Stefán Karl Stefánsson

Stefán Karl Stefánsson ( , ; 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018) was an Icelandic actor and singer. He was best known for portraying Robbie Rotten, the antagonist of the children's television series LazyTown.

Career Stefán Karl's career started in 1994 at the age of 19, when he worked as a puppeteer for television. During his years as a puppeteer, he had also been studying at the Drama Academy of Iceland. However, he was unsatisfied with the perspectives of Icelandic drama standards. He recalled that his principal at his high school said that "acting is not about making faces and changing your face", which he disagreed with.

Later, Stefán Karl was invited by Magnús Scheving, an Icelandic gymnast, to portray one of the characters in the second LazyTown play. Magnús created the plays due to his concerns about Iceland's younger generation lacking sufficient physical exercise. Stefán Karl explained that "[Magnús] wanted the kids to get healthier, so he created this musical called LazyTown. He played Sportacus, the fitness fanatic, and I was Robbie Rotten, the guy who liked to stay indoors and sleep". After initial success with the musical, Nickelodeon eventually made a deal with the creators of LazyTown to air the first 40 episodes of LazyTown along with a special studio built in Iceland. During the first few years of LazyTown in the early 2000s, Stefán Karl initially knew no English, but he soon became fluent. , Tourette syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder and dyslexia. He lived in Los Angeles with wife Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, three daughters, and one son. In June 2018, he was awarded the Order of the Falcon. Stefán Karl was the nephew of actor and comedian Magnús Ólafsson and cousin of former footballer Hörður Magnússon.

Illness and death Stefán Karl announced in October 2016 that he had been diagnosed with bile duct cancer. A GoFundMe campaign was subsequently created by LazyTown head writer Mark Valenti to cover his living costs when he became too ill to work. The campaign was popularized by various YouTube users uploading parodies of Stefán Karl's work, and linking to the GoFundMe page, which led to the songs "We Are Number One" and "The Mine Song" from LazyTown becoming Internet memes. In August 2017, Stefán Karl stated he was in remission. He clarified on his GoFundMe campaign that while his metastases had been removed after successful liver surgery in June 2017, he still had the disease and had refused further adjuvant therapy.

In March 2018, Stefán Karl's cancer was diagnosed as inoperable. He said that he was undergoing chemotherapy to prolong his life. In April 2018, he announced that he had chosen to discontinue chemotherapy, and proceeded to shut down all his social media accounts.

Stefán Karl died on 21 August 2018 at the age of 43. His wife stated, "Per Stefan's wishes, there will be no funeral. His earthly remains will be scattered in secrecy in a distant ocean."

Legacy His manager, Cheryl Edison, announced that the Stefán Karl Academy & Center for the Performing Arts would be launched in Switzerland in 2019 as a memorial to his career. Several internet petitions have been started calling for a statue of Stefán Karl to be erected in his home town of Hafnarfjörður. As of June 2022, it has received over 528,000 signatures.

Filmography Stefán Karl has been credited in various works including plays, television series, films, and games.

Theatre Year Title Role Notes 1997–1999 The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling 1998–1999 Palace of Crows by Einar Örn Gunnarsson Ivanov by Anton Chekhov 1999–2000 1000 Island Dressing by Hallgrímur Helgason Little Shop of HorrorsOrin Scrivello, D.D.S. A Midsummer Night's Dream Glanni Glæpur í Latabæ by Magnús Scheving and Sigurdur Sigurjónsson Glanni Glæpur (Robbie Rotten) Primary antagonist 2000–2001 Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones Singin' in the Rain by Comden, Green, Freed and BrownCosmo Brown 2000–2002The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov 2001–2002 Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand 2002–2003 Noises Off by Michael Frayn Life x 3 by Yasmina Reza 2008–2015 Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical The Grinch Baltimore and Boston (2008)Los Angeles (2009)North American tour (2010–14)Worcester, Massachusetts and Appleton, Wisconsin (2015)

Films Year Title Role Notes 1994 Áramótaskaup New Reporter, many others Debut filmTV film 1995 Privacy Student First feature film 1999 Skaupið: 1999 Robbie Williams, many others TV film 2001 Regina Manni – Police Officer 2001 Áramótaskaup TV film 2002 Stella for Office Ingimundur 2002 Litla lirfan ljóta The Worm 2002 Áramótaskaup Many roles TV film 2006 Night at the Museum Miscellaneous crew 2007 Anna and the Moods Voiceover 2009 Jóhannes Diddi 2011 Thor Miscellaneous crew 2011 Polite People Lárus Skjaldarson Lead actor 2014Harry Og Heimir Símon

Television Year Title Role Notes 1998 Baking Trouble Channel 1 program 1999 God Exists... And Love Channel 1Drama Academy of Iceland 2000 Angel No. 5503288 Channel 1 program 2000 Car Mechanic Sketches for Eurovision Channel 1 program 2000 Cars Can Fly Channel 1 program 2004–2007,2013–2014 LazyTown Robbie Rotten Main villain 2015 Titch and Ted Do Maths

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2017 For Honor Viking SoldierFinal role