Rikard Wolff

Jan Rikard Wolff (8 April 1958 – 17 November 2017) was a Swedish actor and singer. His career included both film roles in House of Angels and its two sequels and theatre roles such as in Waiting for Godot at Royal Dramatic Theatre, and A Chorus Line at The Göteborg Opera. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour for his work with French music. He had also been awarded a Grammis, and received the Swedish Academy's 2017 prize for theatre, as well as a royal medal for his service as an actor.

In Sweden, he was also associated with voice-acting, most notably the Swedish voice for Scar in The Lion King.

Life and career

Wolff grew up in Gubbängen in Farsta and moved to Karlstad at the age of ten. He started to study acting at Skara skolscen in 1978 and then began his professional career in the theatre group Vågspel in Södertälje. From 1980 to 1982, he worked at Teater Aurora, where he played the lead role in Friedrich Schiller's play Don Carlos. He toured with several successful song repertoires performing French chanson, with his inspirations Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel and Barbara.

Between 1984 and 1987, he studied at the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting in Malmö, where he came into contact with and started a co-operation with director Rickard Günther, which led to a role in the play Mefisto. During his study years he worked with Suzanne Osten in Affären Danton, and acted in Osten's directoral debut film, Lethal Film, in 1988. His role as the poet Paul Andersson in the television series Apelsinmannen led to his big breakthrough in the Swedish public in 1990.