Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, John Wick Star Dies

Michael Nyqvist was 56
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 28, 2017 1:15 AM CDT
Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Star Dead at 56
Cast member Michael Nyqvist arrives at the premiere of "Abduction" in Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011.   (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist, who starred in the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo films and often played villains in Hollywood movies like John Wick, has died. Nyqvist's representative Jenny Tversky said Tuesday that he died after a year-long battle with lung cancer, the AP reports. He was 56. "It is with deep sadness that I can confirm that our beloved Michael, one of Sweden's most respected and accomplished actors, has passed away quietly surrounded by family," Tversky said in a statement on behalf of the family.

Nyqvist is best known worldwide for playing Mikael Blomkvist in the Swedish The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series opposite Noomi Rapace. Daniel Craig played the role in the American adaptation. In Hollywood, Nyqvist played a broad range of memorable roles, including the mob boss who terrorizes Keanu Reeves in John Wick and Tom Cruise's foe in Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol. Nyqvist has a number of films on the slate that are yet to come out, including Terrence Malick's World War II drama Radegund and Thomas Vinterberg's Kursk, about the 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster. He is survived by his wife, Catharina, and their children, Ellen and Arthur. (More The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X