Mikko Niskanen

Also Known As: Kalervo Lehto

Biography: Mikko Niskanen was a Finnish film director and actor. He was born in Äänekoski, Central Finland in 1929. He was the third of six children, and his father worked as a timber barge pilot. His mother too had a job outside the home, so the children often spent summers with their grandmother in Viitasaari. At the age of 13, Mikko Niskanen started working in timber felling and floating. Two years later he enrolled in a vocational school in Jyväskylä to become a car mechanic. He took a serious interest in amateur theatre and was accepted to study at the Finnish Theatre Academy in Helsinki from 1947 until 1950. He then acted in Jyväskylä and Kuopio theatres until 1954 when he landed an actor's job at the film studios of Suomen Filmiteollisuus in Helsinki. One of his first film roles was in Edvin Laine's The Unknown Soldier (1955). Between 1958 and 1961 Niskanen studied at the Moscow Film School in the Soviet Union. Niskanen's 1962 film The Boys was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. He continued his directing career focusing on themes such as rural life and youth. His second breakthrough was Under Your Skin (Käpy selän alla, 1966), a story of two young couples spending a weekend camping in the countryside. The film received six Jussi Awards and was followed by another story about young lovers, Asfalttilampaat (1968). Niskanen's tour de force as both actor and director was the five-hour television drama Eight Deadly Shots which was also released as a 145-minute theatrical version edited by Jörn Donner. Based on a true story from late 1960s Finland, it is a naturalistic drama about a poor farmer struggling to make a living for his family. He gradually becomes a violent alcoholic who goes on killing spree when the police arrive to calm him down. Besides directing, Niskanen gave a powerful and intense performance in the leading role. The film, like many of Niskanen's works were shot on locations around his home province north of Jyväskylä. Mikko Niskanen died of cancer at the age of 61.

Department: Directing

Place of Birth: Äänekoski, Finland

Adult: No

Birthday: January 31, 1929

Age: 96 years old

Gender: Male

Deathday: November 25, 1990

Popularity:

1.00%

Known For:

Tähtisilmä
Here, Beneath the North Star
Laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta
Tanssi yli hautojen
Kaunis Kaarina
1918
Kahden ladun poikki
Autuas eversti
Verta käsissämme
Isaskar Keturin ihmeelliset seikkailut
Köyhä laulaja
Skin, Skin
Girl of Finland
Naiset, jotka minulle annoit
Hän varasti elämän
Nuoruuteni savotat
Älä nuolase…
Pekka ja Pätkä Suezilla
Elämän vonkamies
Elokuva jalostavasta rakkaudesta
Mona ja palavan rakkauden aika
Syksyllä kaikki on toisin
Eight Deadly Shots
Pulakapina
Pekka ja Pätkä sammakkomiehinä
Herra sotaministeri
The Unknown Soldier
Ryysyrannan Jooseppi
Gotta Run!