Thomas W. Gabrielsson

Swedish-Danish actor Thomas Gabrielsson was a prolific character actor in Danish features and television for more than a decade before making his English-language debut in the historical action-drama series "The Last Kingdom" (BBC America, 2015- ). Born June 29, 1963 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Gabrielsson abandoned his initial interest in the culinary arts to train as an actor at the Teatro Potlach in Rome. Upon graduation in 1987, he performed in numerous regional theater productions before moving into Danish features and television in 2000. Minor and character roles in both mediums preceded his breakout project, "The Eagle" (DR, 2004-2006), a crime drama series that cast him as a former KGB agent. Gabrielsson soon became a staple of Scandinavian mysteries and police procedurals, including "Wallander" (SVT, 2005-2013), "The Protectors" (DR1, 2008-2010) and "The Killing III" (DR, 2011), as well as occasional forays into comedy like "The Coaches" (SVT, 2012). His popularity on the small screen led to character roles in features like "Arn: The Knight Templar" and the Oscar-nominated "A Royal Affair" (2012), which earned Gabrielsson a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Danish Critics Association. In 2015, Gabrielsson was featured in "The Last Kingdom" (BBC America, 2015- ) as the real-life Danish warlord and future king, Guthrum.