Gisken Armand

Gisken Armand (born November 26 1962) is a Norwegian actress.

Armand made her debut at the age of only 14 at The National Stage in Clare Boothe Luce's The Women.

She has been employed by The National Theatre since 1988.

Information

(Objekt ID 5738)
Object type Person
Born Navember 26, 1962
Functions Actor
Nationality Norwegian
Gender Female
Member of The Norwegian Actors’ Equity Association/NAEA
Adresse Oslo, Norway
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Throughout her career Gisken Armand has interpreted a number of leading Ibsen roles, including Nora in A Doll's House, Gerd in Brand, Hilde Wangel in The Master Builder and both Hilde and Ellida Wangel in The Lady from the Sea. She played Hilde in 1990, and the role of the Lady herself in 2000.

She also played the roles of the woman in Someone is Going to Come by Jon Fosse, Olivia in Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, the title role of in Euripides' Medea, Olga in Chekhov's Three Sisters, Helene in The Celebration by Thomas Vinterberg and Queen Elizabeth in Mary Stuart by Schiller, Rebecca in Ashes to ashes and Sonja (in 1988) as well as the evil witch daughter (in 1992 and again in 2000) in Journey to the Christmas Star, among much more.

In 2009 she played the role of Marie Hamsun in the full-length monologue Blomster og blod* (Flowers and blood) by Bentein Baardson for Agder Theatre.

Gisken Armand has had major roles in a number of Norwegian films and TV productions. She is remembered for the role of Ingbjørg in Kristin Lavransdatter (1995), as the policewoman Hilde in Insomnia (1996) and as prostitute Maja Durban in Eva's Eye (1999).

Other movies one must mention are Twice upon a Time (1990), Cross My Heart and Hope to Die (1994), and Cry in the Woods (2004). She had leading parts in the TV series At the King's Table, Codename Hunter and Størst av alt* (Greatest of All).

She has recorded several audio books and in 2003 she won the audio book award Årets lydbokstemme (literally: The audio book voice of the year) for the best recording of a novel for adults.

She was the recipient of Gösta Ekman's memorial award in 1992 and of The National Theatre's friend association's honorary award and Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's radio theatre award Blå fugl (The Blue Bird) in 2006. The latter she got for the role of Irene in Henrik Ibsen's When We Dead Awaken.

Gisken Armand was nominated for The Hedda Award 2009 in the category of best supporting actress for the role of Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, The National Theatre, and for The Hedda Award 2008 in the same category for the role of the lawyer Voltore in Volpone by Ben Jonson, directed by Runar Hodne, The National Theatre, The Torshov Theatre.

In 2013, Gisken Armand won The Hedda Award in the best leading actress category for the role of I in I disappear by Arne Lygre, directed by Eirik Stubø, The National Theatre.

The Hedda jury gave the following reason:

"The actress alone on stage, without props or stage design as support, must trust herself and the word. The award winner of the year has throughout her career - including everything from drama to comedy, musicals and theatre for children - again and again proven how nuanced and precise she masters the word, whether we talk about modern slang, ancient poetry lines or comedy's sky-high demands for precision. In this year's production she presents a character without a clearly defined identity, in an undefined reality in continuous change. With her nuanced treatment of the text she is the fundamental element of the performance. This year's best leading actress award goes to Gisken Armand."

Gisken Armand was nominated for The Hedda Award 2017 in the best supporting actress category for the role of Juliette in Exit the King, by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Stein Winge for The National Theatre.

Gisken Armand is the daughter of the late actor Eilif Armand, a sister of the actresses Frøydis and Merete, and married to Ole Lillo-Stenberg, whose brother is the singer Lars Lillo-Stenberg. She took part in the music video S'il vous plait by deLillos from 1988.

SOURCES:

The National Theatre

The Hedda Awards, heddaprisen.no, 10.06.2013, http://www.heddaprisen.no/pub/heddaprisen/main/?aid=1176

Wikipedia, wikipedia.org, 30.06.2011, http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gisken_Armand

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

*Not yet translated into English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.

Education

The National Academy of Theatre

Affiliations (2)