that, he took on the role of Stefan Lindman in Wallander. This TV series was based on the famous detective books by Henning Mankell.

Working on Police and Crime Shows

Rapace continued to appear in many TV series about police and crime. He played Daniel Nordström in the Danish police show Anna Pihl. He also starred in Crimes of Passion, a crime drama set in Sweden during the 1950s. Other roles included Farang, about a former prisoner living in Thailand, and Hassel, a modern police show. He even helped produce Hassel. He also appeared in Section Zéro, a French science-fiction drama.

Even though he worked on many police shows, Rapace has shared his thoughts about the genre. In 2012, he mentioned that he felt some of these shows lacked realism.

International Film Projects

His first English-language movie was Rancid in 2004. A much bigger project for him was the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. In this movie, he played a character named Patrice, who was a hitman.

From 2015 to 2020, Rapace lived in Paris, France. During this time, he worked on projects in Sweden, France, and other countries. In 2016, he starred in the French science fiction film Ares. Soon after, he appeared in Section Zéro, a French TV series about a special police team in the future.

In 2017, Rapace had a supporting role as Major Gibson in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. This was a big-budget French/American science fiction film directed by Luc Besson.

In 2018, Rapace played one of the main villains, Jarl Sigurd Bloodhair, in the third season of the drama The Last Kingdom. He also joined the cast of Below the Surface (Gidseltagningen), a Danish drama. In 2019, he played "Yusef" in the second season of this show, which is about people held hostage in a subway train.

In 2020, Rapace starred alongside Kellan Lutz in Divertimento, a French thriller filmed in English.

In August 2022, director Lukas Moodysson announced a new movie that would be a sequel to Together. However, Ola Rapace would not play his original role of Lasse in the new film.

In September and October 2022, Rapace performed in a play called Pariah by August Strindberg. The play was held at Lövstad Castle Theatre.

Television Appearances

Reality TV Shows

Ola Rapace has also appeared in reality television. In 2011, he was a participant in Maestro, a reality series from SVT. In this show, Swedish celebrities learned how to conduct a classical orchestra.

In 2020, he was one of five Swedish celebrities featured in Stars at the Castle. In this popular show, famous people live together in a castle for five days. Each day, one person is the focus, and they discuss their life and career with the others.

In 2021, Swedish Discovery+ announced that Rapace would join a TV series called Treatment. This show features celebrities discussing mental health and addiction. The series is described as providing "individually adapted medical and therapeutic treatments" on an island.

Personal Life and Family

Ola Rapace married actress Noomi Rapace in 2001. They divorced in 2011. They have a son named Lev, who was born in 2003. After they got married, they both chose the last name Rapace. This name means "bird of prey" in French and Italian. Ola Rapace also has a daughter named Line, born in 1999, with actress Malin Morgan. He lived in France for several years and speaks French very well.

In May 2019, he married Sonja Jawo in Paris. Sonja is the older sister of Aino Jawo, who is part of the Swedish music group Icona Pop. Ola and Sonja divorced in the summer of 2021.

In 2020, Ola Rapace published his autobiography, which is a book about his own life, called Romeo: Min flykt i fem akter.

He also hosted a podcast called Sorry, allt gick åt helvete (which means Sorry, it all went to hell) with radio host Fredrik Söderholm. They stopped working together in July 2022.

Filmography

• Together (2000) – Lasse
• Syndare i sommarsol (2001) – Fredrik
• Hus i helvete (2002) – Pontus
• Rancid (2004) – Bob
• Tusenbröder – Återkomsten (2006) – Hoffa
• Desmond & the Swamp Barbarian Trap (2006) – Elake Wille (voice)
• Allt om min buske (2007) – Nils
• Beyond (2010) – Johan
• Jag saknar dig (2011) – George
• Skyfall (2012) – Patrice
• Mördaren ljuger inte ensam (2013) – Christer
• I Am Yours (2013) – Jesper
• Tommy (2014) – Bobby
• Itsi Bitsi (2014)
• Long Story Short (2015) – Sebastian
• Glada hälsningar från Missångerträsk (2015) – Jocke
• Carole Matthieu (2016) – Revel
• Ares (2016) – Arès
• Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) – Major Gibson
• Divertimento (2020)

See also

In Spanish: Ola Rapace para niños