Petter Næss (born 14 March 1960 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian actor, screenwriter, instructor, and film director. His first film as a director was the comedy Absolutt blåmandag, released in 1999. Næss is known for his work directing two of the three films about Ingvar Ambjørnsen's character, Elling, from Ingvar Ambjørnsen's "Elling" tetralogy: Elling (2001), which was nominated for the 74th Academy Awards foreign language film Oscar in 2002, and Elsk meg i morgen (Love Me Tomorrow, 2005). In addition, his directorial credits in Sweden include Bare Bea (2003), Mozart and the Whale (2005), and Hoppet (The Jump, 2007). In 2008, Næss portrayed the war hero Martin Linge in the movie Max Manus. Since 1996, he has been employed as a director at Oslo Nye Teater and was, among other plays, responsible for the stage version of Elling and Kjell Bjarne.

Career

Næss's career started at the Fjernsynsteatret (Television Theatre) as a production assistant. Throughout his career, Næss has worked in theater and film directing and acting. He began acting in theater, film, and TV in 1982.

Film and TV

In 1999, he debuted with his movie Absolutt blåmandag. Following the success of the movie Elling, Petter Næss went on to work in Hollywood on several different projects. In 2005, he instructed Josh Hartnett in the American drama-comedy Mozart and the Whale, among others. In 2007, he released the Norwegian comedy Tatt Av Kvinnen. In 2008, he played Kaptein Martin Linge in the movie Max Manus.

Theater

Including his time as a director at Oslo Nye Teater, Næss has been involved with Centralteatret since 1996 as an instructor and project manager.

Other

In 2022, TrustNordisk sold "Nothing to Laugh About" Petter Næss’s Norwegian drama comedy.