We note, with great sadness, the passing of actor Per Oscarsson who perished along with his wife in a house fire, on or about New Year’s Eve.
An actor of extraordinary talent, Oscarsson performed on stage, television and a hundred films in a career that spanned 65 years. He was a Cannes Best Actor for Hunger (1966). He was still working, having last appeared as a recurring character in the films based on Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series.
In 1977, Oscarsson turned in a superb performance as The Monster in Victor Frankenstein, released to television in North America as Terror of Frankenstein.
The film, rigorously faithful to the Mary Shelley novel, suffers from a low budget, pedestrian direction and a pace so slow it sometimes crawls, but Oscarsson’s Monster, a striking, redoubtable figure with a yellow, ravaged face, black lips and piercing eyes, is unforgettable. Underplaying, earnest, and speaking in a soft, accented voice, Oscarsson conveyed pain, bewilderment, menace and barely concealed anger.
Per Oscarsson’s intimate, controlled performance as The Monster remains one of the best on record.
Per Oscarsson’s Wiki page and IMDB page.
