Ida Engvoll

The Risk of Saying No

Ida Engvoll doesn't usually ask permission to change registers.

In 2017, she decided to leave the series Rebecka Martinsson just as the production was becoming a ratings phenomenon in Sweden. That exit baffled the industry but defined her approach to the craft. She chose to let go of a safe leading role in favor of projects that wouldn't force her to repeat herself every season.

She was born in Söderhamn in 1985 and trained at the Swedish National Academy of Mime and Acting in Stockholm. She finished her studies in 2010. That same year she landed her first film credit in Beck – Levande begravd.

And the gamble paid off.

The Weight of a Supporting Glance

Before becoming the visible face of major streaming platforms, she worked at the Swedish National Theatre. But it was in 2015 that her career reached another level. She played Sonja in A Man Called Ove, the adaptation of Fredrik Backman's novel that earned two Oscar nominations in 2017.

Her role was that of a deceased woman who appears in the protagonist's memories. She made a supporting character the emotional center of a story that grossed more than $30 million worldwide.

That's because Engvoll has the ability to fill the frame without needing long dialogue. So after that success, scripts started piling up on her desk. In 2016 she shot Den allvarsamma leken and took part in the crime series Bonusfamiljen.

The Game of Anarchy

In 2020 the actress made a leap into dark comedy with Kärlek och anarki. The Netflix series cast her as Sofie, a consultant who starts a dangerous and absurd flirtation with an IT technician. The project allowed her to explore a much more physical and chaotic side of her craft.

She didn't just act. In the second season, filmed in 2022, she served as executive producer of the series. She wanted a say in the creative decisions and to understand how a project gets built from the office, not just from the set.

She accepted the challenge.

That same year she appeared in The Kingdom Exodus under the direction of Lars von Trier. Working with the Danish director meant stepping into a working universe very different from the standard of Swedish television. It was a brief role, but full of the strangeness that defines the saga.

Technical Maturity

In 2023, she joined the cast of Paradise Is Burning, a film that premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The tone here is raw and realistic. Engvoll plays Hana, an absent mother in a drama about sisterhood and abandonment on the outskirts of Sweden.

In 2024 she headlined the cast of Secrets, a drama series directed by Kaspar Munk. In this Danish production she plays Mads, a woman facing a deep family crisis. Filming took place mainly on location in Copenhagen.

The actress maintains her residence in Stockholm. She avoids unnecessary red carpets and guards her private life with strict professional discipline. In 2024, her schedule filled up with the pre-production of a new feature film funded by the Swedish Film Institute with a budget of 2.5 million euros.