Nina Ellen Ødegård

After graduating, Nina Ellen Ødegård returned to Rogaland Theatre the autumn of 2002. Her first assignment was the role of Chris in Dancing at Lughnasa. The spring of 2004 she played Jenny in the popular local comedy of Gudlabarnet te na mor* (Mother's Golden Child), then The Sister in the worldwide premiere of Jon Fosse's The Dead Dogs.

Since then she has played, among other roles, Nicholas' sister Kate in Nicholas Nickleby, Margarita in The Master and Margarita, the title role in Miss Julie and Ariel in The Tempest, all of the above in Stavanger. At Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre) she has interpreted the roles of Bess in Breaking the Waves, Nora in A Doll's House and the daughter Eva in Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata. She has acted in the movies Play and All for Egil.

Nina Ellen Ødegård won The Hedda Award 2005 in the particularly excellent performance category for the role of Josie in Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill at Rogaland Theatre.

At the time, The Hedda Jury gave the following reason:

"This year the award goes to an actress who, despite her relatively young age, has already accepted the challenge of several great assignments. As a result of this, the award winner seems to be one of the most remarkable artists at her theatre. We are dealing with a versatile actress who gives life to main characters and less central parts, the classic repertoire's more conventional characters and the modern theatre's often mysterious personalities, with the same enthusiasm.

Again, despite her relatively young age, this year's winner has found the time to become a versatile character actress who in her craft and her art presents a scenic involvement one can catch fire from. The winner has style, enormous stage passion and a unique ability to pull her fellow actors in. All of this is expressed through the interpretation of the role honoured tonight: A tour de force, absolutely, but also a more general characteristic of an actress whose qualities are profoundly solid.

The particularly excellent performance award goes to the artist who gave life to Josie in Moon for the Misbegotten: Nina Ellen Ødegård at Rogaland Theatre."

Again, Nina Ellen Ødegård was nominated for The Hedda Award 2010 in the best leading actress category for the role of Woman 1 in We Who Are Hundred by Jonas Hassen Khemeri, Rogaland Theatre/The Intimate Stage for The Hedda Award 2016 in the best leading actress category for the role of Carol in A Christmas for Carol (Rogaland Theatre 2015).

The complete ensembles of the productions The Lady from the Sea and Perplex at Rogaland Theatre won The Hedda Award 2014 in the special artistic achievement category. Nina Ellen Ødegård acted in The Lady from the Sea, collaborating with Cato Skimten Storengen, Helga Guren, Lars Funderud Johannessen, Glenn André Kaada and Ingrid Rusten. In Perplex the performers were Ingrid Rusten, Ragnhild Mønnes, Svein Solenes and Øystein Martinsen.

The Hedda Jury gave the following reason:

"The jury is free to decide if to give out a Hedda Award in the special artistic achievement category. This year the jury wishes to do so. The award doesn't go to a director, stage designer or playwright. Nor is it given to a single actor. Based on two productions at one and the same theatre the award goes to the full cast for their ensemble play.

The jury wants to honour the interaction between actors; the collective process lifting the individual's strong performance to theatre experiences of particular quality and value. One of the productions is a classic, the other a modern play. In both cases we found in the interaction a clarity and a naturalism demanding generosity and a feeling of security in the cast. This collective is a condition for the theatre.

The special artistic achievement award goes to the full ensembles of the productions The Lady from the Sea and Perplex at Rogaland Theatre."

In 2017, Nina Ellen Ødegård received The Hedda Award in the best leading actress category for the role of Orlando in Orlando, by Sigrid Strøm Reibo and Njål Helge Mjøs after Virginia Woolf, directed by Sigrid Strøm Reibo, Rogaland Theatre.

The Hedda Jury gave the following reason:

"This year's winner possesses a great range as an actor. She moves easily and elegantly between the theatre's genres and effortlessly switches between satire, passion and seriousness. Without a hitch, she lets her role slide between the emotionally laden poetry and the sexual urges, whether she is dressed in a male or a female attire. In a production about life's most essential questions throughout centuries, this year's winner is excellently present with a wondrous, at times sharp and often comical expression that impresses."

Nina Ellen Ødegård was nominated for The Hedda Award 2019 for the role of Marianne in Scenes from a Marriage, Rogaland Theatre.

Nina Ellen Ødegård is married to actor Anders Dale, whom she played against in Scenes from a Marriage.

SOURCES:

Sceneweb on The Hedda Award 2005, www.sceneweb.no, 17.10.2012, http://www.sceneweb.no/en/awarding/23849/The_Hedda_Award_2005-2005

The Hedda Award 2014, www.heddaprisen.no, 16.06.2014, http://www.heddaprisen.no/pub/heddaprisen/main/?aid=1266

The Hedda Award, heddaprisen.no, 19.06.2017, https://www.heddaprisen.no/vinnere/2017

The Hedda Award, www.heddaprisen.no, https://www.heddaprisen.no/nominerte/2017

The Hedda Award, www.heddaprisen.no, 16.10.19, https://www.heddaprisen.no/nominerte/2019

• The Hedda Award 2017 - Best leading actress
• The Hedda Award 2005 - Particularly excellent performance

• The Hedda Award 2023 - Beste skuespiller/medspiller
• The Hedda Award 2023 - Beste skuespiller/medspiller
• The Hedda Award 2019 - Best leading actress
• The Hedda Award 2017 - Best leading actress
• The Hedda Award 2016 - Best leading actress
• The Hedda Award 2010 - Best leading actress
• The Hedda Award 2005 - Particularly excellent performance