Aksel Hennie received his professional training as an actor at the Norwegian National Academy of Performing Arts in Oslo and was named "Theatre Talent of the Year" by the national newspaper Dagbladet in 2001.
His career in film began with several short films, passing to Norwegian feature films, and acting in a healthy number of television shows.
In 2004 Aksel wrote, directed and played in his own first feature film, Uno [+see also:
trailer
film profile] which has been a hit on the festival circuit. The film won him an Amanda Award as "Best Director", as well as nomination for the European Film Academy's "Discovery Award" in 2005.
In the interview he talks about European film that he believes has developed in the last years and is continuing to develop. In the same way he thinks that also for Norwegian film it has been difficult to attract people, but it has lately been getting easier. In fact he says that there is more attention for Norwegian, Scandinavian and European film in general, and he feels proud of being part of it.