Stig Järrel


Stig Järrel was a Swedish actor, film director and revue artist. Järrel was one of the most popular actors in Sweden during his career, and also one of the most productive, participating in a total of 131 films. He also performed as an actor at various Swedish theatres and was a frequent guest on radio and television.

Biography

Stig Järrel was born Stig Ohlsson in Malmberget in northern Sweden in 1910. In 1929, he was admitted as a drama student at the Royal Dramatic Theatre's acting school in Stockholm, and worked later for actor Gösta Ekman. He made his debut in a 1936 film with actor Edvard Persson called Larsson i det andra giftet. Stig Järrels was notably productive with an average participation of six films per year, making it a total of 131 film roles during his career.
He is best remembered for his portrayal of the cruel Latin teacher Caligula in the Alf Sjöberg film Torment from 1944. Järrel later said that his Caligula-portrayal was the only film part during his acting career that he could say he was proud of. Järrel, who was known as a self-imposed perfectionist among colleagues, was otherwise in his native Sweden above all recognized as a magnificent comedian and revue artist on stage. Most of his parts on film are comedy parts as well. His most popular comedy part on screen is probably his Little Märta in Hasse Ekman's 1945 film comedy Fram för lilla Märta; where Järrel poses as a woman in the Swedish parliament.
Järrel worked with the leading revue producers in Sweden and in one show developed the much popular character Fibban Karlsson, a choleric old man who reflected on the everyday life in monologues in his own little ways. Järrel retired in the 1980s and moved to the French Riviera. He died in Monte Carlo, Monaco in 1998.

Selected filmography