Swedish films and series – 10 stars, stories and successes

3. Alicia Vikander – raider, robot, royal…

Oscar winner Alicia Vikander made her debut in Swedish film Pure (2010), a dark drama about a young woman drawn to an older, distinguished conductor, played by Samuel Fröler. Pure portrays the abuse of power in a sophisticated cultural world – me too before #metoo. It was the first film from director and screenwriter Lisa Langseth.

Vikander’s international career took off after that, and she went on to win an Award Academy in 2016 for her portrayal of artist Gerda Wegener in The Danish Girl.

In the 2010s, she also brought us films like the action-packed Tomb Raider (2018), acclaimed sci-fi thriller Ex Machina (2014) and period drama A Royal Affair (2012). And in the 2020s, Vikander has done sci-fi thriller The Assessment (2024), Tudor drama Firebrand (2023) and biopic The Glorias (2020 – about Gloria Steinem), among many others.

4. Chernobyl and Swedish director Johan Renck

Mini series Chernobyl (2019) dramatises the story of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant tragedy in 1986. The historical drama won many awards – two of them for Swedish achievements. Director Johan Renck won an Emmy and the Directors Guild of America Award, and Stellan Skarsgård won a Golden Globe as Supporting Actor.

The success with Chernobyl became a defining moment in Renck’s career, with his direction offering a raw and intense portrayal of human fragility in the face of catastrophe. He has established himself as a director known for his distinctive visual style and emotional storytelling.

5. Josephine Bornebusch – comedy actor and director

Josefine Bornebusch stands out for her ability to blend humour with personal storytelling, both in front of and behind the camera. Her direction in Netflix autofiction mini series Baby Reindeer (2024) reflects her skill in handling intense psychological narratives, while her work on Bad Sisters (2022) for Apple TV+ highlights her ability to explore complex relationships.

As co-creator, writer and actor in the NBC comedy Welcome to Sweden (2014–2015), Bornebusch brought a unique perspective on cultural clashes and identity, using humour to explore deeper themes of belonging.

In Sweden, she first gained attention with sitcom Solsidan, but it was her creative role in Welcome to Sweden that showcased her talent to an international audience.

6. Rebecca Ferguson – from action to sci-fi

A great introduction to Rebecca Ferguson’s talents is sci-fi duology Dune (2021 and 2024), where she portrays Lady Jessica – mother of main character Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). In the films, Ferguson brings a nuanced mix of dignity, warmth and fierceness to a character that is mother, warrior and mind-reader at once. Denis Villeneuve, the director behind both films, has called Ferguson ‘an actress of extraordinary precision’.

There are many other examples of Ferguson shining on the silver screen. In The Greatest Showman (2017) Ferguson wowed in a biographical depiction as Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind, when she performed opposite Hugh Jackman’s P.T. Barnum. And since 2015, she’s been showing her action skills, fighting alongside Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible series – most lately in the 2023 edition.

In 2026, Ferguson is set to star alongside Chris Pratt in American sci-fi thriller Mercy.

7. Ruben Östlund and his two Palme d’Ors

It takes a special kind of talent to make the audience giggle while brooding on the absurdity of human behaviour. Ruben Östlund manages to tip-toe between realism and the absurd, coaxing a laugh here and there as he goes. In his own words, all his films are about people trying to avoid losing face. Artists, suicide jumpers, fathers.

With his parodic approach, Östlund wins over audiences and critics alike. His 2017 release, The Square, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Then in 2022, Östlund joined an exclusive club of two-time Palme d'Or winners with Triangle of Sadness. This reversal-of-hierarchy comedy went on to dominate the 2022 European Film Awards, winning in the categories best film, director, actor and screenwriter. And at the 2023 Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film.

8. Sami Blood and Amanda Kernell

Sami Blood, from 2016, was written and directed by Amanda Kernell, her first feature. The film explores a dark side of Swedish history – the discrimination of the indigenous Sami population in the 1930s. The film centres around the struggles of Elle-Marja, a 14-year-old Sami girl who is forced to learn the Swedish language at a boarding school, where she’s also subjected to racial–biological examinations.

With Sami Blood, Kernell, from Umeå and with Sami heritage herself, was named Best Young Director at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, and the film went on to be showered with awards. Among them, four Guldbagge awards – the Swedish equivalent of an Oscar – and many, many international ones.

Kernell’s follow-up Charter (2020) was Sweden’s submission for an Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category in 2021.

In 2025, Kernell began filming Förbannelsen – en kärlekshistoria (’The curse – a love story’). It’s once again a film in Sami settings, set for release in 2026.

9. Tarik Saleh and the Cairo trilogy

Tarik Saleh’s political thriller Eagles of the Republic premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is the last part of Saleh’s Cairo trilogy, films that are all set in the Middle East and all feature Swedish–Lebanese actor Fares Fares. In Eagles of the Republic, Fares plays an Egyptian actor, George Fahmy, who is made to play the lead role in a film against his will.

First in the trilogy is The Nile Hilton Incident (2017) and the second, Cairo Conspiracy/Boy from Heaven (2022), which won the Best Screenplay award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. The films were shot in several locations and grew out of a close collaboration between different countries.

Saleh first made a name for himself by co-directing two charged documentaries with Erik Gandini – one about the death of Che Guevara, Sacrificio: Who Betrayed Che Guevara (2001), and then Gitmo (2005) about interrogation methods at Guantánamo Bay.

swedense

Video interview with Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg – stars of 'Young Royals'

10. Young Royals, The Bridge and other Swedish series

Sweden has brought many Nordic noir and drama series to the world over the last decade. One of the most talked-about of late has been Young Royals (2021–2024) on Netflix. This Swedish-language teen drama about love, betrayal, royalty and sexuality has gained a massive global following. Season 2 of Young Royals was ranked the third most streamed non-English language series on Netflix.

Many will also remember The Bridge (2011–2018), the Swedish–Danish production that the BBC ranked as one of the greatest TV series of the 21st century. The Öresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark plays a central role in the series, as detectives in the two different countries work together to solve crimes.

The painful drama Caliphate (2020) first made it big in Sweden and was later picked up by Netflix, which brought its star Gizem Erdogan and the series international praise. Erdogan plays Pervin, a Swedish woman who travels with her husband to Syria to join ISIS.

swedense

The Öresund Bridge – that 'The Bridge' is named after!