Björn Johan Andrésen is a Swedish actor and musician. He is best known for playing the fourteen-year-old Tadzio in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film adaptation of the 1912 Thomas Mann novella Death in Venice.
Andrésen had only appeared in one film, En kärlekshistoria at the time he was cast in Death in Venice, which gained him international recognition. While the film performed relatively poorly at the box office, Andrésen was noted for his performance as Tadzio, the beautiful young Polish boy with whom the film's older protagonist Gustav von Aschenbach becomes obsessed. Film historian Lawrence J. Quirk commented in his study The Great Romantic Films that some shots of Andrésen "could be extracted from the frame and hung on the walls of the Louvre or the Vatican." Rumors circulated in the United States at the time of the film's release as to whether or not Andrésen was homosexual. Andrésen emphatically denied these, and later recounted his discomfort at being forced by director Luchino Visconti during filming to visit a gay bar, where he attracted the attention of a number of older men. Eager to dispel the rumors regarding his sexuality and to shed his "pretty boy" image, Andrésen thereafter avoided homosexual roles and parts which he felt would play off of his good looks, and was angry when feminist writerGermaine Greer used a photograph of him on the cover of her book The Beautiful Boy without his permission. Although Greer did consult photographer David Bailey before publishing the book, Andrésen maintained that it is common practice when a party uses an image of a person which has been copyrighted by a different individual to inform the individual and that he would not have given his consent for Greer to use his picture if she had informed him of her plans. After the release of Death in Venice, Andrésen spent an extended period of time in Japan, where the film became popular, and he appeared in a number of television commercials and also recorded several pop songs. It is said that his appearance as Tadzio in the film influenced many Japanese anime artists, especially Keiko Takemiya. Andrésen has had a strong liking for Japan since then and has visited the country again over the years. Andrésen has appeared in several other films. These include Smugglarkungen, Kojan, Pelikaanimies, and Midsommar. In addition to being an actor, Andrésen is a professional musician, and until recently performed and toured regularly with the Sven Erics dance band.
Personal life
Andrésen resides in Stockholm with his wife, poet Suzanna, and their daughter Robine. The couple had another child, a boy, who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 1986, which caused the couple's temporary separation.
