Claes Bang

Claes Kasper Bang is a Danish actor and musician who has achieved international recognition through his performances across European and global cinema and television. He is best known for starring as museum curator Christian in the 2017 feature film The Square and as Fjölnir in the 2022 drama The Northman. His major television credits include playing Count Dracula in the 2020 miniseries Dracula, Sasha Mann in the final season of The Affair, and John Paul in the comedy drama Bad Sisters. In addition to acting, he produces music under the moniker This Is Not America.

Born on April 28, 1967, in Odense on the island of Funen, Bang lived primarily with his father after his parents divorced, moving frequently and attending several schools during his youth. His interest in acting developed after participating in a high school production of the musical Hair. Following high school, he engaged in amateur theatre before applying to the Danish National School of Theatre. He was accepted shortly before his twenty-fifth birthday and studied at the institution from 1992 until graduating in 1996.

Bang made his professional theatrical debut in Tudseakvariet at Børneteatret Skægspire and achieved his early television breakthrough in the 1997 Danish series Taxa. From 2001 to 2004, he was a permanent ensemble member at Aalborg Teater, where he first performed a stage monologue based on Jan Guillou's novel Evil. Bang later acquired the rights to the production and presented the monologue nearly 400 times across various countries, delivering English-language performances in Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, and South Africa.

Between 2006 and 2008, Bang gained substantial public recognition for his role in the Danish police drama Anna Pihl. This led to numerous German-language roles across television series such as SOKO Wismar and Cologne P.D., as well as films including Jungle Child. His broader international breakthrough arrived with Ruben Östlund's 2017 film The Square, which earned him the European Film Award for Best Actor, making him the first Danish actor to receive the award.

Bang subsequently took on high-profile screen roles, including the lead in Dracula and the antagonist in Bad Sisters. In 2020, he contributed to the self-filmed remote pilot Little Room, created to raise funds for entertainment workers affected by the pandemic. He later appeared in Robert Eggers' 2022 film The Northman, filming under isolated conditions due to health restrictions.

In 2024, Bang played officer Hans Günther von Dincklage in the series The New Look and starred as the title figure in the movie William Tell. He portrayed architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen in the 2025 historical feature The Great Arch, receiving a César Award nomination for Best Actor. In 2026, he appeared in the action comedy The Wrecking Crew, with additional upcoming commitments including the historical drama I Is Another and the action feature Painter.

Outside of acting, Bang launched his musical side project This Is Not America in 2002 to create and compose songs independently. He released the project's debut album Dislocated in 2010 and has featured musical collaborations with screen co-stars such as Charlotte Munck and Marina Schiptjenko. Bang married stylist and photographer Lis Louis-Jensen in 2010 after meeting her during a 2006 theatre production, and he is stepfather to her two children.