Who is Peter Stormare? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm

Age: 69 Years, 69 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Toshimi Stormare (m. 2008), Karen Sillas (m. 1989; div. 2006)

father: Karl Ingvar Storm

mother: Gunhild Storm

children: Kaiya Bella Luna Stormare, Kelly Stormare

Born Country: Sweden

Actors American Men

Height: 6'2" (188 cm), 6'2" Males

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Childhood & Early Life

Rolf Peter Ingvar Storm, aka Peter Stormare, was born in Arbrå, Gävleborg County, Sweden, on August 27, 1953 to Karl Ingvar Storm and his wife Gunhild Storm.

He developed an interest in acting when he was a little boy and received his early training at an acting academy. He decided to change his surname to Stormare when he found out he shared his surname with another senior student at the academy.

He once contemplated adopting the name ‘Retep Mrots’, which is “Peter Storm” spelled backward, before opting to adopt “Stormare,” which is the Swedish word for ‘Stormer’.

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Film Career

Peter Stormare started out as a stage actor early in his career and joined the Royal Dramatic Theatre. He was associated with them for eleven years. He then joined the Tokyo Globe Theatre as an associate artistic director and became part of several Shakespeare performances.

In the 1990s, Stormare moved to the United States and started featuring in films and television shows. He appeared in the 1996 black comedy-crime drama film ‘Fargo’ as ‘Gaear Grimsrud’. The film was directed by his long-term friends, Joel and Ethan Coen, and was nominated at the Oscars in various categories.

He portrayed the iconic character of ‘Carl Hamilton’, a Swedish secret agent based on the novels by author Jan Guillou, in the 1998 action film ‘Commander Hamilton’. He also portrayed the character of ‘Dieter Stark’ in Steven Spielberg’s film ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’, a sequel to the original 1993 film ‘Jurassic Park’.

In 1998, Stormare appeared in the American science fiction disaster film ‘Armageddon’ as ‘Lev Andropov’, the Russian cosmonaut, besides Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. He then appeared in the crime comedy film ‘The Big Lebowski’ as ‘Uli Kunkel’ later that year.

He portrayed the hardcore porn film director ‘Dino Velvet’ in the American-German crime film ‘8mm’ in 1999. In the ensuing years, Stormare appeared in films like ‘Bruiser’, ‘Chocolat’, ‘Dancer in the Dark’, ‘Circus’, ‘Happy Campers’, ‘13 Moons’, and ‘Spun’.

He worked with Steven Spielberg again in 2002 when he appeared in his neo-noir science fiction film ‘Minority Report’ featuring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, and Samantha Morton in lead roles. Stormare played the role of the unlicensed eye-doctor ‘Dr. Solomon P. Eddie’ in the film.

In the new millennium, he appeared in numerous films, playing special appearances or small roles, like ‘Bad Company’, ‘Bad Boys II’, and ‘The Brothers Grimm’. He then portrayed ‘Lucifer’ in Francis Lawrence’s American occult detective film ‘Constantine’.

His other notable works in films include his roles in ‘Unknown’, ‘Premonition’, ‘Witless Protection’, ‘The Killing Room’, ‘Lockout’, ‘Small Apartments’, ‘The Last Stand’, ‘Siberian Education’, ‘Pain & Gain’, and ‘22 Jump Street’.

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Television Career & Voice Acting

Peter Stormare has appeared in a number of television shows in his acting career, starting from the mid-1980s. His first TV appearance was in a series called ‘Träpatronerna.’

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He portrayed the character of ‘John Abruzzi’ in the American crime thriller television show ‘Prison Break’. He played the role between 2005 and 2007, in a total of 20 episodes.

He also appeared in shows like ‘The Blacklist’, ‘Arrow’, ‘Manhattan’, and ‘Longmire’, before co-creating the American-Swedish comedy web television series ‘Swedish Dicks’. His show was nominated at the Kristallen Awards for the Best Comedy Show in 2017.

He was featured in ‘Get Shorty’ as ‘Hafdis Snaejornsson’ and ‘LA to Vegas’ as ‘Artem’ in the 2010s.

Stormare has done voice acting on many occasions across films and television shows. He provided the voice of the ‘Dracula’ in the movie ‘Batman vs. Dracula’ and later gave his voice to ‘Corporal’ in the animated film ‘Penguins of Madagascar’.

On television, Stormare voiced ‘Lord Dregg’ in the show ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ between 2015 and 2017. He is also the man behind the voice of ‘Godbrand’ in the American adult animated web series ‘Castlevania’ (2018).

Major Works

One of the highlights of Peter Stormare’s career is the character of ‘Gaear Grimsrud’ in the 1996 film ‘Fargo,’ directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Stormare portrayed the character of a kidnapper in the film. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and the Coen brothers received the Best Original Screenplay award. The film was named among the 100 greatest American films in history by the American Film Institute in 1998.

Peter Stormare portrayed the Italian-American mob boss and the don of the Abruzzi crime family, ‘John Abruzzi,’ in the TV series ‘Prison Break.’ In the first two seasons, Stormare’s character was one of the most powerful characters in the show. As the leader of a Chicago mafia, his character was powerful enough to help prisoners escape from the jail.

Family & Personal Life

Peter Stormare married actress Karen Sillas in 1989. The couple divorced after seventeen years. He then married Toshimi Stormare in 2008 and had a daughter named Kaiya Bella Luna Stormare, born in May 2009.

Stormare also has a daughter, Kelly (born in 1989), with his former girlfriend. He is a religious person and has on multiple occasions claimed to have been in touch with God.

Trivia

Peter Storemare is long-term friends with Ethan Coen and Joel Coen.

He was once hit by Mark Hamill on the sets during an action scene shooting!

He had to undergo surgery on his nose to prevent himself from losing his eyesight.

Peter Stormare Biography