Þorsteinn Bachmann

Acting

Þorsteinn Bachmann

Born

1965-10-25 (60)

Place of birth

Reykjavík, Iceland

Known for

Acting

Credits

62 titles

Þorsteinn Bachmann (born 25 October 1965) is an Icelandic actor. He is known for his role as Móri in Life in a Fishbowl. In 2015 he won an Edda Award for that same role. Bachmann grew up in the Fossvogur area of Reykjavík, Iceland before moving to Breiðholt when he was 10 years old. He did not do well in school in the early years. Looking back he remembers, that he was barely able to read or write before changing schools from Fossvogur to the one in Breiðholt. Bachmann graduated from the Icelandic Drama School in 1991. Since graduation he has worked with theatre groups in Reykjavík and Akureyri and was president of the latter for a few years. He has held many acting courses, and has served…

Known for

True Detective poster
8.3

An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

True Detective

2014

Trapped poster
7.3

The body of a murder victim turns up in a small Icelandic village just as a major snowstorm cuts the region off from the rest of the world.

Trapped

2015

King & Conqueror poster
7.3

Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy are two men destined to face each other at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Two former allies, neither of whom had aspired to the British throne, are forced, by circumstances and their personal obsession, to wage war over possession of the crown.

King & Conqueror

2025

Against the Ice poster
6.8

In 1909, two explorers fight to survive after they're left behind while on a Danish expedition in ice-covered Greenland.

Against the Ice

2022

Tom of Finland poster
6.6

Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

Tom of Finland

2017

Katla poster
6.9

A year after a subglacial volcano erupts, mysterious elements from prehistoric times emerge from the melting ice, bringing unforeseen consequences.

Katla

2021

Film credits

2020s · 9 titles

Against the Ice poster
6.8

In 1909, two explorers fight to survive after they're left behind while on a Danish expedition in ice-covered Greenland.

Against the Ice

2022

When the Light Breaks poster
6.7

When the light breaks on a long summer's day in Iceland. From one sunset to another, Una, a young art student, encounters love, friendship, sorrow and beauty.

When the Light Breaks

2024

Áramótaskaup: 2025 poster
7.0

Áramótaskaup: 2025 is an annual Icelandic TV movie satirizing the events of the past year.

Áramótaskaup: 2025

2025

Summerlight and Then Comes The Night poster
6.5

The village is brimming with stories and if you listen closely it might tell you a few. Perhaps the one about the businessman who dreams in Latin, or the one about the delicate boy who carves moorland birds, or maybe the one of the open-air sexual affair that has explosive consequences.

Summerlight and Then Comes The Night

2022

DABB poster
NR

The year is 2035. Civil war rages in America, poverty at an all time high, but Fannar and Lilja are just going to a dinner party.

DABB

2026

The Last Fishing Trip poster
5.5

Six friends on their annual fishing trip realize leaving wives, work and worries at home is really hard work. What was supposed to be a cozy fishing trip, turns out to be a downward spiral to Hell. Let's go fishing.

The Last Fishing Trip

2020

Sense poster
NR

Vigdís, a young and ambitious partner at a law firm, mysteriously wakes up one day to a disturbing dystopian reality.

Sense

2024

Áramótaskaup 2021 poster
6.0

Annual TV movie that makes fun of the past year.

Áramótaskaup 2021

2021

The Very Last Fishing Trip poster
4.5

A group of friends goes on their annual salmon fishing trip to relax in the countryside. The newcomers in the group really try their hand at endurance and the tour goes quickly and safely into the sink out of new and old sins.

The Very Last Fishing Trip

2022

2010s · 27 titles

Tom of Finland poster
6.6

Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

Tom of Finland

2017

And Breathe Normally poster
6.7

At the edge of Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, two women’s lives will intersect – for a brief moment – while trapped in circumstances unforeseen. Between a struggling Icelandic mother and an asylum seeker from Guinea-Bissau, a delicate bond will form as both strategize to get their lives back on track.

And Breathe Normally

2018

Under the Tree poster
6.6

When Baldvin and Inga's next door neighbours complain that a tree in their backyard casts a shadow over their sundeck, what starts off as a typical spat between neighbours in the suburbs unexpectedly and violently spirals out of control.

Under the Tree

2017

Áramótaskaup: 2014 poster
6.0

Áramótaskaup: 2014 is an annual Icelandic TV movie satirizing the events of the past year.

Áramótaskaup: 2014

2014

Korríró poster
NR

The tale of Goldilocks is sometimes viewed as a cautionary tale that imparts a lesson about the hazards of wandering off and exploring unknown territory. The point about safety and shelter. But in its essence it was a tale about an intruder who could not control herself when encountering the possessions of others.

Korríró

2011

Áramótaskaup: 2018 poster
NR

Áramótaskaup: 2018 is an Icelandic TV movie satirizing the events of the past year.

Áramótaskaup: 2018

2018

Let Me Fall poster
5.9

When 15-year-old Magnea meets Stella, everything changes. Stella's no-holds-barred lifestyle drags them both into a world of drugs, which brings serious consequences for each of them, and their relationship. Twelve years later their paths cross again, and a reckoning between them becomes unavoidable.

Let Me Fall

2018

Reverse poster
6.0

Two childhood friends decide to drive around Iceland backward to raise money for charity. Soon after they set out, however, they discover that perhaps this wasn't the best idea. Nothing goes as planned - in fact, almost everything goes wrong.

Reverse

2015

The County poster
6.2

A widowed farmer begins a new life on her own terms by fighting against corruption and injustice in her community.

The County

2019

Volcano poster
6.9

Hannes is an old man who has grown apart from his children. Recently retired when his wife gets ill he tries to reconcile with them and to atone for his cold demeanor in the past.

Volcano

2011

How about that... poster
NR

An elderly woman feels that she's leading a too lonely a life so she decides to turn things around.

How about that...

2019

No artwork available
NR

Marta and Johann, a retired couple, invest their life savings with banker Bjarni who has promised to double their money in a convoluted financial scheme. However, they lose it, and subsequently, the couple decide to pay a visit to Bjarni and take matters into their own hands.

The Pension Gang

2012

The Oath poster
6.0

When his daughter's criminal boyfriend becomes an increasing threat to the family, a father must take action to protect them.

The Oath

2016

Áramótaskaup: 2016 poster
3.0

Áramótaskaup: 2016 is an annual Icelandic TV movie satirizing the events of the past year.

Áramótaskaup: 2016

2016

Áramótaskaup: 2015 poster
9.0

Áramótaskaup: 2015 is an annual Icelandic TV movie satirizing the events of the year.

Áramótaskaup: 2015

2015

Jitters poster
5.9

An unexpected first kiss causes Gabriel to feel the electrifying "jitters" of love and lust with the free-spirited Marcus; a perfect way to end a Summer studying abroad. Realizing he is gay, Gabriel returns home and is immediately scrutinized by his family and friends who notice he’s different. But as the school year launches with Gabriel distracted with parties and his friends’ own dramas, Marcus returns, reigniting the hot, thrilling emotions of one’s first crush. Jitters fires head-first into the topsy-turvy world of first love with an attractive cast and pulsating soundtrack, making it a smartly refreshing journey into the queer, teen experience.

Jitters

2010

Life in a Fishbowl poster
6.3

Three tales of three people who have a lasting effect on one another. A young writer whose career is skyrocketing finds himself in a stormy marriage. He divorces his wife after the death of their daughter, shuts himself from the outside world and drinks himself to death over a twenty-year period.

Life in a Fishbowl

2014

Either Way poster
6.3

Two employees of the Icelandic Road Administration spend the summer painting lines on the winding roads as they both find themselves at a crossroads in their lives.

Either Way

2011

XL poster
4.3

Ex-family man, avid womanizer, heavy-drinking, parliamentarian, Leifur, is forced to go into rehab by his political rival, following a well publicized art exhibition brawl. Full of denial, Leifur throws a party before checking in, but when it´s time to leave – very few do, turning the night into an adventure exclusively for those old enough to vote.

XL

2013

Prisonguards poster
NR

The job of a prisonguard is a strange one; they work on the border of free society and prison. This documentary follows the lives of the prisonguards as they do their job of guarding the prisoners.

Prisonguards

2017

Chess Story poster
4.0

The battle of two great chess players to mentally overpower one another takes on a dimension of life-or-death physicality as their duel begins to echo with the violent sounds of warfare from centuries past.

Chess Story

2011

Agnes Joy poster
5.3

When a new neighbour arrives at Rannveig´s doorstep, her frustrated everyday life suddenly changes. The cloud of hopelessness that surrounds her marriage and her relationship with her almost adult daughter lifts temporarily but soon the family is forced to confront new and unknown challenges in their relationship.

Agnes Joy

2019

The Grandad poster
6.3

Gudjón has led a safe life. Suddenly faced with retirement and growing older, he is forced to take a good, hard look at his marriage. A dramatic but often lighthearted story about life at a crossroads and the meaning of it all.

The Grandad

2014

Far Away War poster
NR

During the invasion of Gaza in 2008-2009 by the Israeli army, 1400 people were killed - there of 400 children. By the time the last cries of protest died down those names were already forgotten.

Far Away War

2010

Stormland poster
6.0

The tragicomic story of lone rebel Boddi Steingrimsson who lives in a small town in Northern Iceland. Boddi hates materialistic modern society in its entirety and on his blog-page he comically criticizes everything and everyone. Before long he has become an outlaw in his own hometown, just like his viking hero, Grettir. After a series of dramatic mishaps, he snaps and goes riding down south to the big city on his sturdy steed Nietzsche. He's got a gun in his pocket. He's ready for the revolution.

Stormland

2011

Ferox poster
3.9

Arnaldur, a 16-year-old boy living a normal teenager's life in Reykjavik. One day, coming home from school, he finds his brother in the bathtub, dead. Despite clear signs of a suicide, Arnaldur is convinced that his brother's teacher is somehow responsible so he decides to take matters into his own hands and avenge his brother.

Ferox

2013

Hullabaloo poster
5.0

The time is 20 years and a few months to the millennium, and the unrecognized, self-proclaimed genius Orm Odins has to deal with the age-old existentialist dilemma that is teenage hood. With his final exams looming, his hormones in overdrive and love just around the corner what can a great poet do to survive? Our setting is Reykjavik in the eighties, a city that is going through a growth spur not unlike our eloquent hero. The mullet is just about to put its mark on a unsuspecting generation, there is no TV on Thursdays, only one radio station, beer is still and outlawed commodity and somewhere within the city limits the first female president in the world will see has a dream.

Hullabaloo

2010

2000s · 9 titles

The Icelandic Dream poster
8.2

A business man and weekend dad is getting worn down by family trouble, business failure and the continuous loss of his favorite football team. He decides to start importing Bulgarian energy cigarettes in a last ditch attempt at success ... his best friend soon advises that suicide might be his best option.

The Icelandic Dream

2000

A Man Like Me poster
7.0

A postal worker falls in love with the Chinese waitress at a Chinese restaurant. They start dating and quickly fall in and out of love, the waitress returning to China. The young man looks for comfort in his father but he's too preoccupied with winning the Eurovision song contest. After listening to loser friends talk about what Sylvester Stallone would do in his situation, the postal worker decides to buy a ticket to China and follow his love to her home.

A Man Like Me

2002

Eleven Men Out poster
5.3

The star player of Icelands top football team causes a stir when he admits to being gay to his team mates and then goes on a journey to discover himself (with the help of the local press). He soon finds himself on the bench for most of his teams matches and decides to call it quits and join a small amateur team made up of men like himself - gay guys trying to play football in a straight world of Icelandic fishing culture machoism

Eleven Men Out

2005

The Nail poster
6.0

Robert is an important man with big responsibilities. One day he has an accident that blurs the border between the man and the beast within. Robert acts out and suffers the consequences.

The Nail

2008

The Quiet Storm poster
4.0

A young girl breaks up from her petit bourgeoisie home and her piano lessons to lead an entirely new life, as one of the personnel at an institution for juvenile delinquents in a remote part of Northern Iceland. It is the 1970s and the young people in charge of the place are heavily into flower power, sitar music and solving problems by frank talk sessions with the delinquents. However, the hippies, who themselves despise authority, soon find their own authority under attack by the rebellious youngsters, especially after the arrival of a mysterious young girl. Then a violent incident occurs that will have a decisively detrimental effect on relations at the institution.

The Quiet Storm

2007

Thicker Than Water poster
5.6

Pétur is an optometrist happily married to Ásta. They are expecting a child but already have a 10 year old boy named Örn. On coincidense Pétur finds out that he is not Örn's biological father.

Thicker Than Water

2006

Out of the Ash and Into the Fire poster
1.0

A streetsweeper finds a unconscious woman while cleaning the streets and decides to help her out by bringing her to his home, but little does he know that the woman is lives a life of crime.

Out of the Ash and Into the Fire

2000

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Scratches: Part 4

2006

Hotel Earth poster
NR

Three children take their grandfather to the graveyard to visit their dead grandmother. When they find out that granddad is tired of living and is actually waiting to die the children get confused, especially the youngest one. Granddad has to find a way to explain to her that death is not the worst thing in the world, which starts a chain of bizarre events. This becomes a learning full experience for the youngest one, even though it leads to a tragic ending.

Hotel Earth

2008

Series credits

True Detective poster
8.3

An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

True Detective

2014

Trapped poster
7.3

The body of a murder victim turns up in a small Icelandic village just as a major snowstorm cuts the region off from the rest of the world.

Trapped

2015

King & Conqueror poster
7.3

Harold of Wessex and William of Normandy are two men destined to face each other at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Two former allies, neither of whom had aspired to the British throne, are forced, by circumstances and their personal obsession, to wage war over possession of the crown.

King & Conqueror

2025

Katla poster
6.9

A year after a subglacial volcano erupts, mysterious elements from prehistoric times emerge from the melting ice, bringing unforeseen consequences.

Katla

2021

Black Sands poster
4.8

A troubled police officer is forced back to her hometown. Confronting her abusive mother is inescapable but the discovery of a body changes everything. She's forced to search for a dangerous serial killer while stuck in a dark pit.

Black Sands

2021

The Darkness poster
5.0

Special investigator DI Hulda Hermannsdóttir tackles one last cold case before forced into early retirement. This one relates the mysterious and shocking murder of a young Russian asylum seeker a year prior.

The Darkness

2024

Reykjavik 112 poster
6.3

A woman is brutally murdered in front of her young daughter, the sole witness to the crime. The challenging case is assigned to Detective Huldar, who must unravel a web of perplexing clues while dealing with a traumatized child who has been rendered mute. To help unlock the girl's memories, Huldar seeks the expertise of a child psychologist-only to discover it's Freyja, a woman he recently had an awkward date with. Forced to collaborate, Freyja and Huldar must race against time to stop a killer who strikes again and remains perilously close.

Reykjavik 112

2025

Case poster
6.6

A dramatic thriller about a broken lawyer who seeks redemption through his investigation into the suspicious suicide of a teenage ballet prodigy.

Case

2015

Balls poster
4.0

Years after burning out and falling from grace, a middle aged, 90s handball legend seeks to redeem himself by returning to his childhood club to coach the women's team where he clashes with a new generation of women in a post #MeToo society.

Balls

2023

The Press poster
5.0

When Lára, a journalist on maternity leave finds herself newly single and in deep financial trouble, her outlook is bleak. Enter handsome and notorious businessman Hrafn: aware of her intuitive skills as an investigator, he hires her to prove his innocence in a case involving the murder of a young woman. Lára is saved from her desperate financial situation, but at what cost?

The Press

2007

My Funeral poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

My Funeral

2020

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Ríkið

—

No artwork available
NR

An Icelandic sketch show where Icelandic comedians Saga Garðarsdóttir and Steindi Jr. appear in every sketch

Draumahöllin

2024

Behind the camera