Lasse Hallström


Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all music videos by the pop group ABBA, and came to international attention with his 1985 feature film My Life as a Dog, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. He is also known for What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The [Cider House Rules |The Cider House Rules], and Chocolat.

Early life and education

Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström was born on 2 June 1946 in Stockholm, Sweden. His father was a dentist and keen amateur videographer; his mother was the author and poet Karin Lyberg.
He attended Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm, where he made his first music video and 8 mm films.

Career

In the late 1960s, Hallström worked as a director of short pop music clips at Sveriges Television.
He made his directorial debut in 1973, directing the comedy series Pappas pojkar for Swedish TV. He frequently collaborated with comic actors Magnus Härenstam and Brasse Brännström during his Swedish period.
Between 1974 and 1982, Hallström worked with the Swedish group ABBA on many of their music videos and also directed their 1977 film ABBA: The Movie. Almost all of ABBA's promotional films were directed and shot by Hallström, with only seven exceptions: "When I Kissed the Teacher" ; "Chiquitita", which was made by the BBC; "I Have a Dream" ; "On and On and On" ; "Lay [All Your Love on Me]" ; "The Day Before You Came", and "Under Attack", the latter two being directed by Kjell Sundvall and Kjell-Åke Andersson.
After the international success of My Life as a Dog, Hallström started working in Hollywood. His first English-language film was Once Around. His first notable English-language success was What's Eating Gilbert Grape, starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Hallström made a number of successful film adaptations from novels. In 1999, The Cider House Rules was released. He followed that success the following year by directing Chocolat, starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche, and Judi Dench, which was a critical and box-office success. His 2001 film The Shipping News was adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by E. Annie Proulx and starred Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, Julianne Moore, and Cate Blanchett.
His 2011 film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Paul Torday and starred Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.
His 2017 film, A Dog's Purpose, based on the 2010 novel of the same name, was billed as "a celebration of the special connection between humans and their dogs".
Hallström directed and executive produced the 2024 American-Icelandic Nordic Noir thriller television series The Darkness, starring his wife Lena Olin, who has collaborated with him on other films.

Awards and nominations

Directed Academy Award performances
Under Hallström's direction, these actors have received Academy Award wins and nominations for their performances in their respective roles.

Personal life

Hallström married media personality and actress in 1974. They divorced in 1981.
In 1990, he met actress Lena Olin, and they married on 18 March 1994. They have a daughter. In 2011 the couple were residing in Bedford, New York, and also had a home in the Stockholm Archipelago.
Hallström turned vegan in 2014.

Videography