Björn Andrésen

Björn Johan Andrésen (born 26 January 1955) is a Swedish actor and musician. He is best known for playing the fourteen-year-old Tadzio in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film adaptation of the 1912 Thomas Mann novella Death in Venice.

For those of a similar name, see Bjorn Anderson (disambiguation).
Björn Andrésen
Björn Andrésen in Death in Venice (1971)
Born
Björn Johan Andrésen

(1955-01-26) 26 January 1955
Stockholm, Sweden
OccupationActor, musician
Years active1970–present
Spouse(s)Suzanna Roman (div.)[1]
Children1

Early life

As a student Andrésen attended the Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm.[2]

Career
Left: Andrésen in 2019 Right: Andrésen in 1971

Andrésen had only appeared in one film, En kärlekshistoria (1970) at the time he was cast in Death in Venice, which gained him international recognition. While the film performed relatively poorly at the box office, Andrésen was noted for his performance as Tadzio, the beautiful young Polish boy with whom the film's older protagonist Gustav von Aschenbach (played by Dirk Bogarde) becomes obsessed. Film historian Lawrence J. Quirk commented in his study The Great Romantic Films (1974) that some shots of Andrésen "could be extracted from the frame and hung on the walls of the Louvre or the Vatican." Following the Cannes Film Festival a year after the premiere of Death in Venice, Andrésen became widely known in international headlines as "the most beautiful boy in the world".[3]

Rumors circulated in the United States at the time of the film's release as to whether or not Andrésen was homosexual (as the role demanded that he appear to exchange romantic glances with the protagonist, and on another occasion, be kissed and caressed by another teenage boy). Andrésen emphatically denied these, and later recounted his discomfort at being forced by director Luchino Visconti during filming to visit a gay bar, where he attracted the attention of a number of older men.[4]

Eager to dispel the rumors regarding his sexuality and to shed his "pretty boy" image, Andrésen thereafter avoided homosexual roles and parts which he felt would play off of his good looks, and was angry when feminist writer Germaine Greer used a photograph of him on the cover of her book The Beautiful Boy (2003) without his permission.[5] Although Greer did consult photographer David Bailey (who owned the copyright for the image) before publishing the book, Andrésen maintained that it is common practice when a party uses an image of a person which has been copyrighted by a different individual to inform the individual and that he would not have given his consent for Greer to use his picture if she had informed him of her plans.

After the release of Death in Venice, Andrésen spent an extended period of time in Japan, where the film became popular, and he appeared in a number of television commercials and also recorded several pop songs. It is said that his appearance as Tadzio in the film influenced many Japanese anime artists (known for their depictions of young, effeminate men known as "Bishōnen"), especially Keiko Takemiya. Andrésen has had a strong liking for Japan since then and has visited the country again over the years.[6] Björn Andrésen's arrival in Tokyo has been described as being similar to the Beatles landing in the U.S. The young actor was met with mass hysteria and received an enormous amount of female attention.[7]

Andrésen has appeared in several other films.[8] These include Smugglarkungen (1985), Kojan (1992), Pelikaanimies (2004),[9] and Midsommar (2019).

In addition to being an actor, Andrésen is a professional musician, and until recently performed and toured regularly with the Sven Erics dance band.[10][11]

Personal life

Andrésen resides in Stockholm. He has a daughter, Robine (b.1984), with his ex-wife, the poet Suzanna Roman. [12][1] Andrésen and his wife Suzanna had another child, a son named Elvin, who died of Sudden infant death syndrome at 9 months of age. Andrésen went into a long depression following the death of his son. In an interview in 2020, Andrésen stated that he believes he will meet his son again "in the afterlife".[13] Andrésen has 2 grandchildren, a boy and a girl.[14]

Filmography
  • 1970 – A Swedish Love Story (Swedish: En kärlekshistoria)
  • 1971 – Death in Venice
  • 1977 – Bluff Stop
  • 1982 – The Simple-Minded Murderer (Swedish: Den enfaldige mördaren)
  • 1982 – One-Week Bachelors (Swedish: Gräsänklingar)
  • 1985 – The Smuggler King
  • 1986 – Whiskers and peas
  • 1987 – Luminous landing (TV series)
  • 1989 – Dandelion Children (Swedish: Maskrosbarn)
  • 1989 – That was then... (TV series)
  • 1990 – Lucifer - Late summer yellow and black (Swedish: Lucifer – Sensommer gult og sort)
  • 1991 – Agnes Cecilia – en sällsam historia [Agnes Cecilia - a strange story ]
  • 1993 – Kojan
  • 1994 – Rederiet [High Seas or The Shipping Company] (TV series)
  • 2004 – Pelican Men (Swedish: Pelikanmannen)
  • 2004 – The Grave (2004 TV series)
  • 2005 – Lasermannen (TV series) [The Laserman]
  • 2006 – Book of the Worlds (Swedish: Världarnas bok) (TV series)
  • 2010 – Wallander – Arvet [The Heritage]
  • 2016–2017 – Spring Tide (TV series) (Swedish: Springfloden)
  • 2016 – Shelley
  • 2017 – Jordskott (TV series)
  • 2019 – Midsommar

Documentaries
  • 2016: Hotellet [The Hotel][15]

See also

References
  1. "Death in Venice [Morte a Venezia] ***** (1971, Dirk Bogarde, Björn Andrésen, Silvana Mangano, Romolo Valli, Mark Burns, Marisa Berenson) – Classic Film Rview 607". Derek Winnert. 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  2. Ashley Wyman (7 November 2014). "Björn Andresen". Ashley Wyman Online. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-24.
  3. Fallon, Kevin (2021-01-29). "The Tragic Curse of Being the Most Beautiful Boy in the World". Dailybeast. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  4. "'I'm not Germaine's toy,' says cover boy". Fairfax Digital. 2003-10-18. Retrieved 2008-12-25. Andresen said that when he was 16, Visconti would take him to gay clubs where he was made uncomfortable by grown men staring at him: 'They looked at me uncompromisingly as if I was a nice meaty dish.'
  5. Seaton, Matt (2003-10-16). "'I feel used'". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-12-25. Sometimes he still sees his image as Tadzio in a poster or in a cinema flyer; it used to cause him irritation, but not any more. 'My career is one of the few that started at the absolute top and then worked its way down,' he says. 'That was lonely.'
  6. A Gentle Viking. Björn Andrésen Archived 2019-08-03 at the Wayback Machine. 26 November 2018.
  7. Fallon, Kevin (2021-01-30). "The Tragic Curse of Being the 'Most Beautiful Boy in the World'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  8. Filmography
  9. Andrésen may be seen as he is today at the website for Pelikaananimies in which he played a pianist
  10. "The Sven Erics, now without Andresen". Archived from the original on 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2006-04-06.
  11. "Andrésen plays keyboard in his days with the Sven Erics". Archived from the original on 2016-04-13. Retrieved 2006-06-09.
  12. "Skådespelaren Björn Andrésen anklagar sig själv för sonens död". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  13. möter, Katarina Hahr. "Katarina Hahr möter – Lyssna här". Podtail (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  14. Radio, Sveriges. "BJÖRN ANDRESEN: Min passion för mamma blev aldrig besvarad - Katarina Hahr möter". sverigesradio.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  15. "The Hotel (2016)". Svensk Filmdatabas – den bästa källan om svensk film. 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  16. "Sundance: 'The Most Beautiful Boy in the World' Doc Lands at Juno Films". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 January 2021.

Further reading
  • Dye, David. Child and Youth Actors: Filmography of Their Entire Careers, 1914-1985. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1988, p. 6.
  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 308-309.
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