Stefán Karl Stefánsson

Stefán Karl Stefánsson ( STEF-ən STEF-ən-sən, Icelandic: [ˈstɛːfaun ˈkʰartl̥ ˈstɛːfaunsɔn]; 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018) was an Icelandic actor and singer. He was best known for portraying Robbie Rotten, the antagonist of the children's television series LazyTown.

Career

Stefán Karl's career started in 1994 at the age of 19, when he worked as a puppeteer for television. During his years as a puppeteer, he had also been studying at the Drama Academy of Iceland. However, he was unsatisfied with the perspectives of Icelandic drama standards. He recalled that his principal at his high school said that "acting is not about making faces and changing your face", which he disagreed with.

Later, Stefán Karl was invited by Magnús Scheving, an Icelandic gymnast, to portray one of the characters in the second LazyTown play. Magnús created the plays due to his concerns about Iceland's younger generation lacking sufficient physical exercise. Stefán Karl explained that "[Magnús] wanted the kids to get healthier, so he created this musical called LazyTown. He played Sportacus, the fitness fanatic, and I was Robbie Rotten, the guy who liked to stay indoors and sleep". After initial success with the musical, Nickelodeon eventually made a deal with the creators of LazyTown to air the first 40 episodes of LazyTown along with a special studio built in Iceland. During the first few years of LazyTown in the early 2000s, Stefán Karl initially knew no English, but he soon became fluent.