Bengt Ekerot

Nils Bengt Folke Ekerot (8 February 1920 – 26 November 1971) was a Swedish actor and stage director best known for portraying Death in The Seventh Seal directed by Ingmar Bergman. In 1956, he directed the world premiere of Long Day's Journey into Night, considered the magnum opus of American playwright Eugene O'Neill.

Early life Ekerot was born in Stockholm.

Career He had several roles in Swedish films, but in Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957) he portrayed Death as a white-faced man in a black cloak. The decision to perform the role in this way was a joint decision between the actor and director. Bergman wrote in his autobiography Images: My Life in Film that the two men "agreed that Death should wear a clown mask, a white clown’s mask. A fusion of a clown mask and a skull."

He also appeared in Bergman's 1958 film, The Magician (also released as Ansiktet (lit. Swedish: "The Face") as Johan Spegel, an ailing vaudevillian.

Death A man with a self-destructive personality, health issues from smoking and excessive drinking affected Ekerot's later career resulting in him losing potential roles. He died from lung cancer in 1971.

Partial filmography

They Staked Their Lives (1940) - Freedom Fighter Hanna in Society (1940) - Fred Hummerberg The Talk of the Town (1941) - Sven Törring Snapphanar (1941) - Lille-Jonas Lågor i dunklet (1942) - Åke Kronström, Student (uncredited) We House Slaves (1942) - Linus Tallhagen Nothing Is Forgotten (1942) - Student at art school (uncredited) Night in Port (1943) - John När ungdomen vaknar (1943) - Lennart Sonja (1943) - Bengt Gentleman with a Briefcase (1943) - Stig Tre söner gick till flyget (1945) - Erik The Rose of Tistelön (1945) - Anton, hennes bror Fram för lilla Märta eller På livets ödesvägar (1945) - Radio Speaker (voice, uncredited) Crime and Punishment (1945) - Studenten 13 stolar (1945) - Clerk (uncredited) Brita in the Merchant's House (1946) - 'Paniken' Interlude (1946) - Tjuven Dynamite (1947) - Allan Axelson Marianne (1953) - Companion (uncredited) Hamlet (1955, TV Movie) - Hamlet, prins av Danmark Stage Entrance (1956) - Johan Eriksson The Seventh Seal (1957) - Death The Jazz Boy (1958) - Erik Jonsson The Magician (1958) - Johan Spegel On a Bench in a Park (1960) - Sam Persson Myten (1966) - Policeman / Social Worker / Guard / Doctor Here Is Your Life (1966) - Byberg Life's Just Great (1967) - The Neighbour Ola & Julia (1967) - Max Who Saw Him Die? (1968) - Eriksson Korridoren (1968) - Birger Olsson (final film role)