Tommy Wirkola
Tommy Wirkola (born 6 December 1979) is a Norwegian filmmaker. He is known for his film work in hybrid thrillers that combine horror, action and satire, including Dead Snow (2009) and Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014), which were both selected for the Sundance Film Festival.
Tommy Wirkola

Eva Rinaldi · Tommy Wirkola, Jeremy Renner, Kevin Messick · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Tommy Wirkola
- Born
- 6 December 1979
- Birthplace
- Alta, Norway
- Education
- Bond University
- Occupation
- Film director, screenwriter, producer, actor
- Nationality
- Norway
- Fields
- film
- Languages
- Norwegian
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Documentary summary
Tommy Wirkola (born 6 December 1979) is a Norwegian filmmaker. He is known for his film work in hybrid thrillers that combine horror, action and satire, including Dead Snow (2009) and Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead (2014), which were both selected for the Sundance Film Festival.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2669356 · wikipedia · Tommy Wirkola
In this article
Biography
Biography
For his hybrid genre-focused work, he has won numerous awards and nominations. Dead Snow won the and was nominated for four Scream Awards including Best Horror Film. Dead Snow 2 won him Best Film at the Horror Film Festival, Best Director at the International Fantastic Film Festival and Best Screenplay as well as Best Film at Alamo Drafthouse's Fantastic Festival in 2014. What Happened to Monday was nominated for Variety's Piazza Grande Award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2017. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013) was nominated for the People's Choice Award for Best Horror Film. Violent Night (2022) was nominated for Most Outstanding Stunt Performance at the ACTRA Awards as well as for Best Original Score at the International Film Music Critics Awards and at the Reel Music Film Festival.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tommy Wirkola • Born — 6 December 1979 • Birthplace — Alta, Norway • Education — Bond University • Occupation — Film director, screenwriter, producer, actor
Early life
Early life
Wirkola is of Finnish and Kven ancestry.
Career
Career
Wirkola's first film was 2007's Kill Buljo, which he co-wrote with Stig Frode Henriksen. They later collaborated on the 2009 horror comedy Dead Snow, the 2010 mockumentary Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch, and the 2014 sequel to Dead Snow, Red vs. Dead. In 2012 Wirkola directed & produced the television comedy series Hellfjord. Consisting of seven thirty minute episodes, the series is about an Oslo police officer who is banished to a small village after accidentally killing his police horse. Wirkola's first English-language, large-budget film, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, was released in 2013 to mainly negative reviews. Starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, the film was nevertheless a financial success, grossing $226.3 million worldwide on a budget of $50 million. What Happened to Monday, a science fiction film starring Noomi Rapace and Willem Dafoe, and the dark comedy The Trip, also starring Rapace, were released in 2017 and 2021 respectively. Wirkola's next film, Violent Night, a dark comedy starring David Harbour as a vigilante Santa Claus, was released in December 2022. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $76.6 million worldwide. Wirkola co-directed the 2024 animated musical sex comedy Spermageddon, a dual narrative focusing on both a teenage couple having sex for the first time and Simen the Semen and his friends in a quest for the Egg. In May 2024, it was announced that Wirkola had signed with Columbia Pictures to develop a survival thriller titled Beneath the Storm, with Phoebe Dynevor cast in the lead role. That August, principal photography began in Australia, with Whitney Peak and Djimon Hounsou joining the cast. In March 2025, the film was renamed Shiver.
Filmography
Filmography
Film • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Editor • 2006 — Remake • 2007 — Kill Buljo • 2009 — Dead Snow • 2010 — Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch • 2013 — Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters • Kill Buljo 2 • 2014 — Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead • 2017 — Kurt Josef Wagle and the Murder Mystery on the Hurtigruta • What Happened to Monday • 2021 — The Trip • 2022 — Violent Night • 2024 — Spermageddon • 2026 — Over Your Dead Body • Thrash • Violent Night 2 Television • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Editor • 2012 — Hellfjord Acting roles • Year — Title — Role • 2006 — Remake — Attendant 2 • 2007 — Kill Buljo — Sid Wisløff • 2009 — Dead Snow — Dying Zombie (Uncredited) • Tomme Tønner — Gjørme-Knut • 2010 — Kurt Josef Wagle and the Legend of the Fjord Witch — Pablo (Voice) • 2013 — Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters — Deputy #4 • 2013 — Kill Buljo 2 — Sid Wisløff
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- 7. Arctic Carnivalesque: Ethnicity, Gender And Transnationality In The Films Of Tommy Wirkola, Films on Ice, 2014
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2014
- Arctic Carnivalesque: Ethnicity, Gender and Transnationality in the Films of Tommy Wirkola, Films on Ice, 2015
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2015
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2669356: Tommy Wirkola
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Tommy Wirkola”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards and nominations
• Year — Work — Awards — Category — Result • Dead Snow — Toronto After Dark Film Festival Audience Awards — Best Feature Film — Winner • Scream Awards — Best Horror Movie — Nominee • Best Foreign Movie — Nominee • 2010 — Kosmorama Kanon Award — Best Innovation — Nominee • center|Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters — People's Choice Awards — Favorite Horror Movie — Nominee • Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead — Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Choice Awards — Audience Award for Feature Film — Winner • Best Director — Winner • Fantasia International Film Festival — Best International Film — Nominee • Fantastic Fest Gutbuster Comedy Features Awards — Best Picture — Winner • Best Screenplay — Winner • Sitges Film Festival — Best Screenplay — Winner • Toronto After Dark Film Festival Audience Awards — Best Feature Film — Winner • Best Film to Watch with a Crowd — Winner • 2017 — What Happened to Monday — Locarno Film Festival — Variety Piazza Grande Award — Nominee
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.DN.no. Nå hopper Wirkola av.
- 2.Fouché, Gwladys. Dead Snow cashes in on the vogue for film Nazis, with added snow. The Guardian. 2009-02-02. 0261-3077.
- 3.Kinnunen, Kalle. Ohjaaja Pihla Viitalasta: "En saanut silmiäni hänestä". Ilta-Sanomat. 2013-02-02.
- 4.Kill Buljo – Dimension Extreme
- 5.Crossingeurope.at. DØD SNØ – crossingEurope.
- 6.Juan of the Dead. The Director Of DEAD SNOW And KILL BULJO Takes The Piss Out Of First-Person Horror With KURT JOSEF WAGLE AND THE LEGEND OF THE FJORD WITCH. Twitchfilm.net. 26 February 2010.
- 7.Collider. Director Tommy Wirkola Talks HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS and DEAD SNOW. 20 November 2013.
- 8.Kevin Melrose. Wirkola Plans Dead Snow Sequel. Spinoff.comicbookresources.com. 12 February 2013.
- 9.fantasticfest.com. Hellfjord. 26 February 2010.
- 10.IMDb. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Box Office Mojo.
- 11.New Scribe to Sweeten 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters'
- 12.McCall, Kevin. David Harbour's Holiday Flick 'Violent Night' to Screen at NYCC. Collider. 2022-09-14.
- 13.Violent Night (2022).
- 14.Del Don, Muriel. Review: Spermageddon. Cineuropa. 19 June 2024.
- 15.Grobar, Matt. Phoebe Dynevor to Star In Shark Thriller For Sony; Tommy Wirkola Directing. Deadline Hollywood. May 13, 2024.
- 16.Gajewski, Ryan. Phoebe Dynevor Shark Thriller From Tommy Wirkola Gets Title and Summer 2025 Release. The Hollywood Reporter. August 14, 2024.
- 17.Pedersen, Erik. Sony's Shark Thriller Starring Phoebe Dynevor Surfaces With New Title & Year-Later Release Date; 'Street Fighter' Off Schedule. Deadline Hollywood. March 24, 2025.
- 18.Turek, Ryan. Dead Snow Director Returns With Fjord Witch. ShockTillYouDrop. February 26, 2010.
- 19.Hedenstad, Marte. «Ikke morsomt bare fordi det er grovt». NRK. 2017-11-23.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
7. Arctic Carnivalesque: Ethnicity, Gender And Transnationality In The Films Of Tommy Wirkola, Films on Ice, 2014Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Arctic Carnivalesque: Ethnicity, Gender and Transnationality in the Films of Tommy Wirkola, Films on Ice, 2015Crossref registry
Institutional witnessInstitutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q2669356: Tommy WirkolaWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Tommy Wirkola studied at Bond University.
The recorded source classes are reference work. Every statement above restates one of those records; where they are silent, this article is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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