Lena Olin's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Alias Irina Derevko

Main Movie Roles 2010 - Remember Me 2008 - The Reader 2007 - Awake 2005 - Casanova 2003 - The United States Of Leland 2003 - Hollywood Homicide 2002 - Darkness 2002 - Queen of the Damned 2000 - Chocolat 1999 - Mystery Men 1999 - The Ninth Gate 1998 - Polish Wedding 1998 - Hamilton 1995 - Lumière et compagnie 1993 - Mr. Jones 1988 - The Unbearable Lightness of Being 1976 - Ansikte mot ansikte

BIOGRAPHY:

Swedish-born Lena Olin already had a successful career as an actress before she came to Hollywood. She acted at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm and was directed by Ingmar Bergman. Her father. Stig Olin, was also an actor and played in six of Bergman's films. Lena also belongs to the Bergman "family." As a young actress, she played in the great classics of William Shakespeare (I), Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg. She made her international debut as a movie actress in Efter repetitionen (1984) (TV) (aka "After the Rehearsal"), directed by Bergman. In western Europe she became well known in the political movie The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) as Sabina, in a story about the Prague spring (1968). After coming to the US, she played mostly distinguished, exotic temptresses, intelligent women and crude vamps. Bergman had developed Lena's artistic gift to play different human emotions and express them in a subtle way. Sydney Pollack, director of Out of Africa (1985), rewrote the screenplay for _Havana (1990)_ especially for her. This explains why this film recalls associations with the classic Casablanca (1942), starring Ingrid Bergman (I), also from Sweden. Olin received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Enemies: A Love Story (1989). She went on to have a choice role in Chocolat (2000), which received a Best Picture Oscar nomination, and received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. She made a move to the smaller screen and played the role for one season as the deliciously evil Irina Derevko, the mother to Jennifer Garner (I)'s Sydney Bristow in the series "Alias" (2001). Olin received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.


TRIVIA:

• Considered for the role of Catwoman in _Batman Returns (1992)_ (qv).
• Sister of singer 'Mats Olin' (qv).
• (1998) Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
• Member of Sweden's Royal Dramatic Theatre (1980-1994).
• Has a fine singing voice. Recorded, a.o., Swedish song "Människors glädje" (written and composed by her father 'Stig Olin' (qv)) and Swedish country/folk tune "Sommarbrevet (Jag skrev ett brev)" in the 1970s (Polar Music, Sweden).
• Was a top student. Graduated with 4,9 average in her graduation scores (the highest in Sweden is 5.0). After failing twice in the test for drama school, she began to study medicine at university to become a doctor. However, she was convinced by 'Ingmar Bergman' (qv) (who had directed her father in several films and watched Lena play amateur theater) to try a third time. She did and was admitted (and gave up medicine).
• For the role of Masha in _Enemies: A Love Story (1989)_ (qv), she received the New York Film Critics Award for Best Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination.
• Before becoming an actress Lena worked both as a sub teacher (in languages) and as a hospital nurse (she first studied medicine at university) back in Sweden.