Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is a graduate of Denmark's prestigious Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance. In 2013, he starred opposite Tom Cruise in Universal Pictures' Oblivion, which is written and directed by Joseph Kosinski.  Set on a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, the film follows one man's confrontation with the past, which leads him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. Coster-Waldau has also appeared in the indie drama A Thousand Times Good Night, in which he starsopposite Juliette Binoche.

Coster-Waldau was regular in HBO's epic award-winning television series Game of Thrones, in which he plays the lead role of Jaime Lannister.  In 2011 and 2012, the show was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards.  This critically acclaimed series, created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, is based on the best-selling novels by George R.R. Martin.

After leaving his handprint on the European film and television industry, Coster-Waldau quickly made his transition to American cinema.  In 2001, he began his U.S. career with a starring role in Ridley Scott's critically acclaimed and multiple Academy Award®-winning Black Hawk Down.  He then landed a lead role in Michael Apted's Enigma, co-starring Kate Winslet, Dougray Scott and Saffron Burrows.

Coster-Waldau's charm and incredible range as an actor prompted many of his directors to cast him more than once.  Ridley Scott brought him back for his 2005 epic film Kingdom of Heaven, starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Eva Green.  Additionally, Richard Loncraine, who first cast Coster-Waldau in his 2004 film Wimbledon, alongside Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, brought him back for Firewall, a suspense-filled thriller starring Harrison Ford.

In 2008, Coster-Waldau made his television series debut in the FOX drama New Amsterdam, in which he starred as immortal detective John Amsterdam, and was singled out by many as one of the season's breakout stars.  He was then seen in FOX's telefilm Virtuality, directed by Peter Berg and produced by Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun.

In 2009, Coster-Waldau co-starred opposite Ulrich Thomsen in The Left Wing Gang, a major Danish miniseries based on the true story of Denmark's highest-profile criminal gang, from Denmark's TV 2.  The first of the five episodes gave TV 2 its highest ratings for that year.

Coster-Waldau's additional film credits include Headhunters, based on the novel by best-selling writer Jo Nesbø; Blackthorn,writer Mateo Gil's directorial debut, in which he starred opposite Sam Shepard, Stephen Rea and Eduardo Noriega; and leading roles in the films Nightwatch, Vildspor, which he also co-wrote, Misery Harbour, På Fremmed Mark, 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman, Rembrandt and The Bouncer.

Universal Pictures