Kristofer Hivju (born December 7, 1978 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian actor, producer and writer.
He is best known internationally for his role of Tormund Giantsbane in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones and Connor Rhodes in The Fast and the Furious.
Of note, Hivju was born into a family of actors, spanning at least two generations back. His maternal grandmother, Inger Worren, had been on stage for at least fifty years when he was born. His father is Erik Hivju, a notable stage and movie performer with a career going back to 1970, and his mother, Liselotte Holmene, although less known, is an experienced actor as well.
Selected Roles
- 2011 - The Thing as Jonas
- 2013 - After Earth as Security Chief
- 2013-2019 - Game of Thrones as Tormund Giantsbane
- 2017 - The Fast and the Furious as Connor Rhodes
- 2017 - The Lion Guard as Kenge (voice)
- 2019 - Twin as Adam and Erik Moen
- 2020 - DuckTales (2017) as Jormungandr (voice)
- 2021 - The Witcher as Nivellen
- 2023 - Cocaine Bear
Tropes associated with his work:
- Beardness Protection Program: Noted
about how unrecognisable he is without his beard. - Deleted Role: The majority of his part in After Earth was cut. He originally had a big supporting role, but only one scene in the theatrical edition.
- Dyeing for Your Art:
- An involuntary example. For After Earth, he was pressured into cutting his hair and beard, which he was against.
- For Fast 8 he lost 10 kg and learned martial arts.
- Playing Against Type:
- In Beck he plays a Reasonable Authority Figure compared to his partner's Cowboy Cop.
- In The Thing (2011) he's a nervous yet friendly Non-Action Guy.
- Promoted Fanboy: Was a huge fan of the Scandinavian franchise Beck prior to joining the cast.
- Real-Life Relative: He appeared with his father Erik in the short film Flax (which he co-wrote).
- Typecasting: In the Norwegian movie The Last King he plays a warrior protecting an infant king, in a role noted to be very similar to Tormund.
- Underage Casting: Tormund Giantsbane is fifty when he first appears in A Song of Ice and Fire. Kristofer was in his mid-thirties when he played him in Game of Thrones, and turned forty after finishing the last season.
