Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish filmmaker and musician who is best known for his work in music videos. Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory. He has directed well-known videos for artists such as Queens of the Stone Age, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Blink-182, Blondie, Duran Duran, Lady Gaga, David Guetta, Jamiroquai, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Metallica, Moby, Ozzy Osbourne, P!nk, the Prodigy, the Smashing Pumpkins, Rammstein, Britney Spears, the Rolling Stones, U2, Robbie Williams and Ghost. Åkerlund's video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and a record five MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year. In 2008, he won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film for directing Madonna's The Confessions Tour DVD, and won the award again in 2014 for his work on Paul McCartney's Live Kisses DVD. He also directed the films Spun (2002), Horsemen (2009), Small Apartments (2012), Lords of Chaos (2018), and Polar (2019).

Career

Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory from 1983 to 1984. He directed Candlemass' first music video "Bewitched", which was also his debut as a music video director. He then became the main video director for Roxette. In 1997, he directed the video for the Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up", which sparked controversy due to its depiction of drug use, violence, and nudity. In 1998, he worked with Madonna on the song "Ray of Light". He directed the music video for the Smashing Pumpkins' song "Try, Try, Try", from which a short film entitled Try was spawned. He was also the designer and photographer for the Roxette album Room Service in 2001. His first full-length film, Spun, debuted in 2002. Åkerlund directed commercials for Swedish clothing retailer MQ and the re-imagining of the Devo song "Watch Us Work It" used in Dell Computers commercials. He is a long-time collaborator of Madonna, having worked on such music videos as "Music", "American Life" (which was pulled due to its graphic content and the Iraq War), and "Jump". He also directed the documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret about Madonna and her concert special The Confessions Tour: Live from London. Åkerlund's other work includes the controversial music video for Rammstein's "Pussy", the video for the song "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, "Moves like Jagger" by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera, and Duran Duran's single "Girl Panic!" Åkerlund's second movie, Small Apartments (2012), went direct to DVD. Per Gessle, of Roxette, was credited for the music and soundtrack.

Videography

1988 1989 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Filmography

Feature films Concert and documentary films Television

Awards