Jo Nesbø


Jo Nesbø is a Norwegian writer, musician, economist, and former soccer player and reporter. More than 3 million copies of his novels had been sold in Norway as of March 2014; his work has been translated into over 40 languages, and by 2017 had sold some 33 million copies worldwide.
Known primarily for his crime novels featuring Inspector Harry Hole, Nesbø is also the main vocalist and songwriter for the Norwegian rock band Di Derre. In 2007 he released his first children's book, Doktor Proktors Prompepulver. The 2011 film Headhunters is based on Nesbø's novel Hodejegerne .

Early life

Nesbø was born in 1960 in Oslo and grew up in Molde. He graduated from the Norwegian School of Economics with a degree in Economics and Business Administration. He worked as a freelance journalist and a stockbroker before he began his writing career.

Career

The Harry Hole series

The series follows Harry Hole, a tough detective working for Crime Squad and later with the National Criminal Investigation Service, whose investigations may take him from Oslo to Australia, West Congo, Thailand, Switzerland or Brazil. Hole takes on seemingly unconnected cases, sometimes found to involve serial killers, bank robbers, gangsters or the establishment, but spends a significant amount of time battling alcoholism and his own demons.
The Harry Hole novels are multi-layered, violent and often feature women in peril, as typified by The Snowman. On the return of Harry Hole in The Thirst, Nesbø said: "I was always coming back to Harry; he is my soul mate. But it is a dark soul, so it is – as always – both a thrill and a chilling, emotionally exhausting experience. But Harry and the story make it worth the sleepless nights."
A film adaptation of The Snowman, with Tomas Alfredson directing, and starring Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, premiered in October 2017.

The Doctor Proctor series

The series follows the story of Doctor Proctor, a crazy professor waiting for his big break, his next-door neighbor Lisa and her peculiar friend Nilly. The ruthless twins Truls and Trym Thrane sometimes lurk in the background.

The Olav Johansen series

It was announced in October 2013 that, writing under the pen-name of Tom Johansen, Nesbø had written at least two novels provisionally entitled Blood on Snow and More Blood on the Water, scheduled to be published in autumn 2014 and spring 2015. The books Blood on Snow and its sequel Midnight Sun: Blood on Snow 2 were published in 2015, but under Jo Nesbø's name.
It was also announced in October 2013 that Warner Brothers had bought the rights to Blood on Snow and planned to make a screen adaptation, to be produced by and possibly starring Leonardo DiCaprio. However, on 4 April 2017, it was reported that the screen rights had been purchased by Tobey Maguire's Material Pictures and Lawrence Grey’s Grey Matter Productions, and that Maguire would make his directorial debut on the projected film adaptation.
This series follows Olav Johansen, a fixer for Oslo crime boss Daniel Hoffman. In Blood on Snow, Olav has just found the woman of his dreams. The only problem is that she's his boss's wife and that his boss has hired him to kill her.

Other projects

In 2014 it was announced that Nesbø would contribute a re-telling of the story of Macbeth as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project, described as a 'crime noir' version of the tragedy. His Macbeth is set in 1970 in an unspecified location that combines aspects of Scandinavia and Scotland, and involves an Inspector Macbeth of a paramilitary SWAT team targeting bikers, drug dealers, and his police colleagues. It was published in April 2018.
In 2016, it was announced that there are also plans to adapt his stand-alone novel, Sønnen, as a film, to be directed by Denis Villeneuve, with Jake Gyllenhaal as producer and Channing Tatum in the lead role.
On 5 April 2017, it was announced that Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur is working on a new adaptation of I Am Victor, a short story by Nesbø previously planned as an NBC television series but not completed.

Personal life

Nesbø played top-flight football for Molde FK until he tore the cruciate ligaments in his knee, and had to concentrate on other aspects of his life. Nesbø is a dedicated rock climber and has climbed sport routes up to French grade 7c.
In addition to his career as author, Nesbø is also the main vocalist and songwriter for the Norwegian rock band Di Derre. He lives close to his former wife and their daughter in Oslo.

The Harry Hole novels

Okkupert, based on a concept by Jo Nesbø, is a television series produced by TV 2 and Yellow Bird, the Swedish production house responsible for the Wallander TV series, and the films Headhunters and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The series is a political thriller which envisages what would happen if Norway were to be invaded by Russia to seize the nation's oil resources. The first season premiered in October 2015, the second in September 2017, and the third in January 2020.

Awards and nominations