Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Movies

Norwegian director Nils Gaup takes the helm for this sweeping Nordic epic tracing the struggle of the indigenous Sami people against the Swedish exploiters who reap the profits of their misery and desperation. Swedish entrepreneur Ruth (Mikael Persbrandt) is the proprietor of a Kautokeino trading post that also doubles as a popular pub. It's one of the few places that the semi-nomadic Sami can go to purchase essential living supplies and knock back a few drinks. The situation gets complicated when alcoholism begins to run rampant among the Sami men, the reindeer herds are neglected, and the women prove incapable of taking on the responsibility due to their depleted numbers. Enraged by her people's indifference and disturbed by her husband Mathis (Aslat Mahtte Gaup)' constant state of drunkenness, obstinate Sami Elen (Anni-Kristiina Juuso) determines to invoke a positive change by encouraging her husband and neighbors to purchase their supplies from the neighboring town of Karesuando. Once there, the group is taken by the fire and brimstone sermons of charismatic preacher Laestadius (Michael Nyqvist), who condemns the sins of alcohol and vice. Their eyes suddenly opened, Mathis vows to put down the bottle and Elen begins preaching Laestadius' word around Kautokeino. As a result, Ruth's business suffers and a new pastor arrives in town to quell the dissent. This development doesn't sit too well with the outspoken Elen, who gathers the rest of the Sami and leads the march to Ruth's to settle the matter once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Originally slated to make its Fox network bow on September 25, 2007, but held up due to production problems, New Amsterdam was rushed onto the network's schedule during the 2008 Hollywood writers' strike, with only eight of the propose thirteen episodes in the manifest. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau starred as John Amsterdam, an NYPD homicide detective who somehow always found himself assigned to cases involving supernatural or paranormal activity. Though most of his colleagues didn't know it, John came by his sensitivity for other-worldly manifestations honestly: He himself was an "immortal", and had been since 1642. At that time, John was a Dutch soldier serving in the colony of New Amsterdam; in the line of duty, he sacrificed his life to save a Native American girl whose tribe was being massacred. The grateful girl cast an ancient spell on John, allowing him to live forever; the spell could only be broken if John, in true "Flying Dutchman" fashion, were to find his One True Love. While this backstory explained the tinge of sadness in the modern-day John Amsterdam's eyes--after all, over the past 367 years he had outlived everyone whom he ever cared about--it did not quite explain how he'd been able to keep his immortality a secret for so long. At any rate, at the time of the series' premiere John had just experienced an epiphany, indicating that the end of his life was near and that he would soon find both closure and that elusive True Love--but not before a lot of traditional cop-show violence and Highlander-style special effects. Others in the cast included Stephen McKinley Henderson as all-wise jazz club owner Omar, the only person who knew the truth about John; Zuleikha Robinson as John's feisty NYPD partner Eva Marquez; and Alexie Gilmore as Dr. Sara Dillane, who spent much of her time trying to figure out why John had recovered so miraculously after she'd declared him dead of heart failure. Swedish film director Lasse Hallstrom, whose previous credits included What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Cider House Rules and Chocolat, served as New Amsterdam's co-executive producer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ridley Scott directed this epic-scale historical drama inspired by the events of the Crusades of the 12th century. Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a humble French blacksmith who is searching for a reason to go on after the death of his wife and children. Balian is approached by Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), a fabled knight who has briefly returned home after serving in the East. Godfrey informs Balian that he is his true father, and urges the blacksmith to join him as he and his forces journey to Jerusalem to help defend the holy city. Balian accepts, and he and Godfrey arrive during the lull between the Second and Third Crusades, in which the city is enjoying a fragile peace. Both Christian and Muslim forces are temporarily in retreat, thanks to the wisdom of the Christian monarch King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), his second-in-command Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), and Muslim potentate Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). Violent agitators on both sides are foolishly eager to end the peace in a bid for greater power, and Saladin bows to pressures from Muslim factions; Godfrey is one of a handful of brave knights who has thrown his allegiance behind Baldwin IV and his community of diversity, and Balian joins him as they use their skills as warriors in a bid to build a lasting peace. Kingdom of Heaven also stars Eva Green as the princess Sibylla, David Thewlis as Hospitaler the priest, and Brendan Gleeson as Reynald. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Directed by Richard Loncraine, Wimbledon follows the plight of aspiring tennis-star Peter Colt (Paul Bettany), whose bad luck seems to manifest itself just about everywhere. Professionally, Peter is near the very bottom of the world tennis ranks, and personally, he can't find love despite his best efforts to do so. In a rare turn of events, however, Peter is chosen as a wildcard to play at Wimbledon, the tennis world's most prestigious competition. While there, he meets American tennis ingénue Lizzie Bradbury (Kirsten Dunst), and his confidence on the court and off improves tenfold as he falls further in love with her. Driven by his newfound luck, Peter climbs to the top of the tournament players at record speed, until he actually has a fighting chance of winning the men's singles title -- the question is whether or not his good fortune will hold out long enough for him to get the trophy. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Peter O'Donnell's novels and comic strip was previously brought to film by actress Monica Vitti and director Joseph Losey in an eponymous 1966 spy spoof. Quentin Tarantino had been interested in bringing the character to the screen for a series of films, but the idea languished. Reportedly, Miramax rushed My Name Is Modesty into production because their option on the material was on the verge of expiring. While there were rumors that Luc Besson was going to direct, with Natasha Henstridge starring, that version never came to fruition. The film was released straight-to-video with Tarantino's imprimatur. Relative newcomer Alexandra Staden plays Modesty, and the film serves as a prequel, an introduction to the character of O'Donnell's work. It opens in the Balkans where some soldiers happen upon a resourceful little girl, a wild child. The film then flashes forward to Modesty as a young adult running a casino for the shady businessman, Louche (Valentin Teodosiu). When ruthless bandits attack the casino and the staff is taken hostage, Modesty secretly signals her partner, Garcia (Raymond Cruz), that there's trouble, then buys time by engaging the bandit leader, Myklos (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of the original Nightwatch), in a battle of wits. She uses the roulette wheel to barter the lives of the hostages for bits and pieces of her life story. And so the film flashes back to her orphaned past, showing how she was taken in by Lob (Fred Pearson), a wily older gentleman, who taught her to read and write several languages and how to thrive in a dangerous world. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

The true story of a major breakthrough in intelligence technology created during World War II provides the backdrop for this blend of mystery, romance, and espionage, based on the novel by Robert Harris. Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is a gifted mathematician who is working with the British government on the development and maintenance of the Enigma machine, an electronic device that allows Allied intelligence agents to decode scrambled messages sent by Germany military officers. But the emotionally fragile Jericho is buckling under both the pressure of his work and the collapse of his relationship with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows), a co-worker with whom he's fallen deeply in love. After suffering a minor breakdown, Jericho is sent on a leave of absence, but when he returns to work, a crisis awaits: it seems the Germans have instituted a new code that the Enigma is not yet able to crack, and Jericho is needed to help unravel Axis communiqués before an important convoy of troops and materiel sets sail. It is also suspected that a German undercover agent has infiltrated the Enigma project, and Wigram (Jeremy Northam) is determined to ferret them out. In the midst of all this, Jericho receives troubling news that Claire has gone missing -- and that a file of German messages waiting to be decoded was found at her home. As Jericho works against the clock to crack the new German code, he forms an initially uneasy alliance with Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet), Claire's roommate and a fellow member of the Enigma project, as they try to discover Claire's whereabouts. Enigma was co-produced by Mick Jagger, who has a keen interest in the history of the real-life Enigma project, and even owns one of the original Enigma decoding machines. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Aage Rais directs this grim tale about murderous pogroms and tourism. Young Dane (Pelle Hvenegaard) signs on as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and is quickly disgusted by the force's inability to stop violence against civilians. Later he, along with sergeant Holt (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau), guides a trio of blood-thirsty tourists looking to kill. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Simon Staho directed this Danish-Icelandic thriller, scripted by Stahho in collaboration with lead actor Nikolaj Coster Waldau. Copenhagen-born Ossy (Waldau) arrives in the suburbs to intrude on the family life of former friend Jimmy (Mads Mikkelsen). When they were pals at age 18, Jimmy accidentally killed a man. The two then left Denmark and traveled to the Far East, engaging in drug smuggling in Thailand until Jimmy departed, settling down in Reykjavik with his Icelandic wife Anna (Palina Jonsdottir). Ossy's arrival spells trouble, as Jimmy is caught between his devotion to Anna and Ossy's proposal of a drug deal. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi