Vegar Hoel

Vegar Hoel was a Norwegian comedic actor and director best known in the United States for starring in "Dead Snow" (2009). He was born Geir Vegar Hoel. Early in his acting career, he appeared in many Norwegian short films. In 2001, he appeared in the romantic comedy "Mongoland" (2001), a low budget student film that drew a fair amount of attention in his native country. He then appeared on the popular comedic television series "Melonas" (BBC 1 2002-06), a sketch comedy show about a group of women in a variety of embarrassing situations. In 2005, he was named the artist of the year in the city of Stavanger, where "Mongoland" was filmed. He starred in the comedy horror film "Dead Snow" (2009), a film directed by Tommy Wirkola that parodied comedy tropes and made the rounds in American horror circles. Wirkola and Hoel later worked together on "Kill Buljo 2" (2013), the sequel to Wirkola's earlier parody of "Kill Bill" (2003). That same year, Hoel also appeared in Wirkola's "Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters" (2013), a graphic horror twist on the classic children's tale. The film featured a high-profile cast that included Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, and it was produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell. Though the film was critically panned, it quickly earned a cult status among horror fans.