Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Early life and education

Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau was born on 27 July 1970 in Rudkøbing, Denmark, the son of Hanne Søborg Coster (d. 2023), a librarian, and Jørgen Oscar Fritzer Waldau (died 1998), a clerk. He grew up in Tybjerg, a small village between Ringsted and Næstved in southern Zealand.

Coster-Waldau attended the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen (Danish: Statens Teaterskole) from 1989 to 1993.

Career

Early career (1993–2000)

Coster-Waldau made his stage debut as Laertes in Hamlet at the Betty Nansen Theater. He then went on to play in Simon Staho's Wildside (1998), which he also co-wrote, and starred in Danish films such as Misery Harbour (1999).

He starred in his first British film Bent, in 1997.

U.S. film and television (2001–2010)

In 2001, he began his U.S. career in Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down as Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon. Coster-Waldau says "My first U.S. movie was Black Hawk Down and a friend helped me put myself on tape up on the attic over my apartment in Copenhagen. We shipped it out and I got lucky." Coster-Waldau used his success to take roles on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly his native Scandinavia.

He had a leading role in Michael Apted's Enigma and played a villain in the action film My Name is Modesty (based upon the Modesty Blaise comic strip). Scott brought Coster-Waldau back for the 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven. Richard Loncraine cast Coster-Waldau for Wimbledon and Firewall. In 2007, he played John Amsterdam, an immortal New York homicide detective who becomes mortal after finding true love, in the short-lived Fox television series New Amsterdam. As a result of filming that series' pilot, Coster-Waldau obtained his Screen Actors Guild card. He later recalled in a 2015 interview in TV Guide, "Finally getting my SAG card was huge for me...I got so excited I went straight to the SAG online shop and bought four mugs with SAG logo. [I] still have those mugs!"

Critical success (2011–present)

From 2011 to 2019, Coster-Waldau played Jaime Lannister in the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire. He commented about the character "What's not to like about Jaime? As an actor I couldn't ask for a better role". For his role, he received several accolades, including nominations for Primetime Emmy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics' Choice Television Award, Saturn Award and People's Choice Award nominations.

In 2011, he starred alongside Sam Shepard in Mateo Gil's feature Blackthorn, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Later the same year he starred in Morten Tyldum's Headhunters. The film went on to be the highest-grossing Norwegian film of all-time and received very positive reviews including a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Foreign Film. Coster-Waldau starred in the 2013 horror film Mama alongside Jessica Chastain, which then debuted at number one in the US box office and grossed over $140 million worldwide. He went on to play Sykes, a military weapons expert in the science fiction action thriller film Oblivion. That same year, he co-starred with Juliette Binoche in Erik Poppe's drama A Thousand Times Good Night. In 2014, he starred in Susanne Bier's Danish thriller A Second Chance as Andreas, a police officer forced to make a difficult choice. In 2016, Coster-Waldau appeared in the action-fantasy film Gods of Egypt as Horus.

In early 2017, he starred in E.L. Katz's dark comedy Small Crimes which premiered at South by Southwest film festival on 11 March 2017, to positive reviews. Coster-Waldau then appeared in the Danish film 3 Things, a thriller about a prime suspect of a bank robbery who negotiates the terms of his witness protection deal. He starred in Roman Waugh's prison film Shot Caller, which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on 16 June 2017. Since January 2018 he has been the L'Oréal Paris global spokesperson for the company's Men Expert line of products.

In May 2017, it was announced that he starred in Brian De Palma's film Domino. The film was released on 31 May 2019. Later the same year he starred in Suicide Tourist by Jonas Alexander Arnby, which premiered at the Zurich Film Festival. That same year, Coster-Waldau launched a production company named Ill Kippers.

He starred in the 2020 thriller The Silencing, directed by Robin Pront.

He filmed in secret the movie The Day We Died (Krudttønden) by Ole Christian Madsen. The film is based on events surrounding the 2015 Copenhagen shootings and was originally slated for release for late 2019. It was released in Europe on 3 May 2020. On 7 January 2021, Variety announced that Samuel Goldwyn Films had purchased U.S. distribution rights for the film.

Coster-Waldau was to have played Macbeth in 2020, in a production of Shakespeare's tragedy reuniting with Matt Shakman at the Geffen Playhouse. On 15 April 2020, the Geffen Playhouse announced on its blog that its production of Macbeth, among others, had been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In November 2023, Coster-Waldau was announced to portray William the Conqueror in King & Conqueror. He also served as an executive producer on the series, and also directed one episode. King & Conqueror debuted on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 24 August 2025, and has been sold worldwide.

Other activities

Coster-Waldau has supported the Danish Red Cross since 2003.

In 2016, he announced a Game of Thrones campaign-contest in order to support the RED foundation which aims to raise awareness and fight AIDS.

Since September 2016, he has been serving as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador to raise awareness and support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, an action to end poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change. After participating in a female empowerment initiative in Kenya, on the occasion of International Women's Day in 2017, he wrote a pledge calling for all fathers to support gender equality and women's empowerment, including those women who live in extreme poverty and are exposed to practises like child marriage. In September 2017, he was one of the speakers in The Spotlight Initiative, a European Union-United Nations action to eliminate violence against women and girls, after kicking off the women's amateur World Cup. In October 2017, he travelled to the Maldives to report global warming effects, resuming his role as a United Nations Development Program Goodwill Ambassador.

In early 2018, he and several other Danish artists signed a manifesto demanding zero tolerance for sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault in the Danish film and stage arts industry. In June 2018, he kicked off The Lion's Share fund's launch, an action in which when an advertising campaign uses an image of an animal, the advertiser will donate 0.5% of the paid media spending of that campaign to the fund. In 2019, he travelled to Rwanda to report the progress of the country, and to Peruvian Amazonia on occasion of the Amazon rainforest wildfires to offer insights into the effects of climate change.

In 2024 he hosted the documentary series An Optimist's Guide to the Planet, profiling innovative new solutions to climate change.

Personal life

Although Coster-Waldau is not religious, he was baptized and confirmed as a Lutheran in the Danish National Church during his youth; like the vast majority of Danes, he viewed his confirmation as a big moment in his life when he first identified as becoming an adult.

He married Nukâka, a Greenlandic actress and singer, in 1997 and they live in Copenhagen with their two daughters Filippa and Safina, as well as two dogs. Their daughter Filippa starred in a Danish short film, The Girl and the Dogs, which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, and as the lead character in 2025 internationally produced TV drama series Smilla's Sense of Snow. Their other daughter, Safina, starred as the main character Simone in the Danish Christmas TV series Theo og Den Magiske Talisman in December 2018. His father-in-law is Josef Motzfeldt, a member of the Parliament of Greenland and former leader of the Community of the People Party (Inuit Ataqatigiit).

Although his father was a supporter of Arsenal, a trip to a match at the Elland Road ground in the early 1990s persuaded him to become a supporter of Leeds United, and he is a member of the Leeds United Supporters' Trust. He published a very emotional video to thank Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds head coach in 2020, when the team was finally promoted to the Premier League again after 16 years.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau".
2. "Nikolaj Coster Waldau".
3. Svetkey, Benjamin. (1 April 2014). "Great Dane: Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau".
4. Cooper, Charlie. (16 March 2013). "My Secret Life: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, 42, actor". [[The Independent]].
5. Lilmoës, Jonathan Lykke. (15 July 2018). "Dansk skuespiller i fornemt selskab: Nomineret til stor TV-pris". Kendte.dk.
6. "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau".
7. "Nikolaj Coster Waldau".
8. Oebel, Nicole. "Interview with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau".
9. "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau profile".
10. Moynihan, Rob. (19 January 2015). "How I Got My SAG-AFTRA Card". [[TV Guide]].
11. (22 May 2013). "HBO, FX Lead Critics' Choice TV Awards — But Where Are 'Mad Men', 'Modern Family'?".
12. Johns, Nikara. (26 February 2014). "'Gravity,' 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' Lead Saturn Awards Noms". Variety.
13. "Full List of People's Choice Awards Nominations!". E! Online.
14. "Blackthorn {{!}} Tribeca Film Festival".
15. Rosen, Christopher. (27 October 2011). "The Norwegian Film That's a Bigger Success Than 'Harry Potter' and 'Transformers'".
16. "Hodejegerne nominert til BAFTA – NFI".
17. "Weekend Box Office Results for January 18–20, 2013 – Box Office Mojo".
18. "Mama (2013) – Box Office Mojo".
19. De Semlyen, Phil. (26 March 2012). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Talks Oblivion".
20. Holden, Stephen. (23 October 2014). "Insatiably, She Leaps Into the Fray". [[The New York Times]].
21. Felperin, Leslie. (7 September 2014). "'A Second Chance' ('En Chance til'): Toronto Review".
22. (18 November 2015). "New 'Gods of Egypt' Trailer: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Horus Battles Blindness and Gerard Butler's Set".
23. McNary, Dave. (11 May 2016). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Starring in Dark Comedy 'Small Crimes'". Variety.
24. "Small Crimes – SXSW 2017 Schedule". [[South by Southwest]].
25. "Small Crimes (2017)". [[Rotten Tomatoes]].
26. Keslassy, Elsa. (18 November 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Boards Thriller '3 Things'". [[Variety (magazine).
27. "3 ting".
28. "LA Film Fest's Closing Night Film: Matt Spicer's "Ingrid Goes West"".
29. Selcke, Dan. (26 April 2015). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will play a SoCal gangster in Shot Caller".
30. "Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to endorse LOréal Paris Men Expert – ET BrandEquity".
31. "Cannes: Nikolaj Coster Waldau, Christina Hendricks to Star in Brian De Palma's 'Domino' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
32. Foutch, Haleigh. (4 April 2019). "Brian De Palma's Action-Thriller 'Domino' Finally Gets a Trailer".
33. Clarke, Stewart. (4 September 2019). "'Joker,' 'Judy,' and 'Pavarotti' Set for Zurich Film Festival Galas".
34. (25 October 2018). "'Game of Thrones' Star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Set for 'Suicide Tourist' (EXCLUSIVE)".
35. Patten, Dominic. (23 November 2019). "'Game Of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Forms Production Company; Options YA Novel 'We Are Lost & Found'".
36. Hipes, Patrick. (7 May 2018). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau To Star In Thriller 'The Silencing' – Cannes". Deadline.
37. N'Duka, Amanda. (8 April 2019). "'After' Star Hero Fiennes Tiffin Joins Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Annabelle Wallis In 'The Silencing'".
38. (6 April 2019). "Copenhagen attack film features 'Game of Thrones' star".
39. "The Day We Died (Krudttønden)".
40. Keslassy, Elsa. (7 January 2021). "Samuel Goldwyn Acquires U.S. Rights to 'The Good Traitor,' 'The Day We Died' From REinvent (EXCLUSIVE)".
41. Libbey, Peter. (22 February 2019). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to Play Macbeth Onstage at the Geffen Playhouse". The New York Times.
42. "Performance Postponement Notice".
43. Hibberd, James. (28 November 2023). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to Play William the Conqueror in 'King and Conqueror' TV Series". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
44. (25 August 2025). "Everything you need to know about epic drama 'King & Conqueror'".
45. (13 August 2025). "New King & Conqueror images released as BBC air date confirmed".
46. Clarke, Stewart. (4 August 2025). "Period Epic 'King & Conqueror' Sells to Prime Video U.S. and Scores of International Buyers Including HBO Max". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
47. (April 2020). "Rekord for Klub 10 i 2003". RØDE KORS.
48. "Klub 100". RØDE KORS.
49. "RØDE KORS". copenhagenagency.
50. (14 January 2016). "Game of Thrones news from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (aka Jaime Lannister)!". YouTube.
51. "Game of Thrones Star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau named UNDP Goodwill Ambassador".
52. (6 February 2017). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau documents the changing landscape of Greenland".
53. "A father's pledge – for my daughters and every daughter".
54. "The Spotlight Initiative".
55. "Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau blows whistle on poverty at women's soccer World Cup tournament in NYC".
56. (6 November 2017). "Game of Thrones Star Sounds the Alarm on Climate Change".
57. "UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau kicks off Maldives' Climate Action Journey".
58. "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau".
59. "Over tusind film- og teaterfolk i Danmark underskriver manifest mod sexisme og overgreb". DR.
60. "UNDP announces The Lion's Share fund with founder FINCH and founding partner Mars to tackle crisis in wildlife conservation and animal welfare {{!}} UNDP".
61. "Game of Thrones star and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau visits Rwanda 25 years after genocide against the Tutsi".
62. "Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau travels to the Amazon with UNDP to discover the real story behind the fires".
63. Jesse Whittock, [https://deadline.com/video/nikolaj-coster-waldau-optimists-guide-planet-bloomberg/ "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Details His Attempts To Apply ‘Game Of Thrones’ Wisdom To Bloomberg’s ‘Optimist’s Guide To The Planet’; Watch Exclusive Clip"]. ''[[Deadline Hollywood]]'', February 7, 2024.
64. Coster-Waldau, Nikolaj. (24 April 2017). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau: The First Time I Recognized My Selfishness". The New York Times.
65. (16 July 2017). "Nukaaka Coster-Waldau, Nikolaj's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know".
66. Tilley, Steve. (23 October 2014). "'Game of Thrones' star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau promises big things in store for season five". [[Toronto Sun]].
67. (17 December 2012). "Her er dit liv – (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)". YouTube.
68. (12 April 2023). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Duplicitous Roles Are Nothing Like His Real-Life Persona".
69. Svetkey, Benjamin. (1 April 2014). "Great Dane: Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau".
70. "Short Film Catalog: The Girl And The Dogs".
71. "The Girl and the Dogs".
72. Pickard, Michael. (October 22, 2024). "Snow queen".
73. Mathieson, Craig. (23 July 2025). "Smilla's Sense of Snow review: TV adaptation of Peter Hoeg's 1992 thriller Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow".
74. Mahr, Krista. (26 November 2008). "Greenland Wants to Rule Itself — And Its Resources".
75. "LUFC Trust on Twitter". Twitter.
76. "An emotional video".
77. "Chicken / Egg".
78. (6 February 2017). "Netflix Buys Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's 'Small Crimes' Ahead of SXSW Debut (Exclusive)". [[Variety (magazine).
79. (24 April 2015). "Relativity Plunks Down $3M To Pick Up Bold Films' 'Shot Caller' With 'Games Of Thrones' Actor In Lead".
80. (22 March 2019). "Brian De Palma's Terrorist Thriller 'Domino' Finally Gets A Release Date After A Long, Troubled Production".
81. (16 June 2023). "The Flash Movie Has a Surprising Game of Thrones Cameo".
82. "Game of Thrones: Cast". [[HBO]].
83. (4 May 2022). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Joins Jennifer Garner In ''The Last Thing He Told Me'' Apple Limited Series".
84. "New historical drama King & Conqueror, starring James Norton and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, to premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer". BBC.
85. "Hamlet".
86. "I en fremmeds øjne".
87. "Paradis".
88. "Lovestory".
89. "Norén-stykke forlænges igen".
90. "Becket".
91. "Øjeblikket".
92. "Vildspor {{!}} Íslenskar myndir {{!}} Kvikmyndavefurinn".
93. "'Arven' indstillet til ni-dobbelt Robert". Politiken.
94. Boucher, Geoff. (7 September 2011). "'Harry Potter,' 'X-Men: First Class' lead Scream Awards". [[Los Angeles Times]].
95. (29 January 2012). "The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild.
96. (5 November 2013). "Glee, Katy Perry Lead People's Choice Award Nominations, 2 Broke Girls' Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs to Host". E! Online.
97. (22 May 2013). "Big Bang, Horror Story, Parks & Rec, Good Wife, The Americans Lead Critics Choice Nominations". TVLine.
98. (2 December 2013). "The International Press Academy Announces Nominations For The 18th Annual Satellite Awards™". PR Newswire.
99. (26 February 2014). "Saturn Award Nominations Announced; GRAVITY and THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Lead with 8 Nominations Each". Collider.
100. (11 December 2013). "SAG Awards Nominations: '12 Years A Slave' And 'Breaking Bad' Lead Way".
101. Hipes, Patrick. (10 December 2014). "SAG Awards Nominations: 'Birdman' & 'Boyhood' Lead Film Side, HBO & 'Modern Family' Rule TV – Full List".
102. (30 January 2016). "SAG Awards: The Complete Winners List". Lynne Segall.
103. (2015). "The Jameson Empire Awards 2015". [[Bauer Consumer Media]].
104. Nolfi, Joey. (14 December 2016). "SAG Awards nominations 2017: See the full list".
105. (10 January 2017). "Stem På Årets Skuespiller – Afstemning afsluttet". [[TV 2 (Denmark).
106. (9 November 2017). "🇩🇰 ISBJØRNEN 2017 er uddelt! Nikolaj Coster-Waldau modtog Ove Sprogøe Prisen". KamikPosten.gl.
107. (13 December 2017). "SAG Awards Nominations: 'Three Billboards' Tops Film List, Netflix Leads In TV".
108. (15 March 2018). "'Black Panther,' 'Walking Dead' Rule Saturn Awards Nominations".
109. (12 July 2018). "Emmys: Netflix Beats HBO With Most Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter.
110. (16 July 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame', 'Game of Thrones' Lead the 2019 Saturn Awards Nominations".
111. (13 July 2020). "Nikolaj Coster-Waldau".
112. "Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series - 2019".
113. (12 December 2018). "SAG Awards: 'A Star Is Born' Tops Film Noms; 'Mrs. Maisel,' 'Ozark' Lead TV".
114. "Kvinderne dominerer Bodil-priserne".