Matti Pellonpää

Biography

Matti Pellonpää (March 28, 1951 in Helsinki – July 13, 1995 in Vaasa) was an award-winning Finnish actor and a musician. He rose to international fame with his roles in both Aki Kaurismäki's and Mika Kaurismäki's films; particularly being a regular in Aki's films, appearing in 18 of them.

He started his career in 1962 as a radio actor at the Finnish state-owned broadcasting company YLE. He performed as an actor during the 70s in many amateur theatres, at the same time that he studied at the Finnish Theatre Academy, where he completed his studies in the year 1977.

He was nominated Best Actor by European Film Academy for his role as Rodolfo in La Vie de Boheme and won the Felix at the European Film Awards in 1992. He also starred in Jim Jarmusch's 1991 film Night on Earth.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Matti Pellonpää, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Ariel
Ariel
Shadows in Paradise
Shadows in Paradise
Night on Earth
Night on Earth
Leningrad Cowboys Go America
Leningrad Cowboys Go America
The Worthless
The Worthless
La Vie de Bohème
La Vie de Bohème
Chaplinesque
Chaplinesque
Zombie and the Ghost Train
Zombie and the Ghost Train

Filmography

2025 Some of You May Have Heard of Me
as self
2013 Bluesia Pieksämäen asemalla
as Self - Guest Vocals: Danish
2011 Bohemian Eyes
as Self (archive footage)
1995 Iron Horsemen
as Seeker
1994 Pieniä valheita
as Luikki
1994 Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses
as Moses / Vladimir
1994 Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana
as Reino
1994 Konstan pylkkerö
as Anselmi
1993 Sutki
as Dino
1993 Chaplinesque
as The Man Who Greets the Sun
1993 The Last Border
as Dimitri
1993 The Hobbits
as Saruman
1992 La Vie de Bohème
as Rodolfo
1992 Where Is Musette?
as self
1991 Night on Earth
as Mika
1991 Zombie and the Ghost Train
as Harri
1991 Moonlight Sonata II: The Street Sweepers
as Toimistovirkailijat
1990 Kiljusen herrasväen uudet seikkailut
as Interpreter of Fruktosian
1990 Dolly and Her Lover
as Räpsy
1989 Kumma juttu
as self