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Nils Asther

Personal Profile

Nils Asther
  • Birth Name:
    Nils Anton Alfhild Asther
  • Date of Birth:
    January 17, 1897
  • Place of Birth:
    Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Place of Death:
    Stockholm, Sweden
  • Date of Death:
    October 13, 1981
  • Height:
    6' 0½"
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    Danish

Family

Nils Asther
  • Spouse:
    Vivian Duncan - divorced
  • Daughter:
    Evelyn

Career

Nils Asther

Trivia

Nils Asther
  • For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Nils Asther has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6705 Hollywood Blvd.
  • In 1935 he was forced to seek work in England after breach of contract lead to him being blacklisted. Although allowed back in 1941, his career in Hollywood dwindled throughout the 1940s, and he soon returned to Sweden, where he remained an active actor on stage and television until his death.
  • With the arrival of sound in movies, Asther took voice lessons so as to minimize the presence of his accent.
  • By 1928 his good looks had made him into an intense leading man, playing opposite such stars as Pola Negri, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo with whom he made two films.
  • He soon left for Hollywood, his first film there being released in 1927.
  • He soon began appearing in European films, working with acclaimed directors such as Victor Sjöström.
  • Attended Royal Dramatic Theater School, Stockholm.
  • Was a Danish-born Swedish stage and film actor.

Biography

Nils Asther
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Nils Asther was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1897 and raised in Malmö, Sweden, by his wealthy Swedish parents. After attending the Royal Dramatic Theater School in Stockholm, he began his stage career in Copenhagen. His film debut came in 1916 when the director Mauritz Stiller cast him in the lead role (as an aspiring actor, appropriately enough) in the Swedish film Vingarne (1916).

After working with Victor Sjöström in Sweden and Michael Curtiz in Germany, Asther moved to Hollywood in 1927, where his exotic looks landed him romantic roles with co-stars such as Greta Garbo, Pola Negri, and Joan Crawford. Although his foreign accent was a hindrance in "talkies", his Hollywood career continued until 1934 when he was blacklisted for breaking a contract and went to Britain for four years.

After his return to Hollywood in 1938, his career declined and by 1949 he was driving a truck. In 1958, he returned to Sweden, where he remained until his death, making occasional appearances in television and on stage.

Filmography

Nils Asther

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