AllMovie

Though his name might not be a household word in American film circles, Scandinavian actor Ilkka Koivula spent the 1990s and 2000s racking up a host of impressive characterizations in films produced by his native Finland. Koivula officially debuted onscreen circa 1997, in Jarmo Lampela's gritty, haunting teen addiction drama Sairaan Kaunis Maailma. After collaborating with the acclaimed Markku Polonen (in small roles) on two films -- the romantic drama Kuningasjatka (1998) and the pop-music biopic Badding (2001) -- and with Juha Koiranen on Rock 'n' Roll Never Dies (2006), Koivula received second billing in a picture directed by one of the most acclaimed contemporary Scandinavian directors: Aki Kaurismäki, in that helmer's tragicomedy Lights in the Dusk (2007).