Guðmundur Þór Kárason: “I grew up in the center of Reykjavík and spent a lot of time with my grandmother, Guðrún, on Sóleyjargata, along with my cousins. There I found an outlet for my creativity, as my grandmother was always encouraging me and helping me with all my hobbies, from model making, carving and Lego blocks to sewing of various kinds and acting. My sons have since benefited from knowing how to use a sewing machine, as our family has taken great pride in our Ash Wednesday costumes every year. Grandma’s basement was a source of adventure because there were plenty of toys and clothes there. It is probably thanks to my grandmother that I started making puppets, as I took over her basement when my interest for this started.
In the summer, I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandfather and grandmother, Þór and Elsa, at their house by Lake Þingvallavatn, along with my cousins. There, I got to know nature and I took my first steps in hunting under the guidance of my grandfather, who was the director of hunting at the time. For a boy like me, life really couldn’t have been better.”
After living briefly in Finland and Sweden while Guðmundur’s parents were studying, his schooling began at Mýrarhúsaskóli in Seltjarnarnes, then at Vesturbæjarskóli and from there at Austurbæjarskóli, where he completed his compulsory school leaving exam. “I was a weak student at first, as I was more interested in creative work than academic subjects, and in addition, I was severely dyslexic, although I didn’t find out about it until I was in my twenties. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I started to work hard at my studies, fearing that nothing would come of it.”
Guðmundur then began studying at the Reykjavík Women’s College and successfully completed his matriculation examination in sociology in 1994. After his matriculation examination, he began studying philosophy at the University of Iceland and completed two years out of three. In the fall of 1998, he began studying at the Icelandic Academy of Fine Arts and Crafts. After that winter, he began studying graphic design at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, graduating with a BA in that field in 2003.
LazyTown
“While I was still studying at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, Magnús Scheving contacted me. He had seen a puppet I was making and desperately wanted me to collaborate with him on a project he called LazyTown. At the time, he had published a book and staged a play at Loftkastalinn and now wanted to promote the project abroad. Magnús and I immediately got along well, as we were both ambitious and full of creativity. So I went full-time and worked on everything related to marketing LazyTown abroad.
In those days, LazyTown was just a garage company with just a few employees, so I had the opportunity to try my hand at very different projects, from design, concept and script work to organizing national campaigns, running a radio station, making TV shows and baking the largest gingerbread in Icelandic history. I think I’ve experienced everything you can experience in this job, I’ve run through entire international airports with my life in the hatches, partying in the northernmost parts of Iceland, staying up all day preparing for sales meetings, presenting LazyTown in the conference room of the Viacom building overlooking Times Square and getting an injunction from the Central Bank of Iceland because of the Lató banknotes I designed. I can say that when you work with Magnús Scheving, there’s never a dull moment.
Once the idea for LazyTown had been fleshed out, the puppets had been designed and built, and the production of the episodes was underway, I was then given the role of Ziggy in the episodes, where I control the puppet and give him a voice in English and Icelandic. I have played Ziggy in all 79 episodes of LazyTown and I never get tired of it, as there is nothing more fun than letting my acting genes run wild.
Since filming on LazyTown has been on and off for various lengths of time, I have been working on other things in the meantime. I worked as a concept designer and art director at the advertising agency Góðu þólge for two years, where I found new ways to give vent to my creativity. Then I worked on promotions and trailer production at RÚV, where I got to play around with all the great people who work there. Today, I work as an advertising director at the company Purki, which I own with Sævar Guðmundsson and Ágústi Haukssson. We have been making the TV series Sönn íslensk sakamál for Skjá Einn in addition to producing TV commercials.”
Posted By
Singer María Ólafsdóttir puts on her pink wig because she will soon be playing the role of Stephanie. María is very excited about the role. "I find it very fun and a great honor to jump into this role of Stephanie," says singer María Ólafsdóttir, who will soon be playing the role of Stephanie in the Icelandic LazyTown live shows. Most people know María after she sang for Iceland in the ...
A new play about the adventures of LazyTown will be staged at the National Theatre this year (2014). In this new play - Ævintýri í Latabæ - written by Magnús Scheving and Ólafur S.K. Þorvaldz, all the main characters of LazyTown are present, along with a few...
Melkorka Davíðsdóttir Pitt was chosen from a whole host of talented girls to play Stephanie in the next LazyTown play at the National Theatre and she is looking forward to putting on the pink wig. This 16-year-old actress and dancer could hardly be a better role...
Magnus Scheving is at a significant turning point in his life. He will be fifty this year (2014), is recently divorced and is stepping down from his role as Sportacus who holds the hearts and minds of children around the world. At such a turning point, it is natura...