Arna Magnea Danks
Arna Magnea Danks is an Icelandic actress, fight/stunt director and teacher. She received wide recognition for her lead performance as Birna in the 2024 feature film Odd Fish, which earned her the festival’s Best Performance in a Lead Role at the 2025 KASHISH Pride Film Festival in India; the film also won Best Narrative Feature. She is also known in Iceland for her work as a stage combat teacher and fight/stunt director and for her public advocacy on LGBTQIA+ issues.
Early life and education
Danks was born in Reykjavík in 1970. She is of Northern Irish and Icelandic descent. She trained at East 15 Acting School/University of East London, qualified as a Stage Combat Teacher/Choreographer through the British Academy of Dramatic Combat, and later earned a Diploma in Education from the Iceland University of the Arts. She has pursued graduate studies in Gender Studies at the University of Iceland.Career
Danks began her screen career with small parts in both Icelandic and international productions. She appeared in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah as the “Laughing Poacher” and in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s Sparrows. Other early credits include Operation Ragnarok and the Icelandic feature From Iceland to Eden, in which she played Massi.Fight and stunt direction; teaching
In parallel with acting, Danks established herself as a fight/stunt director and stage-combat teacher. Her credits in Iceland include serving as fight/stunt director on the TV dramas Fangar, Vitjanir, and Svörtu sandar seasons 1–2, as well as on Húsó; she also teaches stage combat at the Icelandic Film School. Her stunt work further includes international projects such as Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead and Netflix’s Sense8.Danks was part of the stunt team on HBO’s Game of Thrones, working as a stunt performer and assisting with fight design during season 4; she is listed for the episode “Two Swords”.
Black Sands (2021–2024) and ''Húsó'' (2024)
On television, Danks portrayed **Dóra** in the crime series Svörtu sandar —appearing in season 1 and returning in season 2 —while also contributing behind the scenes as fight director across both seasons.She also appeared in the RÚV drama Húsó as **Hrönn**.
Breakthrough with ''Odd Fish'' (2024)
Danks’ breakthrough came with the lead role of Birna in Odd Fish, written and directed by Snævar Sölvi Sölvason with Veiga Grétarsdóttir as co-writer. The film premiered in Iceland on 3 September 2024 and was reviewed positively by national media. It subsequently screened internationally.In June 2025, Danks won Best Performance in a Lead Role at the KASHISH Pride Film Festival for Odd Fish, while the film also received Best Narrative Feature and a Special Jury Mention for Screenplay.
Activism and public life
Danks is active in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and public education. In 2022, she stood as a candidate for the board of Samtökin '78, Iceland’s national queer organisation, where she described herself as a “pansexual trans woman” and emphasised that “all closets thoroughly broken.” She has taught and lectured on equality and diversity at the University of Iceland, the Iceland University of the Arts, and the Icelandic Film School, and was announced as a speaker at TEDxReykjavík Women 2025.In media interviews, Danks has spoken openly about her life and transition. In a 2024 profile in GayIceland she said: “I couldn’t live the lie anymore,” describing her decision to come out publicly in 2018 after decades of concealment.
She has also addressed the challenges faced by trans people in Iceland. In a 2023 article for RÚV, she described her upbringing as “a continuous process of repression,” recalling that as a four-year-old she told her mother: *“Mom! I am not in the mirror!”* In an in-depth interview with Heimildin the same year, she spoke of learning to become “immune to hatred” after repeated online attacks and harassment.
Danks has frequently highlighted the prevalence of online hate speech targeting trans people in Iceland. In April 2025, the newspaper DV reported on her decision to publish screenshots of hostile and demeaning messages she had received, some from well-known Icelandic public figures, including threats and calls for her death. She commented: *“The hate forced me to fight and be visible.”*
Her outspoken presence has made her one of the most visible trans voices in Icelandic media and culture, linking her artistic career with activism and education.
Personal life
Danks has discussed her life and transition in interviews, noting that she came out publicly in mid-2018 and is a mother of three.Filmography / Selected Credits
Stunt / Fight / Choreography / Additional Crew
- Stunt Coordinator / Stunt work — *Stella Blómkvist*
- Fight choreography and stunt direction — *Svörtu sandar* — both as actress and stunt coordinator
- Other stunt/fight credits listed by TV Guide include *Belle*, *Spell*, and *Rainbow Party*