Dóri DNA explores grandfather Laxness in new documentary series

Comedian and writer Halldór Laxness Halldórsson, known as Dóri DNA, has finished filming Hvíti kastalinn, a documentary series about his grandfather, Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness, and his life and family at Gljúfrasteinn. Mbl.is reported the story.

“It has been fantastic. I made pancakes, smoked a cigar in the study at Gljúfrasteinn and drove the Jaguar. Then I got to hold the Nobel Prize. It is very heavy,” Dóri said.

He made the series with director Ísak Hinriksson. The idea was for Dóri to move into Gljúfrasteinn and receive guests there for a week while discussing Halldór, his wife Auður, the house and possibly the future.

Interest in Laxness’s place in modern Icelandic life increased after Morgunblaðið reported in October 2025 that fewer than one-third of upper-secondary students were reading one of his novels as part of their compulsory Icelandic studies.

“We attended a meeting at RÚV on the same day the Morgunblaðið story was published,” Dóri said. He acknowledged that the attention generated by the report may have helped raise interest in the series.

Dóri interviewed his mother, Guðný Halldórsdóttir, known as Duna, as well as his aunt Sigga and other relatives. He also spoke to Bubbi Morthens and Elínborg Una Einarsdóttir, a Morgunblaðið journalist whose writing brought Laxness back into public discussion last year.

“This will be a genuine glimpse into family life, an intimate programme about the national poet,” Dóri said. He said the series was based on his personal connection to Gljúfrasteinn, where he grew up and knows every corner.

The series is expected to air on RÚV next year. Dóri said Laxness’s books had sold out at second-hand bookshops, library loans had increased and three schools had begun teaching him again.