Michael Nyqvist Dies Aged 56

Michael Nyqvist has died at the age 56, his family has announced.

The Swedish actor was best known for starring in the movie adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Michael Nyqvist played journalist Mikael Blomkvist in that movie and its sequels, which formed the Millennium trilogy.

He died on June 27 after suffering from lung cancer for a year, according to a family statement.

Michael Nyqvist’s love of the arts was “felt by all who had the pleasure of working with him”, the family added.

“Michael’s joy and passion were infectious to those who knew and loved him,” the actor’s family said.

“His charm and charisma were undeniable.”

They said Michael Nyqvist had left a “huge void behind him”, local media report.

The actor’s death was announced “with deep sadness” by a family representative who said that “one of Sweden’s most respected and accomplished actors” had “passed away quietly surrounded by family”.

The popular actor and writer began his training at the Malmö Theatre Academy in Sweden.

He was best known for his role in Dragon Tattoo (2009), starring as the investigative reporter who teams up with feisty computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, played by Noomi Rapace.

In a subsequent American version of the movie, his role was performed by James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

Michael Nyqvist later appeared in a number of Hollywood blockbusters. He played the villain alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and starred as Viggo Tarasov in John Wick with Keanu Reeves.

He went on to star in the 2015 movie Colonia, opposite Daniel Brühl and Emma Watson.

Michael Nyqvist also wrote an acclaimed memoir, Just After Dreaming, published in 2010, about his earliest childhood memories following adoption and how he later traced his biological parents.

Michael Nyqvist is survived by his wife, Catharina Ehrnrooth, and their children, Ellen and Arthur.

Stieg Larsson himself died in 2004, a year before the first of his Millennium trilogy crime novels was published.