Sverre Horge

Sverre Horge was born on 10 May 1944 in Oslo, Norway. Before and alongside his screen career he worked for many years as a stage technician (teatertekniker) at Oslo Nye Teater, the background that would later lead to his best known role. Little else about his early life has been documented publicly.

Horge appeared on screen from the late 1960s, with credits including Kilroy (1969) and Voldtekt (1971), in which he played Frank Iversen. In the 1970s and 1980s he was often cast by the filmmaking duo Wam and Vennerød, appearing in Det tause flertall (1977), Hvem har bestemt? (1978) and Liv og død (1980). Other films of the period included Ransom (1974), Eddie og Suzanne (1975), Pøbel (1978), Ingen roser... takk (1979), Nedtur (1980) and Blackout (1986).

In 2001 he had a small part in Elling and was cast in the TVNorge Christmas calendar series Nissene på låven as Sverre Borge. According to Espen Eckbo, the makers had been told about him by Trond Fausa Aurvåg and planned only a small role, but wrote him into 20 episodes because he was so good. He reprised the role in Nissene over skog og hei in 2011.

He went on to appear in Tonight med Timothy Dahle (2003), Seks som oss (2005) and, from 2006, Manshow, where he played Emil's father and Rolf "Ni-seks" Hansen. In 2007 he voiced the title role in the animated short Janus, which won the Amanda Award for best short film. Later work included Uti vår hage 2, Lilyhammer, Hellfjord, Dag, Som ein reier så ligg ein, ZombieLars and Monster, and his final roles were in the short films Antikk and Liker stilen in 2020.

Horge was married to Marit Vollen. He was the father of the actor Henrik Horge. Colleagues described him as a calm, kind and funny man who was always a pleasure to work with.

Sverre Horge died on the morning of Sunday 25 October 2026, aged 82. His wife, Marit Vollen, announced the death on Facebook on 26 October, writing: "Min aller kjæreste Sverre Horge gikk bort i går morges. Han blir dypt savnet" (My dearest Sverre Horge passed away yesterday morning. He will be deeply missed). The news was reported by VG, Dagbladet and Nettavisen. No cause of death was made public.

Tributes came from Espen Eckbo, who called him a fine and calm man it was always a joy to work with, from Manshow creator Håvard Lilleheie, and from actor Ulrikke Døvigen, who described him as a fine, wise and fun man. Funeral arrangements had not been announced at the time of reporting.

Horge is remembered as a rare example of a theatre technician who became a household face, and above all as Sverre Borge of Nissene på låven, a series that remains a Norwegian Christmas favourite. His long association with Wam and Vennerød placed him in some of the defining Norwegian films of the 1970s and 1980s, and his Amanda winning turn in Janus showed a range beyond comedy.