Gunnar Stansson


Gunnar Fritz Stansson is an American screenwriter best known for his portrayal of various roles in short films that have found major success on video sharing sites like YouTube. As co-founder of HodgeStansson Productions, he has amassed over 65 million viewings of various videos on YouTube which he has written and starred in.

Early life and education

Stansson was born in Texas, the son of Gerald and Diana. His father was a farmer and his mother was a homemaker. In 2005, he graduated from Arkansas High School in Texarkana, Arkansas. While growing up, he spent most of his time and energy playing soccer, writing poetry, and honing his skills as a creative writer. Since childhood, Gunnar had dreamed of working in film and entertainment. He, at a very early age, found great artistic inspiration and merit in movies by filmmakers such as Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, and David Lynch.

Career

Along with high school classmate Logan Hodge, Gunnar started collaborating on short films. At first, they made films for their own enjoyment. Without any hopes of success, the two teenagers uploaded several videos to YouTube in 2006 and were met with an outpouring of praise by Internet viewers and bloggers alike. The videos were quickly watched millions of times. In years since, Stansson’s short films have become so successful that American retail chain Hot Topic made an agreement to sell HodgeStansson merchandise in their stores. Justin Bieber, Diggy Simmons, and rapper Soulja Boy have all come out as fans of Gunnar’s short films.

Personal life

Gunnar is a fan of international competitive tennis and soccer. Following his Internet success, Stansson took up residence in upstate New York.

Filmography

Film