Stefán Karl Stefánsson (/ˈstɛfən ˈstɛfənsən/; Icelandic: [ˈstɛːfaun ˈkʰartl̥ ˈstɛːfaunsɔn]; 10 July 1975 – 21 August 2018) was an Icelandic actor and singer, best known for playing antagonist Robbie Rotten on the children's television series LazyTown.

Career

Stefán Karl's career started in 1994. At the age of 19, he worked as a puppeteer for television. During his years as a puppeteer, he had also been studying at the Drama Academy of Iceland. However, he was unsatisfied with the perspectives of Icelandic drama standards. He recalls that his principal at his high school said that "acting is not about making faces and changing your face", which he disagreed with.

Later, Stefán Karl had been invited by Magnús Scheving, an Icelandic gymnast, to portray one of the characters in the second LazyTown play. Scheving created the plays due to his concerns about Iceland's younger generation lacking sufficient physical exercise. Stefán Karl explained that "[Scheving] wanted the kids to get healthier, so he created this musical called LazyTown. He played Sportacus, the fitness fanatic, and I was Robbie Rotten, the guy who liked to stay indoors and sleep". After initial success with the musical, Nickelodeon eventually made a deal with the creators of LazyTown to air the first 40 episodes of LazyTown along with a special studio built in Iceland. During the first few years of LazyTown in the early 2000s, Stefán Karl initially knew no English, but soon became fluent.

Personal life

Stefán Karl lived in Los Angeles with wife Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, three daughters, and one son.

He was first diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma in 2016, and underwent surgery to remove the metastases in 2017; the disease returned in 2018. In 2018, he was awarded the Order of the Falcon.

Illness and death

Stefán Karl announced in October 2016 that he had been diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma; a GoFundMe campaign was subsequently created by LazyTown head writer Mark Valenti to pay his living costs when he became too ill to work. The campaign was popularized by various YouTube users uploading parodies of Stefán Karl's work, which led to the songs "We Are Number One" and "The Mine Song" from LazyTown becoming an Internet meme. In August 2017, Stefán Karl stated he was in remission. He clarified on his GoFundMe campaign that while his metastases had been removed after successful liver surgery in June 2017, he still had the disease and had refused further adjuvant therapy.

In March 2018, Stefán Karl was diagnosed with inoperable cholangiocarcinoma, and said that he was undergoing chemotherapy to prolong his life. 

In April 2018, he announced that he personally chose to discontinue chemotherapy, and proceeded to shut down all his social media accounts. He died on 21 August 2018 at the age of 43. His wife stated that "Per Stefan's wishes, there will be no funeral. His earthly remains will be scattered in secrecy in a distant ocean."

It was announced by his manager, Cheryl Edison, that the Stefán Karl Academy & Center for the Performing Arts would be launched in Switzerland in 2019 as a memorial to his career.

Filmography

Stefán Karl has been credited in various works including plays, television series, films, and games.