Which Kurt Wallander Is Best? Every Version of the Nordic Sleuth, Ranked
A new Kurt Wallander is coming to the screen in the upcoming Swedish-language TV series Wallander, and it might rank as the most faithful adaptation of Henning Mankell’s novels yet, if star Gustaf Skarsgård has anything to say about it.
At this year’s Seriencamp festival in Germany, Wallander producer Glenn Lund said Skarsgård (son of Stellan and brother of Alexander and Bill) “knows the material so much better than the directors” and “[had] opinions that would go in the complete opposite of the network,” per Deadline.
Lund added, “He is really protecting the character, but you have to find the balance because you can’t go all in on what he wants. He understood that as well, and you could tell him, but we had very big arguments, too, for months. … He’s very ambitious and smart and is always able to see the big picture. We’ve worked hard together in shaping this new Wallander to something we are very proud of.”
(And Wallander diehards might know that Skarsgård already played the character once, in the 2007 TV movie Pyramiden.)
With devotion and knowledge at that level, will Skarsgård’s Wallander be fans’ and critics’ favorite depiction to date? How will he compare to his predecessors in the role? As we await news on U.S. availability for Skarsgård’s series, we’ve done our own detective work and found what Wallander devotees say about the onscreen depictions so far. Based on consensuses, here’s how we’d rank ’em…
6. Lennart Jähkel
In the 2003 Swedish miniseries Talismanen, which Mankell wrote with fellow novelist Jan Guillou, Wallander is a supporting character portrayed by Jähkel (pictured, out of character, here). Unfortunately, Talismanen doesn’t seem to be streaming, and details about the production are scant, though the 4.9/10 rating it has on IMDb after 280 reviews does not bode well…
This is your Wallander if… you want to see the character depicted in a TV show co-written by Mankell himself. And you somehow have access to Swedish TV archives.
5. Adam Pålsson
Inevitably, every hero of pop culture gets an origin story, and the 2020 Netflix series Young Wallander is that for the Swedish sleuth. Reviews were mixed, though, with critic Alamin Yohannes pointing out on Medium that we don’t actually get to see how Pålsson’s Wallander develops his crime-solving skills. Without that, his “forceful approach to solving the case” comes off as “pushy, sloppy, and often annoying,” Yohannes wrote.
This is your Wallander if… the other adaptations seem too slow, too dated, or too beholden to the source material. And if you prefer your wrinkles in the plot and not on the actors’ faces.
4. Gustaf Skarsgård
In the 2007 Swedish TV movie Pyramiden — Rolf Lassgård’s final outing as the iconic character — Skarsgård played Wallander in flashbacks scenes. That 24-year-old Wallander is an idealistic police academy grad who’s only starting to accumulate emotional baggage, as Critics at Large’s Bob Douglas wrote. “We are reminded that from his earliest experiences, Wallander took every case personally and deeply-etched memories of them still burn within him several years later,” Douglas added.
This is your Wallander if… you want to see the character at the outset of his career and juxtapose that version with the one Skarsgård will present, nearly 20 years later, in the new Wallander.
3. Kenneth Branagh
The franchise got its first English-language adaptation when Branagh starred in the BBC’s series adaptation of Mankell’s novels between 2008 and 2016. This Wallander got critical acclaim — it earned the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series in 2008, and Branagh won the BAFTA for Best Actor the following year — though it might be a dour watch. In a recent Reddit thread, no fewer than 10 users called this Wallander depressing.
This is your Wallander if… you prefer not to read subtitles, you don’t mind a Hollywood-handsome actor playing the character, and you have lighter fare ready to stream afterward.
2. Krister Henriksson
Henriksson starred in the Swedish TV series Wallander, which aired three seasons between 2005 and 2013, with some installments even debuting in cinemas. As Wallander, Henriksson is “the committed, weary cop; an overprotective father and a brash colleague” say Dead Good reviewers, “But he also leans towards the more sensitive fatherly side of Wallander’s character.”
This is your Wallander if… you’re invested in Wallander’s relationship with daughter Linda, who appeared in 13 of the series’ 32 episodes, played by late actor Johanna Sällström.
1. Rolf Lassgård
For more than a decade, Lassgård portrayed the detective in Swedish TV movie and miniseries adaptations of the first nine Wallander novels, starting just a few years after the first book hit shelves. None of the actors on this list look like the “pitiful old man” our hero calls himself in Mankell’s first Wallander novel, but at least Lassgård looks like he’s lived a lot of life.
This is your Wallander if… you want an adaptation that’s faithful to the books. And a protagonist who’s rough around the edges, too haunted by his memories to care about, say, dragging a comb through his hair.
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