Joel Kinnaman

Charles Joel Nordström Kinnaman (; born 25 November 1979 ) is a Swedish-American actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in the 2010 Swedish film Easy Money and the Johan Falk crime series. Kinnaman is known internationally for his television roles as Detective Stephen Holder in AMC's The Killing, Takeshi Kovacs in the first season of Altered Carbon, and Governor Will Conway in the American version of House of Cards. He has also played Alex Murphy in the 2014 RoboCop remake, and Rick Flag in the DC Comics superhero films Suicide Squad and The Suicide Squad (2021). From 2019 to 2026, he starred as NASA astronaut Ed Baldwin in the Apple TV+ science fiction drama series For All Mankind.

Early life Kinnaman was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. His mother, Bitte , a therapist, is a Swedish citizen. Kinnaman is a dual citizen of Sweden and the United States. His father, whose family was from the American Midwest, is of Irish and Scottish descent; his maternal grandmother is of Ukrainian Jewish descent.

He has five sisters, one of whom is actress Melinda Kinnaman (paternal half-sister). During his childhood, Kinnaman learned two languages as he "spoke English with my dad and Swedish with my mom". and spent a year in Del Valle, Texas, as a high school exchange student. After graduating from high school, he decided to travel around the world. To finance the trips, he worked in various jobs as a beer factory line worker and roof-sweeper in Norway, and as a bar manager in the French Alps. He then traveled for four to five months at a time over a period of two years in Southeast Asia and South America, the latter with fellow Scandinavian actor David Dencik.

Career

Kinnaman began his acting career as a child actor in Swedish soap opera (1990). His older sister was dating one of the show's directors, and he asked Kinnaman to audition for a part on the show. After portraying Felix Lundström in 22 episodes, he stepped away from acting.

Kinnaman restarted his acting career in 2002. He also worked on productions staged at the Backa Theatre in Gothenburg. He graduated from Malmö Theatre Academy in 2007 and started working at the Gothenburg City Theatre. In the same year, he attracted the attention of Swedish media with the role of Raskolnikov in a stage adaptation of Crime and Punishment. and also earned him a Guldbagge Award in the Best Actor category.

Looking to expand his acting career, Kinnaman hired an agent in the United States. Between April 2011 and August 2014, Kinnaman had a four-season starring role as Detective Stephen Holder in the AMC television series The Killing, based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Kinnaman was one of the contenders for the lead roles in Thor (2011) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). and also starred in the indie film Lola Versus. On 3 March 2012, it was confirmed that Kinnaman would play the lead role of Alex James Murphy/RoboCop in the remake of 1987's RoboCop. The film was released in February 2014. In 2015, he starred in the action thriller Run All Night and mystery drama Child 44.

In 2016, Kinnaman played Rick Flag in the Warner Bros. film adaptation of DC Comics anti-hero team Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer. He reprised his role as Rick Flag in its 2021 sequel/soft reboot, The Suicide Squad, directed by James Gunn. He also starred in the independent drama-thriller film Edge of Winter, in which he plays Elliot Baker, a father of two who takes his children on a shooting trip that goes wrong. The film was released on demand on 27 July 2016, and in select theaters on 12 August 2016.

Between 2016 and 2019, Kinnaman worked on four different original productions of streaming television networks such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+. Kinnaman played Governor Will Conway in Seasons 4 and 5 of the American version of House of Cards on the streaming service Netflix, and the protagonist Takeshi Kovacs in Netflix's Altered Carbon, an adaption of Richard K. Morgan's hardboiled cyberpunk science fiction novel of the same name. Also in 2019, Kinnaman starred as Erik in the Amazon Prime Video series Hanna, an adaptation of the 2011 action film of the same name. Since 2019, Kinnaman starred as NASA astronaut Ed Baldwin in the Apple TV+ original science fiction space drama series For All Mankind.

In 2019, Kinnaman played Pete Koslow in Andrea Di Stefano's action thriller film The Informer. In 2020, Kinnaman starred as Thomas Steinman in Yuval Adler's post-war thriller The Secrets We Keep. Kinnaman also starred in Jérémie Guez's crime drama Brothers by Blood which was released in the United States in 2021. In January 2021, it was announced that Kinnaman was cast in Season 4 of the In Treatment reboot at HBO. He will star as Adam, the on and off boyfriend of the main character Dr. Brooke Taylor (played by Uzo Aduba). He also reprised his role as Ed Baldwin in Season 2 of For All Mankind, which aired in 2021.

Between 2022 and 2023, Kinnaman reprised his role as Ed Baldwin in Season 3 of For All Mankind and once again for Season 4, airing in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Personal life Kinnaman grew up with the condition of pectus excavatum, with a caved-in appearance of the chest. He underwent surgery prior to the filming of Altered Carbon, inserting two metal bars to push the sternum outward.

Kinnaman is a fan of his hometown football club Hammarby IF from an early age.

In his roles in American movies, he is said to have "no detectable accent," something, he admits, on which he has had to work when he realized his American accent was "not perfect."

Kinnaman was married to Swedish tattoo artist Cleo Wattenström from 2015 to 2018. In early 2019, he began a relationship with Swedish-Australian model Kelly Gale. The couple announced their engagement in January 2021 and, at the 2024 Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada, they were married in an "intimate ceremony."

On 6 August 2021, Kinnaman obtained a temporary restraining order against Gabriella Magnusson, who, he alleged, was threatening to extort him on the basis of their 2018 "brief romantic" relationship. Magnusson denied any intention to extort Kinnaman. The preliminary investigation by law enforcement and the Swedish Prosecution Authority concluded, in October 2022, that no crime could be proven to have taken place and that, therefore, the case is closed.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes 2002 Kalle 2003 Andreas 2005 Dickan Storm Bartender 2007 Arn – The Knight Templar Sverker Karlsson 2008 Arn – The Kingdom at Road's End Sverker Karlsson 2009 In Your Veins Erik Johan Falk Frank Wagner – National Target Simon & Malou Stefan 2010 Easy Money Johan "JW" Westlund 2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Christer Malm The Darkest Hour Skyler 2012 Safe House Keller Lola Versus Luke Easy Money II: Hard to Kill Johan "JW" Westlund Frank Wagner 2013 Easy Money III: Life Deluxe Johan "JW" Westlund 2014 RoboCop Alex Murphy / RoboCop 2015 Knight of Cups Errol Run All Night Mike Conlon Child 44 Wasilij Nikitin 2016 Suicide Squad Rick Flag Edge of Winter Elliot Baker 2019 The Informer Pete Koslow 2020 Brothers by Blood Michael Flood The Secrets We Keep Thomas Steinman 2021 The Suicide Squad Rick Flag 2023 Sympathy for the Devil The Driver / David Chamberlain / James Levine Silent Night Brian Godlock Also executive producer 2024 The Silent Hour Detective Frank Shaw 2025 Icefall Harlan 2026 Agent Taft Post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes 1990–1991 Felix Lundström 33 episodes, Swedish TV series; Credited as Joe Nordström 2006 Gurra Swedish TV series 2008 Gustav 2 episodes (#1.62 and #1.64), Swedish TV series 2009 Byron 3 episodes, Swedish TV series 2011–2014 The Killing Stephen Holder 44 episodes 2016–2017 House of Cards William "Will" Conway 15 episodes (seasons 4–5) 2018–2020 Altered Carbon Takeshi Kovacs / Elias Ryker 11 episodes 2019–2021 Hanna Erik Heller 12 episodes 2019–2026 For All Mankind Edward Baldwin Lead role (seasons 1–5); 43 episodes 2021 In Treatment Adam 8 episodes (season 4) 2025 Peacemaker Rick Flag Jr., Rick Flag Jr. (Earth–X) Episode: "Another Rick Up My Sleeve" (uncredited)2026Jo Nesbø's Detective HoleTom WaalerMain role; 9 episodesImperfect WomenRobertMain role; 8 episodes John Nixon Lead role; also executive producer Bishop GravesLead role TBA Main role

Awards and nominations + Awards and nominations received by Joel Kinnaman Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2009 Såstaholms pris till Höstsols minne Guldbagge Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Johan Falk – Gruppen för särskilda insatser 2011 Guldbagge Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role Easy Money 2012 Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor on Television The Killing 2022 Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor on Television (Streaming) For All Mankind