Tomas Alfredson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tomas Alfredson
Alfredson at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Hans Christian Tomas Alfredson (1965-04-01) 1 April 1965 (age 60) Lidingö, Sweden
Nationality	Swedish
Occupation	Film director, actor
Years active	1971–present
Parent(s)	Hans Alfredson Gunilla Alfredson
Relatives	Daniel (brother) Sofi (sister) Mats (brother, died 1967)

Tomas Alfredson (born April 1, 1965) is a Swedish film director. He is famous for directing the 2008 vampire movie Let the Right One In. He also directed the 2011 spy movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Tomas Alfredson has won the Guldbagge Award for Best Director twice. He won in 2005 for Four Shades of Brown and in 2008 for Let the Right One In.

He is the son of director and actor Hans Alfredson. His brother, Daniel Alfredson, is also a director.

Early Life and Family

Tomas Alfredson was born in 1965 in Lidingö, Sweden. His parents were Gunilla and Hans "Hasse" Alfredson. His father was a well-known comedian, writer, and director. Tomas often felt different because his father was famous.

His father was often busy, so Tomas was mostly raised by his mother. But Tomas spent summers helping with his father's movies. He said it was a way for them to connect. He really enjoyed being part of the film sets.

Tomas also had small acting roles in movies his father made. These were part of the popular Hasseåtage series. For example, he played the "Count" in The Apple War (1971). His only line in that movie was "Adieu, mon plaisir," which means "Goodbye, my pleasure."

Starting His Directing Career

Alfredson began his career at Svensk Filmindustri. He worked there as an assistant. Later, he helped create the Swedish TV channel TV4. He worked in the entertainment part of the channel. One of his successful projects was "Fångarna på Fortet." This was the Swedish version of the show Fort Boyard.

After TV4, Alfredson moved to Sveriges Television. There, he created TV shows like Ikas TV-kalas. This was a children's show starring Ika Nord. She later appeared in his 2008 movie Let the Right One In. Ika Nord said that Alfredson was "only 25, but already extremely knowledgeable." In 1994, Alfredson directed Bert. This TV show was based on the popular Bert diaries books for teenages. He then directed a movie based on the series in 1995, called Bert: The Last Virgin. For this movie, he was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for Best Director.

Working with Killinggänget

In 1999, Alfredson joined a Swedish comedy group called Killinggänget. He said he thought they were funnier and more careful than other groups. His first project with them was a series of four TV movies in 1999. One of these was Screwed in Tallinn. This movie was a mockumentary, which means it looked like a documentary but was actually fake. It showed Swedish men traveling to Estonia to find girlfriends.

In 2004, Alfredson directed Four Shades of Brown. This was the only movie Killinggänget has made so far. The film told four different stories that were not connected. But they all shared a theme of betrayal, especially parents betraying their children. This movie won four Guldbagge Awards. Alfredson received the Best Director award for it.

Success with Let the Right One In

In 2004, Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist released his first horror novel, Let the Right One In. After reading the book, Alfredson wanted to make it into a movie. He contacted Lindqvist, even though many others wanted to make the film. They got along well, and Lindqvist liked Alfredson's previous work.

The movie Let the Right One In is about a 12-year-old boy who is bullied. He becomes friends with a child vampire in the early 1980s in Sweden. Alfredson not only directed the film but also helped edit it.

Let the Right One In first showed on January 26, 2008. This was at the Göteborg International Film Festival. Alfredson won the Nordic Film Prize there. The movie then won many more awards. This included the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film quickly became popular around the world. Its rights were sold to over forty countries before it was even released in theaters. In Sweden, the movie won five Guldbagge Awards. Alfredson received his second Guldbagge Award for Best Director.

International Film Projects

After finishing Let the Right One In, Alfredson said he would not make any more movies for a while. He felt tired of the Swedish film industry. He thought it lacked energy and bravery. He had offers from Hollywood but didn't want to leave his home and family.

However, in March 2009, he announced he would work on a big international movie. In July 2009, Alfredson agreed to direct a movie based on John le Carré's 1974 spy novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This movie was made by Working Title Films. It premiered in September 2011 at the 68th Venice International Film Festival.

In 2012, it was announced that Alfredson had bought the rights to make a movie of Astrid Lindgren's book The Brothers Lionheart. Alfredson planned to direct it, and John Ajvide Lindqvist would write the script.

In 2017, Alfredson directed The Snowman. This movie had many famous actors and was based on a popular book series by Jo Nesbø. However, many critics did not like the movie. It received a very low rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Personal Life

Tomas Alfredson is the brother of film director Daniel Alfredson. He has two children with his former wife, Cissi Elwin Frenkel. She used to be the managing director of the Swedish Film Institute. Tomas Alfredson lives in Stockholm.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Tomas Alfredson para niños