The Norwegian actor, playwright and director Mathias Calmeyer has passed away after a long illness. He turned 57 years old.
“My eternal love and best friend, the finest father, our dear Mathias Calmeyer, died peacefully at home on St. Hanshaugen on July 23, 2021. The silence you leave behind is almost unbearable,” it says in the obituary.
Sister Gitte Calmeyer speaks to Dagbladet on behalf of the family.
– Mathias was faster, better, first, taller and strongest – it was in many ways our brother in the famous nutshell. But he was far from selfish and self-centered. The love and generosity we received and felt was good and genuine. He was both caring and rebellious at the same time, it is said in a joint statement from Calmeyer’s siblings to Dagbladet.
– Part of the city’s identity
– His unbridled joy over the good team, the big and small parties was an arena he mastered with elegant unsurpassed. Like no other, he could entertain friends and guests for hours with hilarious stories from his eventful life. Now it will be quieter around the table, they continue.
AWARD: In 2014, Mathias Calmeyer received the Radio Theater’s Blue Bird Award. Photo: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB
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Recognized
Calmeyer is the son of actor Joachim Calmeyer. He was married to his wife Janne Langaas, and together they had two children. The 57-year-old has directed TV series such as “Sky Blue”, “Hotel Caesar”, “Captain Sabertooth”, “Friends and Enemies” and the Swedish “New Times”.
He has also starred in, among other things, “Occupied” and been the screenwriter for “Captain Sabertooth – The King of the Sea”.
Calmeyer worked as an actor on many of the major stages in Norway, including Hålogaland Theater, the National Theater, Oslo New Theater and the National Theater. Eventually he worked mainly as a director, playwright and producer in TV, film and radio drama.
In 2014, he received the Radio Theatre’s award Blue Bird. A prize that is awarded annually by Radioteatret in NRK to an artist who has made an extraordinary contribution to the theater last year.
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– Very unreal
Actor Geir Kvarme (58) tells Dagbladet that it was a terrible sad news to receive. He remembers his old friend from theater school as a natural focal point.
SORROW: Actor Geir Kvarme has received the message of death with great sadness. Photo: Fredrik Hagen / NTB
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– He was a very clear person with a burning commitment and dedication. He has done a lot, at the same time as he has done so much as well. He had a kind of natural power around him, and took up a lot of space – but he deserved that space too, he recalls, adding:
– It feels very unreal. I will remember him very well, and I also think a lot about his family who have lost an anchor.
Celebrities in mourning: – A bauta
The head of Lyddrama in NRK and a colleague of Calmeyer, Gunhild Nymoen, will also remember the 57-year-old’s enormous commitment.
– It was with great sadness that we at NRK received the message about Mathias’ death. He was full of knowledge and an incredibly generous colleague who will be deeply missed, she says, adding:
– He was especially known for his community involvement and the fight for the little man, he had a unique ability to see people around him.
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– A man full of life
She says that they have received many inquiries after the death message, and that it is clear that he has left traces with many.
– He was both visible and audible, and had an insane energy. It was a human being full of life, so it is completely absurd that that life is now over.
Actor Lars Bonnevie Hjort (55) studied with Calmeyer at the theater school, and last met him just over a week ago.
– What describes him best was that he was a brave man who stood for what he believed in, a workhorse who was also intensely concerned with the people around him. He was eminent at getting everyone involved, very inclusive and thus had a huge network, he says.
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Hjort says that Calmeyer was able to see the funny in all situations, and that humor was very important to him. He wanted to live life to the fullest.
– He was impatient, and thought that life was too short to be bored. The time was to be filled with something. He was also curious, adventurous and loved to travel. And not least very family-loving.
In grief: – My heart bleeds
NRK’s drama director, Ivar Køhn, will also say a few words on behalf of the state channel, which Calmeyer has been associated with for the past twenty years:
– He was an enormously versatile person and had a very creative power. At work, he contributed with great enthusiasm and joy in everything he did. It will be a big, big loss and loss for us at NRK.
Mathias Calmeyer leaves behind a wife and two children.
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